Collingwood forward Mason Cox threw out an interesting idea on Twitter on the weekend.

Why not play an AFL premiership game in Los Angeles?

Port Adelaide are playing games in China, St Kilda have played three matches in New Zealand, so why not Los Angeles, too?

Well, I’m not a big fan of playing AFL games overseas.

I understand the idea, bringing our national game to a new market in the hopes it grows exponentially.

But the idea of teams travelling such long distances mid-season is unfair - not just to the fans, but to the players as well.

The drain of the long-flight, sitting cramped for hours on end, it’s only going to add to recovery time.

And for the fans, they want to see their team playing in front of their own eyes in their hometown.

How would a game in Los Angeles affect television rights given the time difference?

You either play a lunch-time game in the US - at about 4am in Australia - or a night time game in LA that airs locally mid-morning… Not exactly ideal.

There’s another big reason I don’t endorse the overseas matches and it’s an obvious one - money.

If the league itself is spending cash that can be better used here in Australia, then I’m definitely against overseas games.

Focus on our competition, spend the money on grassroots, young girls and boys competitions and the country clubs that are really struggling.

Our competition is not as healthy as it looks, there are teams not making any money.

The conversation can turn to post-season and pre-season to hold international exhibition matches.

Here’s the thing, we’ve held countless post-season games across the globe - Vancouver in 1987, Yokohama in 1986, Cape Town in 1997… Not to mention the dozens of games in the United States and London.

But is there really much point? Players don’t put in the effort, some of the big names don’t even travel… this new market is seeing a lukewarm version of our game.

As for pre-season, you would have to substantially change your program to accommodate a match overseas.

Do you play three weeks out? Earlier? The last thing players should be doing before the season starts is embarking on a long and arduous journey...

I just don’t see how the matches would fit in the calendar.

There are of course upsides, particularly in identifying talent abroad - Cox being a prime example.

It’s the idea of getting footballs in people’s hands at a younger age - whether that be for a Sudanese background or a US college background.

The sooner they develop their relationship with football, the better.

But I think if clubs want to go hunting for the next overseas prodigy, they should be doing that off their own back, not on the AFL’s dime.

Focus on our own competition and let’s be satisfied that it’s the national game.

Dale Lewis is the co-host of Triple M’s The Rush Hour with Jars & Louie, weekdays from 3-4pm and 6-7pm.

Lewis played 182 games for the Sydney Swans between 1990 and 2001.