''I liken it to taking Black Caviar the week before the Melbourne Cup and running her in some manky country race meeting,'' Harris said on Tuesday. ''We are not rugby league. We don't need a representative game. We have an infinitely better game, we have better crowds and we are different in so many ways.'' The representative game, a one-year trial put together largely to appease major sponsor NAB and broadcasters Channel Seven and Fox Footy, would be scheduled at Etihad Stadium on either Friday, March 7 or Saturday, March 8. Fremantle players, should the fixture go ahead as mooted, would be expected to travel to Melbourne to train for several days leading up to the clash and then return to Melbourne the following week to take on the Magpies in the season opener. But Pavlich has been in talks with the AFL Players Association in recent days and won an assurance that no more than two Dockers would be selected for the game given the tight match turnaround.

Fairfax Media understands Harris made his disapproval clear well before the Dockers were aware they would be taking part in the season opener in Melbourne - during the meeting of the 18 presidents and chief executives in September, shortly before the Brownlow Medal count. He is understood to have asked AFL chiefs to explain the rationale behind the concept, which would be televised in place of the defunct NAB Cup grand final. The clubs were told that the AFL could penalise any selected players who withdrew from the game by standing them down from their respective club's round-one fixture. AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou confirmed the all-stars concept would be trialled in 2014 and, while still being finalised, had the support of the AFLPA, the AFL broadcasters and NAB, although, he conceded, not all of the clubs. ''The grand final captains' concept is one option, although that's not certain,'' he said. ''The details are still being finalised by [AFL executives] Simon Lethlean and Mark Evans. Our preferred option is to trial a representative game involving the best players in the competition with a maximum placed on the number of players from each club.''

It is understood no more than four players would be selected from any one team, with those teams playing in the first week of the split first-round fixture, potentially represented by a maximum of three players and the travelling Dockers a maximum of two. Clubs will also play pre-season practice games over that weekend, reducing any imbalance concerning match preparation on representative footballers. Should Hodge and Pavlich not captain the sides, two other high-profile captains would be chosen and the selection process televised. Premiership coach Alastair Clarkson and Fremantle's Ross Lyon are not expected to coach the trial showcase game, which has been supported by Hodge, Gary Ablett and Scott Pendlebury. While Collingwood is expected to host the season-opener against Fremantle - the start of a tough opening run for the Magpies that includes contests against Sydney and Geelong in the first month - Gold Coast and Richmond (Metricon Stadium, Saturday night, March 15) will also take part in the first week of an unprecedented early start to the season. Loading

The representative game follows the failed international rules series in Ireland. The injured Adam Goodes was unable to take part in the series and the other potential captain, Lance Franklin, failed to honour his commitment to the concept, flying into Ireland late for just the first Test. Its unveiling follows Fairfax Media's revelation that the AFL will further depart from tradition to schedule up to three Sunday night games on Channel Seven next season. Two of those proposed will be blockbusters - a round-three MCG clash hosted by Essendon against Carlton, and a Collingwood-Carlton MCG game on June 29 midway through the school holiday period. A third game may see West Coast take on North Melbourne on June 1.