Geelong coach Chris Scott believes the AFL is already a "compromised" competition and a proposed wildcard round would only further hurt the league's integrity.
A day after his twin brother, Essendon coach Brad Scott, slammed the concept, the reigning premiership mentor went even harder.
"We just have, in elite sport by global standards, one of the most compromised competitions that you can possibly imagine," Chris Scott said on Wednesday.
"Uneven numbers (of games against opponents), let's just throw in a Gather Round, compromise the competition even more, if these things are really, really important... they are worthy of thought.
"I would just ask the integrity of the competition is given as much thought."
Incoming AFL boss Andrew Dillon raised the idea of an American-style format after the home-and-away season when he met with the league's chief executives this week.
The NBA introduced a play-in tournament in 2020, pitting teams ranked seventh to 10th in each conference against each other for the last two spots in the top-eight for the playoffs.
It comes as just one-and-a-half games separate fifth-placed Geelong and Gold Coast in 13th as teams outside the top four scrap for the remaining four positions in finals.
The AFL increased the season this year, adding in an extra game for each club to accommodate Gather Round in South Australia.
Scott believed it would be unfair for teams outside of SA to have to play Adelaide and Port Adelaide in Gather Round on a weekend that is supposed to be neutral.
"Maybe when you're administering a competition the integrity of the actual, and the fairness of the draw, should be pretty close to your number one priority," he said.
"Usain Bolt doesn't start at a 10-metre disadvantage in the Olympics final just because he's better than everyone else, but we're sort of forced into that situation because it's probably right that if Collingwood win the premiership that they shouldn't have the easiest draw the following year."
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon sat on the fence, saying the club is yet to formalise its position on the matter.
"I heard Brad Scott's response about inequity and I don't know, I think if you're the club that gets a wildcard at the end you'd be rapt," Lyon said.
"And if you're the team that sits in the finals and the wildcard team beats you, you'd be flat as a tack."
