News AFL proposing mid-October Grand Final for 2026 and 2027

[GenericUsername202]

Everyone prefers night games over day games until the grand final comes around. Especially on bigfooty. It's cringe how you lot go around saying day football is the greatest thing ever, yet most day games are filled un half empty stadiums, ratings are average, and there's usually only 17 posts on bigfooty gameday boards. Night games are where it is at. I'm all for being traditional, but you're all stuck in the past. Get on with the times, honestly.

 

[Dan26]

Everyone prefers night games over day games until the grand final comes around. Especially on bigfooty. It's cringe how you lot go around saying day football is the greatest thing ever, yet most day games are filled un half empty stadiums, ratings are average, and there's usually only 17 posts on bigfooty gameday boards. Night games are where it is at. I'm all for being traditional, but you're all stuck in the past. Get on with the times, honestly.

Exactly. Playing the Grand Final at night is the most obvious no-brainer. It should have happened 20 years ago. Every other final is at night. Mot big games during the year are at night. There is no genuine reason continue to play the biggest game of the year in the most TV dead-timeslot. None.

 

[Dan26]

Why does anyone want to get rid of the pre-finals bye?

It was brought in to protect the integrity of the final round, which it has. Teams don't rest half their squad in the last round like they used to.

In addition it has created a two week build up for the first week of the finals, which has meant we have seen massive crowds. 97K to WB v Haw, 70+K to StK v GWS, those sort of numbers were unheard of previously.

And finally it has meant that teams 5-8, if they are good enough to win 3 games, including 2 as the away side, can make the GF.

Remove the pre-finals bye and we are bringing in a big risk. Something like that St Kilda v Fremantle game a few years ago was arguably harmless because St Kilda couldn't make the finals and had a win that didn't mean much. But imagine if they were 9th and their free pass against the Dockers kicked another team out of the finals?

This system gets rid of the pre-finals bye and also keeps it for the top-6 teams. We need a final-10 in a 19-team league.

WEEK 1
1st elimination final: 7 v 10
2nd elimination Final: 8 v 9

WEEK 2
1st Semi Final: 1st vs lowest ranked Elimination final winner (1 v 8)
2nd Semi Final: 2nd vs highest ranked Elimination final winner (2 v 7)
3rd Semi Final : 3 v 6
4th Semi Final : 4 v 5

WEEK 3
1st Preliminary Final: highest ranked team vs lowest ranked team (1 v 4)
2nd Preliminary Final: 2nd-highest ranked team vs 2nd lowest ranked team (2 v 3)

WEEK 4
Bye

WEEK 5
Grand Final (1 v 2) - Night Grand Final obviously.

That way, the path to the premiership for the top teams is:

Bye
Match
Match
Bye
Match

Instead of the current system where the path to the premiership is:

Bye
Match
Bye
Match
Match

 

[Clark G]

People on BF will sook as always but the night GF will shatter viewership records, including in expansion markets, and SoO will also be a success in the short term at minimum. People will watch and attend, and it sounds like players are keen, especially if it replaces a preseason game in some woop woop country town

Which players have said they are keen?

 

[Kappa]

Which players have said they are keen?

The players brought it up in their annual meeting with the AFL head honchos.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

Everyone prefers night games over day games until the grand final comes around. Especially on bigfooty. It's cringe how you lot go around saying day football is the greatest thing ever, yet most day games are filled un half empty stadiums, ratings are average, and there's usually only 17 posts on bigfooty gameday boards. Night games are where it is at. I'm all for being traditional, but you're all stuck in the past. Get on with the times, honestly.

I don't like night games.
The games may be visually good, but the standard is always lower

 

[Kappa]

Everyone prefers night games over day games until the grand final comes around. Especially on bigfooty. It's cringe how you lot go around saying day football is the greatest thing ever, yet most day games are filled un half empty stadiums, ratings are average, and there's usually only 17 posts on bigfooty gameday boards. Night games are where it is at. I'm all for being traditional, but you're all stuck in the past. Get on with the times, honestly.

This x100

People just love to complain

 

[Whiskers]

Everyone prefers night games over day games until the grand final comes around. Especially on bigfooty. It's cringe how you lot go around saying day football is the greatest thing ever, yet most day games are filled un half empty stadiums, ratings are average, and there's usually only 17 posts on bigfooty gameday boards. Night games are where it is at. I'm all for being traditional, but you're all stuck in the past. Get on with the times, honestly.

Too simplistic a take.
We are busy during the year, local footy is on or kids sports/parties events during the day, even work.
When we/I get a chance to go to the footy during the day I absolutely love it.

However on GF day it’s an event, we set the day aside to watch it.
No one plans anything on this day. We can all watch footy when we really want to watch it.

Quality of day football is superior.

 

[jdeezy]

This system gets rid of the pre-finals bye and also keeps it for the top-6 teams. We need a final-10 in a 19-team league.

WEEK 1
1st elimination final: 7 v 10
2nd elimination Final: 8 v 9

WEEK 2
1st Semi Final: 1st vs lowest ranked Elimination final winner (1 v 8)
2nd Semi Final: 2nd vs highest ranked Elimination final winner (2 v 7)
3rd Semi Final : 3 v 6
4th Semi Final : 4 v 5

WEEK 3
1st Preliminary Final: highest ranked team vs lowest ranked team (1 v 4)
2nd Preliminary Final: 2nd-highest ranked team vs 2nd lowest ranked team (2 v 3)

WEEK 4
Bye

WEEK 5
Grand Final (1 v 2) - Night Grand Final obviously.

That way, the path to the premiership for the top teams is:

Bye
Match
Match
Bye
Match

Instead of the current system where the path to the premiership is:

Bye
Match
Bye
Match
Match

I like this. The only thing to consider is it wipes away the double chance entirely. I don't necessarily mind that because how it is now it's really more of a "guaranteed entry to week 2 of the finals", but your system does mean a team could be top all year and have an off week to 10th and be done which is pretty brutal. Entertaining, mind you, but brutal.

Maybe you pair this with a stronger incentive (cash but also raising the prestige somehow) of finishing the home and away season top of the ladder? That way in that case the season wouldn't be entirely "wasted" for that top team. Hard part would be getting the general public who have always been conditioned to only value premierships to care but with how popular the Premier League is these days maybe now the time to make it a bigger deal.

 

[Dan26]

I like this. The only thing to consider is it wipes away the double chance entirely. I don't necessarily mind that because how it is now it's really more of a "guaranteed entry to week 2 of the finals", but your system does mean a team could be top all year and have an off week to 10th and be done which is pretty brutal. Entertaining, mind you, but brutal.

Maybe you pair this with a stronger incentive (cash but also raising the prestige somehow) of finishing the home and away season top of the ladder? That way in that case the season wouldn't be entirely "wasted" for that top team. Hard part would be getting the general public who have always been conditioned to only value premierships to care but with how popular the Premier League is these days maybe now the time to make it a bigger deal.

Under the current final-8 a team on top of the ladder can be eliminated after one loss in the preliminary Final and the Grand Final without getting a second chance. That's what finals are about - performing on the day. If you have an off day in the Preliminary final in 2025 you can be eliminated after one loss even if you are 25-0 going into the match.

I personally despise double chances with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns.

 

[jdeezy]

Under the current final-8 a team on top of the ladder can be eliminated after one loss in the preliminary Final and the Grand Final without getting a second chance. That's what finals are about - performing on the day. If you have an off day in the Preliminary final in 2025 you can be eliminated after one loss even if you are 25-0 going into the match.

I personally despise double chances with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns.

Yeah I agree - really all finishing top 4 does currently is guarantee you make it to the 2nd week of the finals. If you have an "off week" any other week you're dead. Trust me as a Port fan I've seen it so many times.

I don't necessarily hate the idea of a genuine 2nd chance for the top couple of teams but the current system isn't it anyway.

 

[Billy ray]

Play everyone once.
Knock out top 8 finals series but
Each series is best of 3.
You sweep your series you get a bye.
Grand final remains one game.
Lose home and away games (6 less) but get more finals games (extra 6 weeks) in return

 

[ItsAllAboutMe]

The AFL obsession in extending the season out as far into the calendar is going to backfire.. October is an important part of the VIC racing calendar and they will p155 off the VRC/MRC and the state government.

 

[RCAB]

I don't like night games.
The games may be visually good, but the standard is always lower

The two goals Buddy kicked on the wing, was a night game.

The two best goals Cyril kicked were in night games.

Buddy also loved 13 goals in a night game. That's just off the top of my head with only a few seconds of thought.

 

[Aussie in exile]

The AFL obsession in extending the season out as far into the calendar is going to backfire.. October is an important part of the VIC racing calendar and they will p155 off the VRC/MRC and the state government.

Am i right in thinking that CA has first call on the MCG from 1st October?

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

Am i right in thinking that CA has first call on the MCG from 1st October?

I thought with part of the deal with CV getting Junction Oval upgraded that changed, but the MCG site suggests without explicitly stating it still is 1 October. "shared equally" would suggest 1 October to 31 March is cricket's.
That said, I have no doubt CV and CA would happily sell finals slots in early October most years - when only the ListA Cup and maybe opening round of the Shield are underway.

Tenant Clubs | MCG

www.mcg.org.au

 

[Handsuper47]

Everyone prefers night games over day games until the grand final comes around. Especially on bigfooty. It's cringe how you lot go around saying day football is the greatest thing ever, yet most day games are filled un half empty stadiums, ratings are average, and there's usually only 17 posts on bigfooty gameday boards. Night games are where it is at. I'm all for being traditional, but you're all stuck in the past. Get on with the times, honestly.

Not me, afternoon is the best time for footy. I don't like waiting all day for the game to start.

 

[Clark G]

The two goals Buddy kicked on the wing, was a night game.

The two best goals Cyril kicked were in night games.

Buddy also loved 13 goals in a night game. That's just off the top of my head with only a few seconds of thought.

If you mean the Launceston game, that was a day game.

 

[RCAB]

If you mean the Launceston game, that was a day game.

The game started at 2pm but it was very overcast. Wouldn't been able to play the game without lights in second half.

Sunsets in Tasmania occur half an hour before Melbourne, by the last quarter it was a night game.

 

[Aussie in exile]

I thought with part of the deal with CV getting Junction Oval upgraded that changed, but the MCG site suggests without explicitly stating it still is 1 October. "shared equally" would suggest 1 October to 31 March is cricket's.
That said, I have no doubt CV and CA would happily sell finals slots in early October most years - when only the ListA Cup and maybe opening round of the Shield are underway.

Tenant Clubs | MCG

www.mcg.org.au

I can't see CA being flexible on this after the way they were treated over the Sheffield shield event at the Adelaide oval not unless the AFL come up with a huge compensation financial offer

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

I can't see CA being flexible on this after the way they were treated over the Sheffield shield event at the Adelaide oval not unless the AFL come up with a huge compensation financial offer

I doubt the compensation offer would have to be that big, I mean they would want their pound of flesh for sure. But, financially, the difference between a Shield final at MCG and one at Junction Oval probably favours Junction. Cricketers do ned time playing multiday cricket on the Test venues though, and the final has lost more than enough prestige without losing venues.
So they would demand compensation, but not enough to prevent the (much wealthier) AFL from doing it.

 

[Aussie in exile]

I doubt the compensation offer would have to be that big, I mean they would want their pound of flesh for sure. But, financially, the difference between a Shield final at MCG and one at Junction Oval probably favours Junction. Cricketers do ned time playing multiday cricket on the Test venues though, and the final has lost more than enough prestige without losing venues.
So they would demand compensation, but not enough to prevent the (much wealthier) AFL from doing it.

It is my opinion that CA will look for revenge on the AFL over the Adelaide oval saga, and not being fexible over the MCG or asking for a large compo package, which the AFL will possibly bulk at.