Sydney coach John Longmire puts Grand Final outside Victoria back on agenda after success of Opening Round
Fresh off the success of the AFL’s northern states Opening Round, Sydney coach John Longmire has put a Grand Final outside Victoria back on the agenda. Could it happen?
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Swans coach John Longmire has delivered another resounding endorsement of opening round and has called on the AFL to even consider moving the grand final from the MCG in the future.
Speaking ahead of Sydney’s game against Collingwood on Friday night, Longmire was quizzed over Chris Scott’s comments on AFL360 on Monday.
The Geelong coach questioned the fairness of the new round which saw eight teams play games in NSW and Queensland, and then getting an extra bye before round six.
While Scott didn’t bemoan the compromise of growing footy in the northeastern states, he felt that there needed to be an admission from the AFL that it did make the schedule unequal.
“If you ask the players, and this has gone on for a long time, the Players’ Association pushed the AFL to bring back the two byes and the answer was always there was no time,” Scott said on Fox Footy.
“But now they’ve found the time — that’s the frustrating part.”
Longmire accepted Scott’s perspective but argued that it’s impossible to make everything equal when the competition is inherently favoured towards the Victorian teams.
“(Chris) is also understanding that some things need to happen for the good of the game,” Longmire said.
“The grand final is played at the MCG on the opposition’s home grounds every year. If you talk about equalisation, I think having a couple of games up here probably balances it out okay.
“I think one of the great, it’s almost a myth, is equalisation. Everything’s not quite equal when you have the MCG as the grand final every year, I think that’s just a reality that everyone accepts.
“It’s very difficult to get everything equal and we deal with that all the time.
“I just think it was a great concept, the opening round, I think everyone for the greater good of the game is on board with it. Everyone’s broad enough to see that there are opportunities to be had up here.”
Probed further around the grand final venue, Longmire suggested that a change could be worth investigating.
“I mean, if you’re talking about the growth of the game, wouldn’t it be wonderful?” Longmire said. “The game last year, if that was in Brisbane …
“Those things are probably off the agenda, and I’ll let the AFL commission sort that out. But I just look at the opportunities and I think the first step is that opening round up here was a wonderful opportunity.”
The MCG first hosted the grand final in 1902, and the Victorian government currently has a contract to host the game’s showpiece event through to the end of 2059.
Longmire’s side will be looking to continue their strong start to the year when they try to spoil Collingwood’s party at the MCG.
The Pies homecoming will be headlined by the unfurling of their premiership banner, but the Swans proved in their impressive win against Melbourne that they’re a force to be reckoned with in 2024.
With the likes of Isaac Heeney and Brodie Grundy standing out in their first matches of the season, Longmire is eager to see how they go against one of the strongest midfield groups in the competition.
The Swans are a changed side when they can win the contested battle. In 2023, they won eight of 10 games when they had more contested possessions and Heeney is set to be vital in that aspect against Collingwood following one of the best performances of his career.
“Last week we had six 23-and-under midfielders, and we’ll probably have the same again,” Longmire said. “We probably play the two most experienced midfield groups this week and last week.
“(Isaac’s) ability to be able to help in the contest, lead the way the game is played and win at the source but then also run from the source has been important. I know the other players enjoy the different mix we’ve got in there.
“Wherever he plays, whether that’s forward or midfield, he’ll adapt and he’ll be a presence for us. We don’t expect him to be the best player every week. He plays his role and this week he played his role really well.
“This week is going to be another tough one. If you look at Collingwood’s numbers last week, the Giants were terrific, but Collingwood had more inside 50s and scoring shots.
“They did a lot right. So, there will be some things that they can take out of that game that were actually pretty good. It’s gonna be a huge task and it’ll be a massive crowd.”
Originally published as Sydney coach John Longmire puts Grand Final outside Victoria back on agenda after success of Opening Round
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