Senior coach Justin Longmuir is hopeful Fremantle can benefit from a return to 20 minute quarters in the 2021 season.
Longmuir told 6PR the list had the fitness to run out games and could have benefited from longer games in 2020.
He added that the coaches have been looking closely at how a cut in rotations from 90 to 75 will impact games.
“(A return to 20 minute quarters) will be a good thing. I think the profile of our list really suits a longer game and I think last year, if the games were a little bit longer, we might have gotten over the line in a couple of them, especially early in the season,” Longmuir told 6PR.
“We’re going to have to tinker with a few things and try and keep our players as fresh as we can. Not only are games going back to normal, the rotations are coming back to 75.
“That’s going to give us a few things to work out over the pre-season games and how long stints players can do in the midfield, forward and that type of thing.
“As a coaching group, we’ve spitballed and come up with some ideas that we want to try. Until you get into games, we won’t know.”
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Longmuir also expects the AFL’s new man on the mark rule to give an advantage to teams in possession of the ball.
The new rule only allows ‘minimal lateral movement’ for players on the mark.
“I think it will open up the ground a little bit more, definitely through the corridor, it will be harder to defend and harder to defend the open side,” Longmuir said.
“We’ve been working on things defensively but also offensively to try and make the most of those rules.
“It’s interesting because players have been told from juniors to be active on the mark…now you literally have to go and stand in a spot with your arms up.
“It’s taken a little bit for our players to get used to. There’s been a few 50 metre penalties in our earlier match sims, just with players being instinctive and trying to follow the kicker’s eyes.
“It will be interesting to see how it plays out but I definitely think it will open up the ground a bit more on offence.”
