Brendan Fevola blows up at ‘horrific’ night AFL grand final plans

Brendan Fevola has blasted the idea floated by Eddie McGuire of a move to night AFL grand finals held beyond September.

Brendan Fevola has teed off on the proposal to shift the AFL fixture to include a night grand final held in October.

Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire floated the idea on Channel 9 this week, stating the league is looking at “radical” changes, with the grand final headlining a number of events to be shifted.

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According to McGuire, league officials have already begun working on a potential plan for the 2026 and 2027 grand finals to be moved to the second week in October in a timeslot more friendly for a night-time grand final.

The plan would also include a later start to the season and the return of State of Origin football.

“The big change is at the business end of the season,” McGuire said on Footy Classified.

Eddie McGuire appeared to support the proposed changes. (Photo by Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images)

“A later start (to the season) means a later finish with a grand final in the second weekend of October.

“Now before everyone loses their mind over this, there have been 28 October grand finals.”

The most recent night grand final was held in 2020, when Richmond defeated Geelong in a match held at the Gabba during the Covid pandemic.

Fevola, 44, who kicked 623 goals in 204 AFL games with Carlton and the Lions, didn’t hold back when discussing the proposals on radio show The Fox’s Fifi, Fev and Nick.

“Everyone knows (it’s a) September grand final – the last Saturday in September – and everyone gets excited,” he began.

Brendan Fevola has blasted the idea of another night grand final.

“Everyone talks about the (2020 AFL Grand Final) … ‘it was such a success, they were at the Gabba, so many people watched’.

“(That’s) because we were in Covid, we weren’t allowed out. There was nothing else to do.

“We were sitting in our houses. Every TV was on the grand final.

“(They say) ‘let’s do a night grand final because the Gabba in 2020 was a record number of viewers’.

“Duh! We had nothing else to watch. Scrap those stats, they’re irrelevant.

“If the grand final was in Brisbane this year, no one would watch it.”

Fevola also felt moving the season beyond September would interrupt other Victorian institutions.

The 44-year-old also saved a clip for the AFL Commission.

“So, Eddie McGuire on Classified hinted at the move to mid-October,” Fevola continued.

“Eddie sits on the MCG Trust and was facilitating what he had heard from the AFL Commission.

“They couldn’t be more wrong. This is horrific.

“September is footy finals. The smell of September, coming into Spring. If you go into October, you’re moving into the start of Spring Carnival.”

Fevola wasn’t finished there, declaring State of Origin football was no longer relevant in the AFL landscape.

The Tigers won the last night grand final at the Gabba in 2020. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

“State of Origin is not going to work,” he said. “State of Origin was so big and I loved it as a kid.

“EJ Whitten was one of the greats and inspired everyone to play for Victoria. You play for Victoria, you play against South Australian.

“But now, AFL is an Australian competition with every state involved. You can’t play the traditional State of Origin.

“The State of Origin is so successful in rugby league because it’s NSW versus Queensland, two rivals that hate each other.

“Victoria has to play everyone because there’s players from all other states, we’re a national sport.”

Originally published as Brendan Fevola blows up at ‘horrific’ night AFL grand final plans