How AFL is navigating decisions on finals series, Grand Final location, amid pandemic restrictions
West Coast has contacted North Melbourne about moving their final home-and-away match from Queensland to Western Australia, and it appears the Eagles have made a compelling case.
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North Melbourne and West Coast have approached the AFL about staging their Round 18 clash in Perth.
The Kangaroos are the “home” team for the final round meeting, which was expected to be held at Metricon Stadium to close out the team’s season.
It is understood that the Eagles approached the Roos with the idea of shifting the game to Perth, potentially with an eye to a pre-finals bye the following week and then perhaps hosting a final in the west.
North Melbourne is keen for the match to be moved.
It could garner more than $700,000 by “selling” the game to West Coast, which would be a welcome addition to the club’s coffers given it has foregone almost $3 million by playing no games in Hobart this year.
The submission from both teams is with the AFL, which will rule in coming weeks.
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Meanwhile, the AFL will allow Port Adelaide and West Coast to host home finals in October pending approval from the West Australian government on quarantine provisions.
The AFL has also requested details about the maximum capacity for an Optus Stadium Grand Final, Premier Mark McGowan revealed on Monday.
WA is tentatively slated to ease restrictions on October 24 — the later of two dates being eyed by the AFL to host the decider — which would remove the current 50 per cent capacity cap at Optus Stadium and pave the way for a full house.
McGowan said the AFL also wanted to know the size of an Optus Stadium crowd if restrictions were not lifted in the West.
Despite McGowan’s publicly casual attitude about attracting the Grand Final, the state is believed to have offered $35 million for the game, or $50 million for the entire finals series.
The league is now expected to push its decision on a Grand Final venue into next week as it awaits a written submission and telephone hookup with Queensland’s government representatives on Tuesday.
The Herald Sun understands a bye week is all but certain after the September 18-20 final round given it will freshen up exhausted players and clubs ahead of the finals series.
It will mean the AFL plays its final home-and-away round, has a bye week and then starts its finals series on Thursday October 1.
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And the league believes a joint awards night bringing in the Rising Star, All Australian and AFL MVP Awards is the best way to celebrate players in the days after the Brownlow Medal.
The league is open to West Coast hosting a home qualifying or elimination final if Adam Simpson’s team wins that right.
The only caveat is the 14-day quarantine period which at present means clubs that fly into Perth under hard quarantine must stay there for that entire two-week period.
The AFL would need to get permission for clubs playing in a final to fly into Perth, quarantine for seven days in a hotel, play that final, then immediately fly out again.
There is no need for the AFL to schedule an extra bye through finals because teams under hard quarantine are allowed to play and train under tight regulations.
The AFL’s policy is that despite the many compromises that teams have faced through the season if Port Adelaide or West Coast deserve that home final there is no reason why they cannot be accommodated.
Port Adelaide has no such restrictions so seems certain to host Adelaide Oval home finals if they are the home team.
The Queensland government will pitch its services to the AFL on Tuesday in a bid based around the long-term growth benefits of hosting most of the finals in Queensland.
The AFL will need some time after assessing all state cases to consider their merits before handing a recommendation to AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan.
That decision is more likely next week than late this week given the complexities of the bids.
The AFL still believes it can safeguard the Brownlow Medal by holding a night at a Gold Coast venue instead of a virtual awards night.
But with many non-contending teams to quickly return home after Round 18 or remain in Queensland on holiday, the all-in-one awards night after the Brownlow Medal makes the most sense.
Geelong coach Chris Scott said that whether he believed the Cats may have an advantage at Adelaide Oval aside, he believes the spectacle would be “amazing for the city”.
But the former Brisbane player said he considered the prospect as “a huge opportunity for Queensland” should the Gabba get the nod.
“We could look back and say it’s the turning point of AFL footy in Queensland and I suspect if that happens, NSW will be trying to catch up as quickly as they can,” Scott said.
“We may look back on this period and (say) ‘we thought we were a national competition before that, but now we’re really the national competition’.”
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Originally published as How AFL is navigating decisions on finals series, Grand Final location, amid pandemic restrictions