The AFL's contentious AFLX hybrid format is no certainty to be played this pre-season with key details still being sorted.
The league on Thursday released pre-season fixtures, with each club to play two warm-up games rather than three.
But AFL broadcasting manager Travis Auld refused to say whether AFLX - played on a soccer-sized field between teams of seven - would be played next year.
"We're not really in a position to finalise both the format and when we might program AFLX games," Auld said.
"There's no sticking points, it's just a new product. New products take time to develop.
"We like to (proceed) pretty slowly with that stuff and we want to make sure that our format's right, that our clubs have bought into the product and the journey of what we're trying to do with it."
The AFL have long been keen to explore a shortened format of the game, similar to Twenty20 cricket.
But support has been scarce, with Richmond great Kevin Bartlett last week branding it "a Mickey Mouse game ... (that) would have no interest for fans".
The AFL's pre-season competition will played across three weeks from February 24 with a bye scheduled for each club.
With the season proper starting on March 23, it was expected AFLX could be played either side of the pre-season games.
Unlike previous years, regional grounds will be used in places like Colac, Moe and Wangaratta instead of major venues like Etihad Stadium.
There will also be no double-headers, with every AFL Women's game played as a stand-alone fixture.
Key games include reigning premiers Richmond against Essendon in Wangaratta during the first round and Gold Coast facing Geelong - potentially featuring star recruit Gary Ablett - in Townsville on March 4.
"We think we've struck the right balance with two (games each)," Auld said.
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