Interesting day at the MCG today. 74k baked in the sun in 29deg weather. If you're unfortunate enough to be on the southern side of the ground, it's certainly not comfortable in direct sunlight. In fact, it's downright unhealthy given what medical science now knows.
Out on the field, the last quarter was marked by player, after player, after player going down with cramp. It certainly affected the contest. Player fatigue was obviously greater as well, and the capping of interchange in recent years means they get less rest.
Elsewhere across the country, tens and tens of thousands of footballers were engaged in full-scale practice matches. State and community level seasons start in April, which means the full dress rehearsals must be held in March. Plenty of heatstroke and sunburn for the masses as they were cooked in the oven-like temperatures.
I actually don't quite know why it started... it'll be way back in the annals of history somewhere. But footy was always April to September, and cricket was October to March. That's simply how ground tenancies were split.
And over the decades and centuries, for whatever reason, footy has (with a few minor exceptions) remained absolutely glued to vacating on the last Saturday in September.
The AFL has grown into a bigger and bigger beast in that time. in 2024 it's reached another peak. With a four-week finals series, a pre-finals bye for all clubs, the addition of Gather Round, and now the addition of Opening Round, this year's AFL season takes place across 30 weeks.
As we're stubbornly stuck to the last Saturday in September, things just keep getting earlier.
We started on the 7th of March. The AFL are very lucky that Opening Round didn't include Melbourne, where it was 38deg on every day of the long weekend.
It's simple... it's too hot.
Footy was not meant to be played in this heat. It impacts the game and the athletes. Moreso in this era of non-stop running for all positions.
It's terrible for the fans. Moreso in this era of huge, concrete bowl stadiums with little shade and reserved seats. In the flexibility of yesteryear, you might seek shade. Not now. You're crammed in, in direct sunlight with nowhere to go. Absolutely perfect for discomfort, dehydration, sunburn and skin cancer.
People will simply stay home.
Across the bush and the suburbs, footy is increasingly professionalised in the way it's played, but without the medical technology and on-hand care that they have at the elite level. Players swelter in the conditions.
The bottom line...
We really have to stop playing footy in March.
Here's the BOM monthly median temperatures by capital cities for the 1991-2020 dataset.
The solution? Pretty simple really... we have to just push everything back by a month.
In Melbourne, where most games are played, the Oct median temp is 4.1deg lower in October than it is in March. That's a huge difference.
In Adelaide it's also 4.1deg. In Sydney it's 2.5deg. Brisbane 2.1deg.
It Perth it's 6.2deg!
The median temp in Perth in March is 29.6deg! In Brisbane it's 29.2.
You cannot play good football in these temperatures. The players suffer, the spectacle suffers, the fans suffer.
It all needs to go back by a month. Finish at the end of October. Start a month later. Better footy, bigger and happier crowds, healthier fans, healthier players.
A far more enjoyable game to play and watch - and it has to be enjoyable for the future of the game.
It makes no difference to cricket - they lose a month at the start and gain one at the end. International cricket tours don't start until late November anyway, and they're increasingly focused on the Big Bash which is in January.
At state and local levels, it just goes back by a month too. Footy is May to October, Cricket is November to April. Same six months each.
You know it makes sense.
Out on the field, the last quarter was marked by player, after player, after player going down with cramp. It certainly affected the contest. Player fatigue was obviously greater as well, and the capping of interchange in recent years means they get less rest.
Elsewhere across the country, tens and tens of thousands of footballers were engaged in full-scale practice matches. State and community level seasons start in April, which means the full dress rehearsals must be held in March. Plenty of heatstroke and sunburn for the masses as they were cooked in the oven-like temperatures.
I actually don't quite know why it started... it'll be way back in the annals of history somewhere. But footy was always April to September, and cricket was October to March. That's simply how ground tenancies were split.
And over the decades and centuries, for whatever reason, footy has (with a few minor exceptions) remained absolutely glued to vacating on the last Saturday in September.
The AFL has grown into a bigger and bigger beast in that time. in 2024 it's reached another peak. With a four-week finals series, a pre-finals bye for all clubs, the addition of Gather Round, and now the addition of Opening Round, this year's AFL season takes place across 30 weeks.
As we're stubbornly stuck to the last Saturday in September, things just keep getting earlier.
We started on the 7th of March. The AFL are very lucky that Opening Round didn't include Melbourne, where it was 38deg on every day of the long weekend.
It's simple... it's too hot.
Footy was not meant to be played in this heat. It impacts the game and the athletes. Moreso in this era of non-stop running for all positions.
It's terrible for the fans. Moreso in this era of huge, concrete bowl stadiums with little shade and reserved seats. In the flexibility of yesteryear, you might seek shade. Not now. You're crammed in, in direct sunlight with nowhere to go. Absolutely perfect for discomfort, dehydration, sunburn and skin cancer.
People will simply stay home.
Across the bush and the suburbs, footy is increasingly professionalised in the way it's played, but without the medical technology and on-hand care that they have at the elite level. Players swelter in the conditions.
The bottom line...
We really have to stop playing footy in March.
Here's the BOM monthly median temperatures by capital cities for the 1991-2020 dataset.
| Melb | Syd | Bris | Adel | Perth | |
| Jan | 27 | 27 | 30.4 | 30 | 31.4 |
| Feb | 26.9 | 26.8 | 30.2 | 29.7 | 31.7 |
| Mar | 24.6 | 25.7 | 29.2 | 26.6 | 29.6 |
| Apr | 21.1 | 23.6 | 27.2 | 23 | 25.9 |
| May | 17.6 | 20.9 | 24.5 | 19 | 22.3 |
| Jun | 15.1 | 18.3 | 22.1 | 16.2 | 19.4 |
| Jul | 14.5 | 17.9 | 22 | 15.6 | 18.5 |
| Aug | 15.9 | 19.3 | 23.4 | 16.7 | 19.1 |
| Sep | 18.1 | 21.6 | 25.7 | 19.3 | 20.6 |
| Oct | 20.5 | 23.2 | 27.1 | 22.5 | 23.4 |
| Nov | 22.9 | 24.2 | 28.3 | 25.4 | 26.8 |
| Dec | 24.8 | 25.7 | 29.6 | 27 | 29.5 |
The solution? Pretty simple really... we have to just push everything back by a month.
In Melbourne, where most games are played, the Oct median temp is 4.1deg lower in October than it is in March. That's a huge difference.
In Adelaide it's also 4.1deg. In Sydney it's 2.5deg. Brisbane 2.1deg.
It Perth it's 6.2deg!
The median temp in Perth in March is 29.6deg! In Brisbane it's 29.2.
You cannot play good football in these temperatures. The players suffer, the spectacle suffers, the fans suffer.
It all needs to go back by a month. Finish at the end of October. Start a month later. Better footy, bigger and happier crowds, healthier fans, healthier players.
A far more enjoyable game to play and watch - and it has to be enjoyable for the future of the game.
It makes no difference to cricket - they lose a month at the start and gain one at the end. International cricket tours don't start until late November anyway, and they're increasingly focused on the Big Bash which is in January.
At state and local levels, it just goes back by a month too. Footy is May to October, Cricket is November to April. Same six months each.
You know it makes sense.
with you.
