COACH Paul Roos says the inequity of the AFL fixture remains a big issue, but squeezing 18 teams into a 22-round fixture remains a massive challenge for the AFL.

Although a 17-5 fixture has been floated – where every club plays each other once in their first 17 matches, before it is split into three groups of six, based on each club's position on the ladder, potentially after round 18 – Roos said several issues would have to be addressed under a new fixture.

“It’s something on everyone’s mind, but it’s tough when you’ve got 18 teams and 22 rounds,” he said on Roos’ Views.

“The AFL is thinking through things, which they generally do pretty well, and they’re trying to come up with some alternatives.

“I must admit I don’t have an alternative, but I think the fairest thing, which I’m sure we all agree on, is that everyone plays each other once, but that means it gets cut back to 17 weeks.

“Can you extend the finals? [What does it mean] for the broadcasters and the players? It’s a bit of an issue and it needs to be looked at.”

Meanwhile, Roos said Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes, who announced his retirement on Thursday, was one of the most underrated players of the modern era.

“I’ve known Kane since he was a little boy – four or five years old. Him and his brother Chad,” he said.

“He visited my house out in North Ringwood and we had some fun times and I’ve been able to stay in contact with him over all of these years and watch him grow up into a great footballer. He’s probably one of the more underrated in more recent years.

“You look at his [career] – four best and fairests, a couple of All-Australians and a premiership player. He’ll finish off playing 300 games, so it’s a great career and a testament to his professionalism and the way he went about his footy.

“He’s a really good young fella – well, not so young now, but still young compared to me.”