The AFL remains one of the few sports in the world where players' names are not featured on the backs of guernseys, and North Melbourne champion Brent Harvey and Greater Western Sydney coach Kevin Sheedy want that to change.
Both men, who have 1200 AFL games of playing and coaching experience between them, would not hesitate to introduce the names this season - thus bringing the AFL into line with international cricket and soccer as well as America's football, basketball, baseball and hockey leagues.
But the veteran duo would settle for the ''baby step'' of trialling the concept in the NAB Cup.
Harvey said the move would create a stronger connection between players and supporters, and help wipe out the relative anonymity that exists for some low-profile players among fans who don't watch them play regularly.
''I reckon it's a big goer, it just makes sense,'' said Harvey, who has seen the game evolve in countless ways during his 17 years and 346 games.
''All the sport I watch, they all have their names on the back. It's not so much for guys like myself who have been around a long time - people know who we are,'' he said.
''But there are so many players who swap and change teams now with free agency … guys getting delisted, new guys getting drafted, rookies getting promoted - just the change of numbers through the season - I reckon the fans would appreciate it.
''I know when I go and watch the opposition, if I see a young guy I don't know, straightaway you look down at the AFL Record.
''Now, you do that 10 times a quarter, then you're missing all the action. I just think it's a no-brainer.''
Sheedy is a long-time believer in promoting a player's name as well as his number, and was a driving force in convincing the AFL to allow Greater Western Sydney to display its players' names during the club's first NAB Cup appearance in 2011 - a special concession that marked the first such break in the game's long history.
The idea was designed to help fans recognise and connect with the Giants' then-unknown teenagers, but Sheedy's recent trip to the headquarters of English soccer powerhouse Manchester United has reinforced to him the opportunities that the AFL and supporters are missing.
''It's that simple that we sometimes miss what should be obvious,'' the four-time premiership coach said.
''In a basic case like Gold Coast or Greater Western Sydney - god, you think you would be doing it at 100 miles an hour, wouldn't you?
''A lot of people in New South Wales and Queensland wouldn't know who our best players are.
''When you see the bloke's name on the back of the jumper, then you follow him.
''Don't we want to be promoting a name like Lance Franklin? Not No. 23. It's hard to Google a number, isn't it?
''We want to get crowds and we want them to know what our players' names are.
''You don't see Bunnings Warehouse running around Australia without its name on its logo, do you?''
The AFL's stance is simply that there has been no reason to change the game's traditional method for identifying players.
AFL spokesman Patrick Keane also pointed to the recent trend of clubs using numbers to create their own legacies, the mystique of which could be threatened by adding a name, although could theoretically remain intact.
Such legacies include the son of a former player wearing his father's guernsey, players taking on the number of a past player with which they share a likeness, or reserving the numbers of club greats for specific draft picks.
Aesthetically, Harvey likes the look of the name and number combination in other sports.
Although finding adequate space on the back of AFL jumpers is a consideration, given most clubs feature sponsorship underneath the numbers, and another minority - such as the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane Lions - have initials such as ''FFC'' above the number to recognise aspects of their history.
The names-on-jumpers concept is not on the AFL's radar, but it would be considered if a club or party raised the issue.
Sheedy said he believed change was only a matter of time.
''We've got to learn quicker than this, and the AFL will talk about marketing and how it's a point of difference for them,'' he said.
''But the best way to talk about it is the 'fors' and 'againsts', and the 'fors' would be a hell of a lot more than the 'againsts', surely?
''The AFL will have to listen to the fans sooner or later.''
Harvey agreed, saying the AFL had shown in the past that it was willing to make changes at the expense of tradition.
''They trial every other rule or change [in the pre-season competition], so why not this?'' the Kangaroo veteran said.
''It would be fascinating to have our names on our jumpers just for the NAB Cup, and then do a little survey just to see what the fans thought - we put on the show for them, so they should get a little bit of a say.''
Article first published in The Age Newspaper (online edition) on 17 January, 2013. See original article here: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/names-on-jumpers-a-nobrainer-20130117-2cw65.html#ixzz2cCoZJDEd