States advised to plan for sudden shift in AFL decider

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said the league is in discussions with three states to host grand final

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said the league has discussed the prospect of a late shift of the grand final Picture: NCA NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

The AFL is consulting with governments in three states to assess whether they could host the grand final should it need to be switched from the MCG at short notice.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan confirmed the league had the blessing of the Victorian government to explore options in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane as a precaution despite a contract with the MCG.

The swiftness with which the latest lockdown was implemented on Thursday underlines the importance of having an alternate venue on standby for the decider on September 25.

“Our view and our expectation is that we are playing the game at the MCG. However, and as we have seen this week … things can move very fast,” he said.

“It is with the blessing and understanding of the Victorian government (that) we are chatting to all states … to see that if we went into a lockdown leading into the grand final, what are the contingencies we would need in place.

“We are not just talking to Western Australia. We are talking to all the other venues – though with respect, not New South Wales – that if we needed to move at very short notice … how would the logistics work.”

McLachlan had hoped crowds would return at matches in Victoria by next week but the sixth lockdown of the state means that, at best, it is unlikely to occur until the finals.

He said the AFL spoke to the football departments of clubs likely to be involved in the finals to gather their thoughts on what might be possible.

“The feedback is that we don’t need much notice. It just means we will play the shots as late as we can,” he told 3AW.

The AFL boss is determined to protect the integrity of the finals series as much as possible to conclude a season where several clubs have been disadvantaged by the pandemic.

But McLachlan said that “having crowds there is a close second” to integrity.

While Victorian teams are in line to host home qualifying finals, this suggests the AFL will weigh carefully the benefits of maximising attendances next month.

This has been a factor through the regular season when it comes to scheduling or relocating matches, with the AFL keen to have crowds for games where possible.

Earlier this week, Geelong coach Chris Scott and champion Patrick Dangerfield, who is the AFL Players Association president, acknowledged an uneven playing field in 2021.

To date, the top-placed Western Bulldogs have played ten of their 19 matches at their home grounds of Marvel and Eureka stadiums for eight wins.

The Cats play their final three games in Geelong and have already played 12 games at either GMHBA Stadium or the MCG, though some matches there were as the away side.

The Demons, which are in isolation in Perth ahead of their clash against the Eagles on Monday night, have played ten games at the MCG.

The Power have played nine games at Adelaide Oval while the Swans will finish the season playing just eight games at the SCG.

Brisbane has played eight games at the Gabba and will hope for good news in Queensland in regards to the effectiveness of the current lockdown.

West Coast will play their 11th game at Optus Stadium on Monday night and the eighth-placed Fremantle their 10th against the Lions on Sunday.

The Giants, who were reunited with their family members on Friday after they had served quarantine in Queensland before flying to Victoria, have played six games at home.

Brisbane captain Dayne Zorko said there were challenges spending an extended time on the road.

“We don’t know where we are going from week to week, so it is a little bit different. I guess that is mentally challenging for some players,” he said.