Grand moves: AFL ponders concessions for non-Victorian clubs on footy’s biggest day

The Brisbane Lions’ 2023 expansive last week experience, which near the club’s shot unit exhausted, the families of immoderate coaches and unit incapable to spend the outgo of attending the game, manager Chris Fagan “poked and prodded”, and Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale the people of changeless maltreatment during the expansive last eve parade, has provoked the AFL to marque a bid of applicable and argumentation changes successful the lead-up to the 2024 premiership play-off.

With Sydney favourites to scope their 5th expansive last nether manager John Longmire, the AFL Commission is expected to screen the costs for non-Victorian expansive last teams to walk the week successful Melbourne starring up to the past Saturday successful September if they take and marque mode for further soft-cap backing to let the families of players, coaches and shot unit to question to Victoria for the game.

Dejected Brisbane Lions players aft past year’s expansive last loss.Credit: Paul Rovere

The AFL volition besides look to widen the grooming availability of the MCG during expansive last week. The changes are among those expected to travel pursuing a lengthy papers presented to the AFL by Fagan, seen by this masthead, and the different 7 non-Victorian coaches. However, Fagan’s push, powerfully supported by a fig of non-Victorian coaches, for a pre-grand last week bye, looks unlikely.

Fagan consulted commissioner and erstwhile Brisbane and Sydney main Andrew Ireland and wrote to the AFL aft the 2023 play noting the immense differences helium experienced arsenic Brisbane Lions manager compared with his erstwhile relation arsenic a elder shot enforcement astatine the Hawks during their expansive last week campaigns.

He was encouraged by Andrew Dillon to enactment his observations successful penning aft a speech with the caller AFL brag soon aft the expansive final. Longmire (Sydney) and Adam Kingsley (Greater Western Sydney) besides contributed to the AFL papers entitled: “The lawsuit for fairer attraction of interstate clubs.”

Stressing that the Lions successful 2023 mislaid to a amended squad connected the time successful Collingwood, Fagan said Brisbane’s problems during expansive last week were not the crushed the nine was defeated. However, helium pointed retired the historical challenges faced by non-Victorian clubs to triumph premierships connected the MCG against Victorian teams and the immense logistical demands of expansive last week faced by interstate teams.

‘You’re treated similar it’s the America’s Cup and you’re the challenger.’

Pointing retired that the expansive last statement with the MCG was improbable to change, Fagan said the AFL should determination to mitigate that ongoing home-ground advantage. He has pushed for:

*More MCG home-and-away fixtures for non-Victorian clubs.

*Non-Victorian clubs allowed to bid connected the MCG 3 times successful expansive last week.

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*Non-Victorian teams funded to walk the afloat week successful Melbourne should they privation successful the lead-up to the expansive final.

*An other week disconnected successful the lead-up to the expansive last to mitigate the other logistical demands faced by competing clubs from extracurricular Victoria arsenic good expanding subordinate availability.

*The AFL to screen each question and accommodation costs for the partners and children of players and staff, a outgo not incurred by Victorian clubs.

Fagan said that 1 of his adjunct coaches could not spend the outgo of flying his household to and accommodating his household successful Melbourne for the expansive final, with costs estimated astatine betwixt $6000 to $7000. His comments were powerfully supported by different non-Victorian clubs fixed the AFL does not screen specified costs against a backdrop of hose and edifice complaint hikes during expansive last week.

“My acquisition astatine the Hawks tells maine that the biggest issues for Melbourne-based clubs are ticketing, who gets into the rooms aft the game, and however we get to the after-match celebrations,” wrote Fagan. “The Lions footy ops unit were exhausted by the clip we got to Melbourne, which is simply a existent pity and unnecessary.”

Lachie Neale and Chris Fagan astatine past year’s expansive last parade.Credit: Eddie Jim

The committee changes should beryllium timely fixed the beardown likelihood that Sydney volition suffice for the 2024 expansive final. On existent ladder positions, the Swans would instrumentality connected 1 of 3 large Melbourne-based clubs successful Carlton, Essendon oregon Collingwood.

Longmire has coached the Swans successful 4 expansive finals – each against Victorian teams – for 1 win. That 2012 triumph implicit Hawthorn was 1 of lone 2 occasions from the past 10 expansive finals betwixt a non-Victorian and Victorian squad successful which the visiting squad has won.

The non-Victorian coaches’ papers pushed for fixture changes, backing for much signifier games against clubs from different states, a nationalist reserves competition, other soft-cap backing for non-Victorian coaches successful Sydney, household salary-cap exclusions, and all-state practice connected the All-Australian enactment panel, which presently has nary Queensland representative. They did enactment the caller AFL authorities nether Dillon had reversed the inclination of Zoom meetings with clubs extracurricular Victoria and were spending much clip travelling for nine visits.

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Fagan’s observations person received beardown enactment from each non-Victorian nine that has contested a expansive last implicit the past decade. One nine president from extracurricular Victoria observed: “You’re treated similar it’s the America’s Cup and you’re the challenger.”

Brisbane’s effort astatine a 4th consecutive premiership successful 2004 was disadvantaged by the then-AFL statement with the MCG, which guaranteed the stadium 1 preliminary final. Not lone were the higher-placed Lions forced to big Geelong successful Melbourne, but different woody struck betwixt then-league brag Andrew Demetriou and big broadcaster Channel Ten dictated that the crippled was scheduled connected Saturday night.

As a effect Brisbane could not instrumentality location until Sunday, handing eventual premiers Port Adelaide a importantly longer break.

That MCG woody was changed successful 2005, but adjacent caller past is punctuated with examples of the competition’s cavalier attraction of non-Victorian clubs successful finals. Notably successful 2013 erstwhile – successful a extremist interruption from contented – Fremantle was sent to Kardinia Park to play Geelong successful a qualifying final.

The world of Melbourne’s spot astatine the bosom of the AFL manufacture and the information the expansive last is contractually tied to the MCG until 2059 underline the applicable disadvantages to clubs based extracurricular Victoria.

But the information that Sydney played their past home-and-away crippled for the play astatine the MCG successful circular 7 and Collingwood play 7 of their past 8 astatine the expansive last venue underlines the home-ground advantage. While second-placed Carlton play less games astatine the MCG (nine successful play ’24) the Blues question from Melbourne conscionable doubly successful their past 11 home-and-away games.

The pursuing instances mightiness look petty, but they are besides symbolic. In 2015 West Coast entered the finals arsenic ladder leaders but were placed beneath Hawthorn connected the MCG scoreboard connected expansive last time with the Hawks besides handed archetypal prime of venue for their post-match function.

In 2016 astatine the expansive last parade some handles of the premiership cupful were tied with the Bulldogs’ coloured ribbons of red, achromatic and blue. Cup ambassador Michael O’Loughlin asked for 1 grip to beryllium changed to adorn Sydney’s reddish and achromatic but was refused.

Chris Fagan congratulates Magpies counterpart Craig McRae aft past year’s decider.Credit: AFL Photos

The Fagan papers stressed enactment for the expansive finalparade but suggested immoderate clip and abstraction restrictions aft supporters were capable to interaction players and coaches past year. Fagan described the maltreatment directed astatine Neale, who won the 2023 Brownlow, which Collingwood fans thought Nick Daicos should person won, arsenic “relentless” and “deeply idiosyncratic and, to beryllium honest, unacceptable”.

Fagan and Andrew Dillon were contacted for comment.

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