30/03/2008 9:12 PM
How many days' break do teams need in between games? North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley believes six is not enough when the opposition has 10 while Terry Wallace says the extra four days off hurt his side.
Laidley expressed his disappointment on Sunday at his Kangaroos being given four days fewer rest prior to their Round 2 win over Richmond but will not address the matter with the AFL.
While Richmond was getting ready to mount its assault on the second round, the Kangaroos were yet to hit the field for their season-opener against Essendon.
"I know it's an unfair playing field this competition in some regard but when your opposition has an 11-day break and you only have the six, I reckon that's a bit too much," Laidley said after North's 41-point win.
"In the last quarter I was thinking, are we enough in front?"
"If it was six days versus eight days we'll back our conditioning staff every time but when it's 11 v six that's huge in this day and age."
"(It's) recovery, to eat, sleep, extra training sessions, (you) can do a bit more practice, there's a whole host of things."
"I'm not going to knock on the AFL's door, we'll just go about our business. But it is disappointing."
Wallace provided the alternative view. He said the long break between games for his team may have contributed to its downfall but refused to use it as an excuse for the defeat.
"Kangaroos, six days, angry, getting on with the next job straight away versus us fairly comfortable with ourselves over 10 days - made a huge difference," Wallace said.
"The fact they were still hard and still ready to go, therefore it actually helped them off six days."
Wallace said the Tigers were too far behind in the second half for the advantage of having fresher legs to kick in.
Players were better off getting matches under their belt and getting into a routine early in the season, Wallace said.
Wallace will have his theory put to the test next Sunday when his team takes on Collingwood, which played its Round 2 match on Friday night.