SHOULD players be fined or suspended if they opt out of interleague?
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Those are among suggestions Hampden coach Chris McLaren is posing after he was left to piece together a side last weekend.
The multiple Koroit premiership star plans to send out a survey to clubs and players as he strives to ensure representative football regains its esteem in the south-west.
Injuries and unavailability cruelled the Bottle Greens ahead of their showdown against Ovens and Murray.
“I mean to have a squad of 46 and be left with 22 is not ideal,” McLaren said.
“For me, something is wrong with the concept if 16 blokes play the week before and the week after but don’t play interleague.
“Something is not right, so we need to find out what it is and see if it’s fixable or is it buggered?
“We need to change their mindset, to see interleague as an opportunity to play a high standard of footy not an opportunity to have a week off and freshen up for club footy.”
McLaren, who was proud of his charges’ efforts in their loss to Ovens and Murray, said Hampden needed to gauge how interleague football was viewed in a bid to determine a future direction.
He wants to hear from players who opted against playing and those who did don the Bottle Green guernsey, as well as outside perspectives.
“Do we trial a suspension? Do we look at fining players and clubs if they don’t play or do we look at rewarding players and clubs if they do?,” McLaren said.
“Which way do we go? There are two options – we either force them to play or you make them want to play.
“Force them to play, you fine them, you suspend them and do whatever you’ve got to do, but to make them want to play, what can we do?
“Do I need to change up the Wednesday sessions in the weeks leading up?
“Next year do we just say ‘interleague training is on these nights, if you want to play, come along’ and we don’t pick a squad because there’s no point picking guys who don’t want to play.
“Or do you get the clubs to nominate a minimum four players otherwise the club gets fined?”
McLaren questioned whether pride in the jumper was as strong as it was in the past. He said those who played against Ovens and Murray performed at a high level and some of the injured were committed to the cause.
“I want those players (who don’t play) to have the commitment levels that a smaller group do; they love playing,” McLaren said.
“(Rory) Taggert was outstanding and even (Luke) Crane, who couldn’t play, came to every session, and (Levi) Konitzka tried to play and just couldn’t and now is missing the next week.”