AFL pleased with pre-finals bye, considering move for Brownlow Medal count

THE AFL is thrilled with its controversial pre-finals bye as it is considers whether to shift the prestigious Brownlow Medal to a new date next year.

Nat Fyfe heads to the stage after winning the Brownlow Medal. Picture: Michael Klein

THE AFL is thrilled with every aspect of its controversial Round 23 bye as it is considers whether to shift the prestigious Brownlow Medal to that vacant timeslot.

The bye had been predicted to be a “ticking time-bomb” by some critics but instead after a week’s break football was treated to a sensational weekend of finals.

The Western Bulldogs and GWS pulled off massive upsets, Hawthorn nearly knocked off higher-ranked Geelong and TV ratings and attendances were exceptional.

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Clubs were able to field fresh teams full of players recovering from injury, with Adelaide’s Josh Jenkins joining the Bulldogs in admitting he might not have played without the bye.

The AFL was adamant this year the Brownlow Medal would stay in its customary slot on the Monday before the Grand Final.

But Collingwood president Eddie McGuire believes it could be shifted to late in the week preceding the bye to maximise its exposure and allow the winner several days of undivided media attention.

Geelong’s win over Hawthorn was a final for the ages.

Often the Brownlow medallist is involved in the Grand Final and cannot participate in the functions and media appearances that follow the Monday night ceremony.

Pushing it into the bye weekend — either on the Sunday night or late in the week leading into the weekend — would solve those issues and add a marquee event to that period.

The AFL would not comment on the timing of the Brownlow but said it would review the entire finals period after the season.

“All those questions are going to be answered in early October once we have seen how the footy pans out,” spokesman Patrick Keane said.

“We have had players able to be rest, guys have played who wouldn’t have played and in the end we got a really outstanding quality of games. And a couple of the finals were quite extraordinary.”

Even the capacity to play four players returning from injury did not sway Dogs coach Luke Beveridge, who said after his win he still did not believe in the bye’s timing.

2015 Brownlow Medallist Nat Fyfe. Picture: Colleen Petch

But AFL boss Gillon McLachlan told 3AW on Friday morning he couldn’t have been happier with the bye.

“We haven’t got a definitive conclusion but people were worried about momentum. We got a strong weekend with women’s footy and the Dogs wouldn’t have got players back without a break.

“Players freshened up, the footy was intense, crowd ticket sales were very strong, the ratings were unbelievable, and the lack of momentum as a concept is being challenged.

“It will go to the end of the year and we will talk to the coaches. We did it to deal with integrity issues and there has been an upside in being able to talk about and market the game for 10 days.

“We will sit down and see how it pans out in the end.”

The AFL’s four finals drew just short of 239,000 fans, a fantastic result given only one of those contests was played at the MCG.

The ANZ Stadium game drew 60,222, with another strong weekend of attendances ahead given the Bulldogs-Hawthorn clash and Sydney hosting Adelaide at the SCG.