A Perth footy festival could be one of many changes the AFL go ahead with to fix ‘not fair’ fixture

The winter footy festival in Perth is coming – and its origins might soon be traced back to the night before the WA derby in round 6. So, what does it all mean for the Victorian clubs?

A winter footy festival in Perth will headline a long list of changes designed to try and equalise the AFL season.

An AFL posse - including football boss Laura Kane, understudy Josh Mahoney, head of projects Matt Bolitho and consultant Geoff Walsh - has completed its club visits for the competitive balance review that was agreed to during pay talks with the players.

Dockers chief executive Simon Garlick and Eagles chief executive Don Pyke campaigned for fairer travel over a high-powered lunch at Crown on the eve of their round 6 derby.

The united approach from the Western Australian clubs came in the strong belief the addition of Gather Round last year – and an 11th match across the Nullabor – had tipped the scales.

Fremantle flew 62,000km in 2023 as some Victorian clubs clocked less than 15,000km. The Eagles will travel 58,000km this year.

Fremantle captain Alex Pearce said cumulative travel shortened careers, while Eagle Jack Petruccelle’s bad corkie blew up in the cabin pressure returning from Brisbane last year.

Jack Petruccelle suffered badly from a corkie on the trip back to Perth. Picture: Getty Images

“The AFL needs to look at it. It’s not fair on the WA clubs. We spoke to Jack Petruccelli a few weeks ago, and he was saying a year ago, or a couple of years ago, he got it really badly wrong, how to nurse an injury on the flight home. And he said he learned from that, and now he’s got it nailed. And most players have actually got the routine”

Coaching great Mick Malthouse and former Docker Paul Hasleby had called for a radical reduction in Victorian clubs. But Garlick and Pyke pushed for realistic change.

Multiple Victorian clubs would play Fremantle and West Coast during the Western Australia Day long weekend under one plan that would deliver the isolated clubs a bonus home game.

The visitors could then stay in Perth to play crossover games at Optus Stadium the following week.

Lighting up the west with four marquee matches on back-to-back weekends would create the big event atmosphere that the AFL wants, although the June 3 public holiday in WA would not align with Victorian school holidays.

Footy-mad locals selling out the 2021 Dreamtime blockbuster at Optus Stadium during Covid has opened the AFL’s eyes to the idea of a Victorian club staging a home match in the west.

Optus Stadium was full for Dreamtime in 2021. Picture: Getty Images

A Victorian club could cash in on the generous stadium deal if it had flexibility in its tenant contract to move a game or if the AFL decided to extend the season to 24 games.

Freo went 22 days without a game at home due to consecutive matches in Adelaide for Gather Round and produced its worst performance for the year on return in the derby.

The Dockers also want the practice match they played at Alberton Oval on March 1 to stand as the last time the club ever travels before a season.

The Dockers were dealt consecutive six-day breaks to start 2024 while playing St Kilda at night in round 10 forced them to fly home five days before they played Collingwood.

They want easily fixed fixture complications such as these removed.

The AFL has made the MCG and Marvel Stadium available for a captain’s run this year while Dillon has acknowledged more could be done to promote the Derby national.

Originally published as A Perth footy festival could be one of many changes the AFL go ahead with to fix ‘not fair’ fixture