The end-of-season bye is a lock for 2017 with the AFL Commission looking to financially reward the minor premier from next year as one of several new measures to enhance the longer lead into finals.

While the commission could resist a push to reschedule the Brownlow Medal count from grand final week, there is growing support for a cultural shift that would celebrate the club finishing on top of the ladder after the home-and-away rounds.

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan and his team introduced the contentious bye as a probity measure after coaches Ross Lyon and Brad Scott had challenged the integrity of the competition by resting a raft of players leading into the finals.

Unable to devise legal means to prevent a recurrence of the coaches' tactics, the commission's view was that it was prepared to wear the logistical risks associated with the week off. Now the view is that despite those reservations the bye has proved a clear success.