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Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley does not agree with Eddie McGuire's criticism of the AFL's scheduling of the preliminary finals, after the Magpies president described the situation as "totally ridiculous" and suggested the league had "cocked up".
The Magpies will face GWS in a semi-final at the MCG on Saturday night, which leaves the winner with just a six-day break before a preliminary final against reigning premiers Richmond.
It is just the third time this century that a team will be forced to play a preliminary final on a six-day turnaround.
McGuire was strongly critical of the scheduling on Monday, but Buckley said he did not believe it would be an issue for his players should they beat the Giants.
"The football department doesn't have a problem with it, we have got a game to win on Saturday before it's a live issue," Buckley told radio station SEN.
"The common sense in all of us goes, 'Well there might be a better way'.
"[But] no, it's not front of mind for us. We hope to be able to debunk the hysteria around it at the moment."
The Magpies' encounter with the Giants will take place a day after Hawthorn meet Melbourne in the other semi-final, with the winner to face West Coast in a Perth preliminary final the following Saturday.
McGuire went on the front foot when he interviewed AFL fixtures manager Travis Auld on Melbourne radio on Monday.
"That is an anomaly that seems to me to be totally ridiculous. It makes zero sense whatsoever," McGuire said on Triple M.
"If you just changed one game … and play Richmond on a Saturday night and West Coast on the Friday night, every team would get a seven-day break.
"Why is that not top of mind?"
Auld said Richmond, as minor premiers, had earned the right to host a Friday night match and enjoy an extra day off before the grand final, should it win.
"Where's that in the rule book?" McGuire said.
"You blokes make it up as you go."
Scheduling the Tigers on a Friday night also ensures the strongest possible commercial outcome for the AFL.
The Tigers will head into the preliminary final on a 15-day break. Should they win, they will have eight days rest before the grand final.
McGuire said the AFL could immediately bring greater fairness to the schedule by revising the dates for the preliminary finals, but Auld ruled out any potential change.
"That won't happen," Auld said.
"If you finish on top on the ladder, you should have the opportunity to get a longer break than those that finish below you."
AAP
Topics: australian-football-league, sport, collingwood-3066