CRAIG Jennings says AFLX was "good fun" and has encouraged the AFL to keep pushing the concept.

Jennings, who coached Melbourne to victory in the Melbourne-based AFLX Grand Final, said it was a great opportunity to be part of.

“I understand where the AFL is going with it. If it introduces more people to the game, then I think it’s a great thing. I’m surprised by some of the negativity of the concept, because it’s not trying to replace the AFL,” he said. 

“There are ground shortages and there are parents that don't want their kids to play footy. I know my boys go to school and they never touch a footy at that school. They only play soccer, so if this introduces more people to the game … then I think it’s a great thing. We can use this as a stepping stone to the main game.

“If they want to play a variation of it overseas, then that’s great."

Jennings said he was pleased with the Grand Final win over Hawthorn at Etihad Stadium on Friday because “we just did it our way”.

“A lot of teams were playing practice matches and trial games. We played 10 minutes of practice time, so nothing we did with AFLX leading up impacted our planning for round one and that’s a really good thing,” he said.

“Importantly for Goody (Simon Goodwin), who I thank for the opportunity to coach, was able to focus on round one.

"I’ve worked with him for seven years now and we work really well together.”