AFLX live coverage Group 2: Carlton, Essendon, Hawthorn, Melbourne, North Melbourne and St Kilda

MELBOURNE fans will take plenty from the Demons’ AFLX grand final win and Essendon has thrown its support behind the concept despite two losses. RECAP

ESSENDON midfielder David Zaharakis says he would put his hand up to play AFLX again next year as the league last night cautioned critics that the game was still in a “hugely experimental” phase.

A crowd of 22,585 attended the six-team round-robin at Etihad Stadium last night, landing right in the middle of expectations of 20-25,000. RECAP ALL THE NIGHT TWO ACTION BELOW Zaharakis, a veteran of 170 AFL games, said the lively crowd had contributed to an enjoyable night and he would happily take to the field again if the concept continues. “It’s definitely better than training, going out there and playing,” Zaharakis said. JON ANDERSON: AFLX SHOWCASES THE GREAT ASPECTS OF FOOTY NIGHT ONE: EXCITING OR CIRCLE WORK? FANS DIVIDED ON AFLX DEBATE: WAS AFLX BETTER THAN INTERNATIONAL RULES? “It’s a spectacle out there, it’s good, the fans obviously got into it. There’s a big crowd there tonight so I think I definitely would be (playing again) if Skipper (Essendon coach Hayden Skipworth) would have me again. “It’s interesting that as soon as a goal’s kicked you’ve already got to set up defence or try to move somewhere in attack so from that principle of snapping into defence or offence quickly it’s actually really good to take into the season. “It’s really good for the young guys to learn how quick the game can be and how those decisions have to be made.” Carlton young gun Jack Silvagni was another player advocate, saying while there was a few differences the new game was ultimately “just footy”. “Nothing really changes. Kick it through the big sticks more than the other team you win generally,” he said. “I thought it was really good. It’s nice not to play against your teammates after four months playing against them. To come up against some opposition is a good platform for the season ahead.” SuperCoach 2018 HiPages AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said the game had already made advances between Thursday night’s Adelaide round-robin and last night. “The footy’s better, certainly more physical than it was last night. It’s fun and we’ll certainly keep learning from it,” he said on Fox Footy. “I reckon it would be good for a forward and back to have to stay in the 40m arc so you have more one-on-one contests. There are a lot of ideas coming in and it’s obviously a hugely experimental weekend.” RECAP ALL THE NIGHT TWO ACTION BELOW

Originally published as AFLX live coverage Group 2: Carlton, Essendon, Hawthorn, Melbourne, North Melbourne and St Kilda