THE PROSPECT of a revitalised pre-season competition with a large financial pull has been discussed by AFL CEOs, along with the re-introduction of State of Origin and the Indigenous All-Stars games.

That's according to Greater Western Sydney CEO Dave Matthews, who spoke days after a conference with the club administrators and the AFL in Perth.

But top of mind for Matthews and the Giants was the decision by the AFL Appeal Board to overturn the three-game ban given to tagger Toby Bedford.

Matthews revealed club CEOs had spoken with the AFL about re-modelling the Match Review Officer's grading system.

"The framework and trying to fit things into boxes and spit out a formula might be theoretically good but practically doesn't quite work in every instance," Matthews said.

"Common sense prevailed (with Bedford). We absolutely commend what the AFL's doing in relation to concussion, we've got to do whatever we can to mitigate it but ultimately, it's a contact sport and you're going to have accidents."

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One of the interesting revelations from the meeting was the prospect of a secondary cup competition in the AFL, along the same lines of the former night premiership which once carried an element of prestige. 

"Personally, one of the ones I raised is that we need to have another tournament. When we do get to 19 clubs and you're a one in 19 chance to win the only cup on offer, do we restore a pre-season tournament and make it have more meaning?" said Matthews.

"Maybe we are pinching an idea from Peter V'landys with The Everest where he's just put up massive prizemoney and we're all trying. We've probably over time let that pre-season competition diminish and I think there's an opportunity to look at the fixture and play a pre-season competition."

Also on the agenda is a re-introduction of State of Origin and the Indigenous All-Stars concepts in a sporadic manner on the AFL calendar.

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"The Indigenous All-Stars and Origin both started with the AFL, and we've let them drift and they've become big ticket items for the NRL. I think it's still got its place. I don't think it's an annual thing but it's certainly been discussed," Matthews said.

Of greater urgency for this year, especially at the Giants, are proposed draft changes for father-son and Academy picks that may force clubs like GWS to pay a higher price for their Academy selections.

"They haven't ruled it out (making changes for this year), but what I will say is Andrew Dillon has been visiting the clubs a lot, there's been no shortage of conversations," Matthews said.

AFL CEO Andrew Dillon in March 2024. Picture: AFL Photos

"The AFL Commission do what that they're there to do, which is make an independent decision in the best interests of the competition.

"We've got a national competition. We don't have a national game yet. We've got to get more players out of New South Wales and Queensland."

The Giants CEO also stated that an announcement on an extension to coach Adam Kingsley's contract, which expires in 2025, is likely within the next few weeks.

The club also revealed a partnership with Aware Super which will see the company's pink logo on the Giants' shorts starting from Saturday's home clash with Gold Coast and going through until the end of 2026.