A NUMBER of umpires will officiate over two games this weekend, with the AFL set to begin its two-week trial of using four umpires in a single match.

The umpiring team of Nick Foot, Brett Rosebury, Simon Meredith and Jacob Mollison will officiate Thursday night's clash between Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs, before again taking to the field on Sunday afternoon for Geelong's meeting with Richmond.

As part of the trial, which will take place during the remainder of the bye rounds, two umpires will be set in the middle of the field, with the other two stationed in each 50m arc.

The trial comes after the AFL's head of football operations Steve Hocking confirmed that the League would consider introducing four umpires for all games from 2019 onwards.

It's hoped that by increasing the number of umpires on the field, running loads for the game's officiators will decrease and will eventually allow the best umpires to take on multiple matches over a weekend.