Meet the people making sure the AFL grand final is more Killers than Meat Loaf
Before the first bounce, the G’s hallowed turf will have been cut four times. Meet the small army making sure everything from the grass to the beer is perfect for grand final day.
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It’s grand final day and the pressure isn’t just on Richmond and Greater Western Sydney to produce their greatest performance on the last Saturday in September.
From the ground staff who ensure the MCG is in pristine condition and the caterers tasked with keeping tens of thousands of footy fans’ and guests’ bellies content, to the increased security presence and the pre-match concert within a football match, it’s a serious team effort to ensure Australian sport’s biggest day runs smoothly.
By the time the ball is bounced at 2.30pm, the hallowed turf will have been cut four times.
Catering company Epicure is operating 250 outlets throughout the stadium, taking in the MCC Members area, corporate suites, restaurants, cafes, dining and function rooms, marquees, bars and kiosks, with food prepared and served by 2000 staff.
Almost 60,000 litres of beer will be downed, while fans will tuck into 53,000 serves of hot chips, pies and sausage rolls.
Behind the glass, 11,000 meals will be served, with guests enjoying 950kg of grass-fed Australian beef and 400kg of Tasmanian ocean trout.
Contesting their first ever AFL grand final, Greater Western Sydney’s cheer squad made their banner in the Giants’ changerooms this before it was folded carefully and flown to Melbourne. The 15m wide by 6m high banner is crafted from orange tablecloth (tons of the material was purchased in bulk before the season) and a box full of sticky tape. While crepe paper is traditional, it’s not conducive to wet or windy conditions and the Giants don’t want a repeat of Collingwood’s 2018 grand final banner disaster.
MCG venue support officer Lidija Stosic says the biggest footy game calls for a bigger-than-usual brigade of security officers, many of whom will work a 12-hour shift to ensure the grand final is a harmonious spectacle.
“We have heightened security, which takes in officers at the gates, inside the ground, organising access and set-ups. It’s much more than what meets the eye,’’ she says.
“It’s our highest-profile game and our major focus is for everyone to have the most enjoyable day possible while keeping everyone safe.”
MICHAEL SALVATORE
MCG ARENA MANAGER
The Bureau of Meteorology app is Salvatore’s best friend this time of year.
In the lead-up to the grand final, the MCG arena manager is checking the weather every half hour.
“I make sure I’ve always got a phone charger on standby,’’ he says.
“During the week, ideally, we like temperatures in the mid-20s with a little bit of rain overnight just to keep everythingticking along. On grand final day, we want a fine, sunny day in the mid-20s. If we’ve got the sun out, it allows us to showcase the ground in the best possible light.
“It’s the biggest day of the season for us. We’re the same as an AFL team. We build towards the finals, then ultimately the grand final.”
Painting of team and branded logos began on Monday and Salvatore’s team works around both Tigers and Giants training sessions and pre-entertainment rehearsals to ensure the MCG is looking its absolute best.
“At this time of the year for the finals, we cut the grass on average once a week, we build the cutting up towards the grand final and on the morning itself we’ll cut the grass four times.
“On the day, we get in at 6am and start cutting and touch up any line marking. If the weather’s fine, we’ll go ahead with our planning around the entertainment. If there’s weather around it gradually gets scaled back.”
Just like Tigers skipper Trent Cotchin and Giants captain Phil Davis, Salvatore leads his troops by example.
“We’ve got eight staff on our team and we’ve been working feverishly to get the ground ready,’’ he explains. “It’s such a team effort. We’ve had a really good season of presenting the ground for football. We trust each other with the small things so as a team we can achieve our ultimate goal on grand final day. While we look good on the day it’s because of all the hard work we do as a team all year. When it’s raining middle of July in Round 11, people are prepared to put the hard yards in.
“My job’s a real privilege and an honour. To be a custodian of this great ground, in a small way, is very humbling.”
KYLIE ROGERS
AFL GENERAL MANAGER OF COMMERCIAL
Sixty minutes of pre-game grand final entertainment is 12 months in the making.
Rogers says the performance is a water cooler topic and planning for today’s line-up began not long after the West Coast Eagles claimed the 2018 flag.
“We all love to chat about and wonder who will be part of the entertainment. It’s rumoured and talked about for many months leading into finals,’’ she says.
“We work very closely with (music boss) Michael Gudinski and his team, and do a lot of research around what the fans want. It’s not just about the 100,000 attending the game but the millions who watch the broadcast. It’s a 12-month conversation.
We normally sit down around November to review what’s been, and then we look at some research and start to work through our vision for the following year.”
Overwhelming fan feedback after Jimmy Barnes rocked last year’s grand final set the tone for today’s all-Australian billing.
“We’ve been watching with pleasure how talented and successful Tones and I is becoming. She’s got the No. 1 song in Australia right now and is No. 2 and No. 3 in the US and Europe, which is significant, so we thought she’d be fantastic for our younger audience,’’ Rogers says.
“Dean Lewis is doing some extraordinary things world wide and has been kind enough to cancel some US shows to come home and present at grand final for us, which is amazing. Then we needed someone to close off in a traditional and serious way and there’s no better artist that Melburnians love than Paul Kelly. It’s tradition to have Mike Brady with Up There Cazaly. And there’s one song I feel that’s been missing from the line-up for some time and that’s Waltzing Matilda, so I’m pretty excited about bringing that back in. John Williamson will be singing that.
“Conrad Sewell will do the national anthem as we celebrate the best-of-the-best Australian music leading into the biggest day on the Australian sporting calendar.”
Even though this is Rogers’ second year in the job, she is haunted by the entertainment of grand finals past — specifically, Meat Loaf in 2011.
“It’s really hilarious and the gift that keeps on giving. As long as I don’t have a Meat Loaf in my day, I’ll be fine,” she laughs.
“I’ve been a footy fan my whole life so to stand there on grand final day and listen to terrific music takes my breath away. To see people in the stands singing along and enjoying what is an extraordinary moment is heart warming.”
TRAVIS DINES
EPICURE DIRECTOR OF CULINARY OPERATIONS (MCG)
Menu planning, tasting and preparations for grand final fare kicked off in July.
Dines, who’s headed up Epicure’s MCG division for four years, has created 300 dishes, which will be served at functions held in every possible event space at the stadium.
“Three months out, we start putting the menus together. We do tastings — the clubs and other clientele come in and choose what they want. On a day like the grand final, we’re doing 300 different dishes. People know food now and there’s something for everyone — from the elite in the committee room right down to the public outlets,’’ he explains.
“For me, today is all about the execution. All the planning has been done so I just go around and make sure my team of 250 chefs and kitchen staff all pull it together. They love it. Most
of my staff love sport, have worked in sport and love their footy.”
grand final day at the MCG begins with about 1000 people up bright and early for breakfast events. Lunch headlines the menu, and then there are several post-match functions once the flag has been won and the day almost done.
Epicure will serve about 11,000 plated meals with grass-fed Aussie beef and pork and Tasmanian ocean trout featuring, while 300kg of baby spinach, 400 bunches of Koo Wee Rup asparagus and 100 litres of Victorian extra-virgin olive oil are also key ingredients. Halftime scones will be topped with 200kg of Australian strawberry jam.
In April, a relish served with a chicken and rabbit terrine dish at an ANZAC Day President’s Lunch at the MCG caused a serious food poisoning outbreak. While a Department of Health and Human Services investigation found Epicure’s preparation practice sound, Dines says everyone involved learned from the incident.
And he says there’s nowhere he’d rather be on the last Saturday in September.
“Once the first bounce happens, you sit back and realise 90 per cent of the work is done. It’s a really good day, everyone’spumped. It’s everyone’s grand final.”
MARK KNIGHT
HERALD SUN CARTOONIST
Before September, as the final eight is taking shape, mascots are flying around in Mark Knight’s head.
The Herald Sun cartoonist took on the honour of creating the AFL premiers poster in 2009 following the passing of the great WEG (William Ellis Green), who first drew the iconic poster in 1954.
“It’s a massive honour and so good to be part of one of the biggest days of Melbourne and Australian sport,” Knight says.
“I didn’t quite fully understand the mantle when Bill passed on. They were such an iconic style and when asked if I’d like to take over I thought, ‘Sure, I could draw a Hawk or a Magpie or a Cat once a year’. The first year I didn’t really understand what WEG had created, and the pressure.
“At the start of the finals I’m thinking about drawing a Tiger and a Magpie. Then you start throwing around concepts in your head — what would a Giant look like?
“The drought-breakers in recent years have been great and such a relief after Hawthorn winning three in a row. I was all out of Hawks. The Doggies (in 2016) ran straight off the pen. And the Tigers were a joy to draw.”
Knight began work on his Tiger after Richmond’s preliminary-final win last Friday night, then turned focus to grand final debutant GWS 24 hours later. He has crafted a poster for each side, with the winner’s artwork to hit the printers on the siren.
“There’s a real excitement around GWS. It’ll be a collectable if they do get up, their first premiership. And orange. Who doesn’t love working with orange?”
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And while Knight’s art becomes an integral part of how footy fans celebrate their team’s premiership glory, grand final-like pressure comes with the task.
“When Richmond made the grand final in 2017, people were saying, ‘I can’t wait to see your Tiger’ and I started to freak out — this better be good or they’ll kill me,’’ he laughs.
“I don’t get that pressure drawing the front page on election day. I enjoy the thrill and the challenge. I’m excited by the whole thing.
“It’s always fun to walk outside the MCG after the game and we have the poster booths set up. It’s a real joy for me to see people going straight for the poster.”
Originally published as Meet the people making sure the AFL grand final is more Killers than Meat Loaf