FORGET this nonsene about not allowing AFL players to bet on themselves - they should be able to for the benefit of supporters and the competition.
In fact, let's take it a step further and make players bet their full match payment on their team to win each week.
If this was to happen, can you imagine how much harder these so-called professionals would try to win.
There's a belief in the wider community that AFL players are paid too much and with that comes a risk of complacency when they get on the field.
Too many times, at the peril of their supporters, teams are not performing to their best.
Sure, you're dealing with human beings, but money talks all languages, and we all want more of it.
Fair enough, players can keep their annual salary in their back pockets, but when it comes to match payments they should let it ride.
You'd get better games - and the perennial worry about tanking towards the end of the season in order to get better draft picks would, in part, be averted.
Now, we all know the AFL is highly unlikely to allow this because they have strict regulations in place that prevent any official at any club betting on the sport - but they should review it.
If a player gets $5000 per game you'd have a combined pool of $220,000 for a match between two sides and their 22 players.
Make it a ``winner takes all'' situation so the incentive to players for a win is a doubling of their match payment from $5000 to $10,000.
Lose and you get nothing.
This will create fierce inner-club competition for players wanting to be picked in the side and a fierce on field battle between the 44 players on the park.
Maybe this sounds like a crazy idea but let's open it up for debate - the competiton needs it and so do the hundreds of thousands of supporters around the country.
We all want more bang for our buck so let's make the players earn their exorbitant wages by backing themselves.
Supporters feel empty when their team loses but knowing the players don't get a cent would offer them some consolation.
Any thoughts?