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- Jun 11, 2017
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https://downtheguts.com/2018/04/13/where-should-the-afl-grand-final-be-played/
Where should the AFL Grand Final be played?
With the recent announcement that the MCG will continue to host the AFL Grand Final until at least the year 2057, it got us thinking – in this era of the ‘national competition’, is it right that the decider is always held at the same venue and a venue that potentially disadvantages a club that has worked for 22 weeks to earn an advantage?
When it comes to most things AFL related, I’m a staunch traditionalist. I grew up in an era where the Panasonic/Fosters/Ansett/NAB Cup was played midweek in February and early March and I liked the idea of watching footy on a school night in my summer pj’s. I loved travelling to the different suburban grounds and enjoyed cheering on the reserves prior to the seniors, whilst looking at my footy record (bought for less than a dollar) trying to work out who ‘A’ and ‘B’ were on the old-style scoreboards to see what was happening in the other half dozen games that were being played at the same time as the one I was at. I love tuning into the Brownlow Medal the Monday of Grand Final week and hope like hell the Grand Final remains a ‘day’ game.
But all my traditionalist values go out the window when it comes to the issue of always playing the Grand Final at the MCG. I think it is criminally unfair that a side like Adelaide last season, who were the undisputed dominant best home and away side, who finished on top of the ladder after the home and away season, had to play a Grand Final at the home ground of their opponent. I understand the AFL have an obligation to their corporates and to the fans to have as many people get in to watch the Grand Final as possible and from an historic and cultural perspective it’s hard to imagine a Grand Final not being at the MCG, but surely as a game, we’ve moved beyond the need to satisfy corporates and put tradition above what is fair?
The knockers will say ‘what about the NRL, NFL and FA Cup’ where, in those competitions, the venue for the decider is always at the same venue, or in the case of the NFL a pre-determined venue prior to the season. But for every sport or contest where there’s a neutral venue to decide the champions, there’s just as many who reward the best-performed teams of the regular season. The A-League, NBA and NHL all ensure that the advantage sits with the best-performed sides throughout their finals series and in my opinion, it is simply fairer to do it that way and ignore any other factor.
History is littered with sides who’ve been dealt a poor hand by the AFL’s pre-determined fixturing, contract obligations with venues and in some cases, ‘rules on the run’. In some instances, it made no difference, but in others, clearly had a huge impact.
In the mid 90’s to mid 00’s, there was a ridiculous rule that at least one final per week had to be played at the MCG. In 1996, this forced the Eagles (who finished 4th and won their first final) to face the Bombers in a cut-throat final at the Bombers home venue of the MCG. Essendon finished 6th and lost to Brisbane in their first final. But due to the contractural requirement, West Coast were not allowed to host Essendon because Brisbane were playing a final in Brisbane and ‘outranked’ West Coast. End result – Essendon routed the Eagles to the tune of 77 points. The Eagles were again on the receiving end in 1999 when they were forced to play Carlton at the MCG in a final when ordinarily they should’ve hosted the Blues. It ended just as bad that time too with a 54 point belting. Finally, before the rule changed, Brisbane were required to travel to the MCG to play Geelong in the 2004 Preliminary Final despite Brisbane having every right to play that game at the Gabba. The Lions prevailed, but did it hamper their chances the following week against the Power who were afforded the luxury of a home Preliminary Final by virtue of finishing on top of the ladder? We’ll never know for sure.
Even in recent seasons the AFL have marched to the beat of their own drum with respect to finals venues. Despite Andrew Demetriou assuring a month or two before the 2013 finals that a final wouldn’t be played at Kardinia Park, the message changed in the fortnight leading into September where it was declared that only if Geelong are drawn to host Fremantle, would the game be played in Geelong. A decision based purely on dollars and cents (not sense). Sure enough, Geelong were drawn against the Dockers and were allowed to host Fremantle in their own backyard. Didn’t help them as the Dockers upset the Cats but fast forward just three and four years and when Geelong finished second in both 2016 and 2017 they were denied the ability to play a home final at Kardinia Park, purely because their opponents were big crowd-drawing clubs Hawthorn and Richmond.
My point is that the AFL are happy to bend and tweak the rules when it suits them, however, when they have the opportunity to truly reward the best team of the home and away season by granting them the ability to play a home Grand Final, irrespective of the almighty dollar, they won’t budge. Let us know your thoughts…
https://downtheguts.com/2018/04/13/where-should-the-afl-grand-final-be-played/
Where should the AFL Grand Final be played?
With the recent announcement that the MCG will continue to host the AFL Grand Final until at least the year 2057, it got us thinking – in this era of the ‘national competition’, is it right that the decider is always held at the same venue and a venue that potentially disadvantages a club that has worked for 22 weeks to earn an advantage?
When it comes to most things AFL related, I’m a staunch traditionalist. I grew up in an era where the Panasonic/Fosters/Ansett/NAB Cup was played midweek in February and early March and I liked the idea of watching footy on a school night in my summer pj’s. I loved travelling to the different suburban grounds and enjoyed cheering on the reserves prior to the seniors, whilst looking at my footy record (bought for less than a dollar) trying to work out who ‘A’ and ‘B’ were on the old-style scoreboards to see what was happening in the other half dozen games that were being played at the same time as the one I was at. I love tuning into the Brownlow Medal the Monday of Grand Final week and hope like hell the Grand Final remains a ‘day’ game.
But all my traditionalist values go out the window when it comes to the issue of always playing the Grand Final at the MCG. I think it is criminally unfair that a side like Adelaide last season, who were the undisputed dominant best home and away side, who finished on top of the ladder after the home and away season, had to play a Grand Final at the home ground of their opponent. I understand the AFL have an obligation to their corporates and to the fans to have as many people get in to watch the Grand Final as possible and from an historic and cultural perspective it’s hard to imagine a Grand Final not being at the MCG, but surely as a game, we’ve moved beyond the need to satisfy corporates and put tradition above what is fair?
The knockers will say ‘what about the NRL, NFL and FA Cup’ where, in those competitions, the venue for the decider is always at the same venue, or in the case of the NFL a pre-determined venue prior to the season. But for every sport or contest where there’s a neutral venue to decide the champions, there’s just as many who reward the best-performed teams of the regular season. The A-League, NBA and NHL all ensure that the advantage sits with the best-performed sides throughout their finals series and in my opinion, it is simply fairer to do it that way and ignore any other factor.
History is littered with sides who’ve been dealt a poor hand by the AFL’s pre-determined fixturing, contract obligations with venues and in some cases, ‘rules on the run’. In some instances, it made no difference, but in others, clearly had a huge impact.
In the mid 90’s to mid 00’s, there was a ridiculous rule that at least one final per week had to be played at the MCG. In 1996, this forced the Eagles (who finished 4th and won their first final) to face the Bombers in a cut-throat final at the Bombers home venue of the MCG. Essendon finished 6th and lost to Brisbane in their first final. But due to the contractural requirement, West Coast were not allowed to host Essendon because Brisbane were playing a final in Brisbane and ‘outranked’ West Coast. End result – Essendon routed the Eagles to the tune of 77 points. The Eagles were again on the receiving end in 1999 when they were forced to play Carlton at the MCG in a final when ordinarily they should’ve hosted the Blues. It ended just as bad that time too with a 54 point belting. Finally, before the rule changed, Brisbane were required to travel to the MCG to play Geelong in the 2004 Preliminary Final despite Brisbane having every right to play that game at the Gabba. The Lions prevailed, but did it hamper their chances the following week against the Power who were afforded the luxury of a home Preliminary Final by virtue of finishing on top of the ladder? We’ll never know for sure.
Even in recent seasons the AFL have marched to the beat of their own drum with respect to finals venues. Despite Andrew Demetriou assuring a month or two before the 2013 finals that a final wouldn’t be played at Kardinia Park, the message changed in the fortnight leading into September where it was declared that only if Geelong are drawn to host Fremantle, would the game be played in Geelong. A decision based purely on dollars and cents (not sense). Sure enough, Geelong were drawn against the Dockers and were allowed to host Fremantle in their own backyard. Didn’t help them as the Dockers upset the Cats but fast forward just three and four years and when Geelong finished second in both 2016 and 2017 they were denied the ability to play a home final at Kardinia Park, purely because their opponents were big crowd-drawing clubs Hawthorn and Richmond.
My point is that the AFL are happy to bend and tweak the rules when it suits them, however, when they have the opportunity to truly reward the best team of the home and away season by granting them the ability to play a home Grand Final, irrespective of the almighty dollar, they won’t budge. Let us know your thoughts…
https://downtheguts.com/2018/04/13/where-should-the-afl-grand-final-be-played/
