Hampden: AFL public holiday grand final under consideration
Following the success of Geelong playing its grand final the day before the AFL decider, another country competition is considering following suit.
Hampden Football-Netball League is taking feedback from its 10 clubs on staging next year’s grand final on the Friday public holiday before the AFL grand final.
A 10,000-strong crowd for the Geelong league grand final at GMHBA Stadium this year has led to the Friday grand final being included in the 2025 draft fixture sent to Hampden league clubs in recent days.
Traditionally, Hampden plays its grand final on the previous Saturday, which would mean the season would be extended by a week and there would be a six-day turnaround for the preliminary final winner.
“We’re keen to explore it,” Hampden league general manager Trent Hill said.
“There is still a lot of water to go under the bridge yet, but it’s a consideration we’re looking at.
“There was a bit of a ‘let’s see how it went at Geelong first’ and the feedback has been pretty strong in a positive way from what we’ve heard.
“I did hear there was a bit of disconnect with the netball which was on the outside of the venue.
“But that won’t be a concern here because the netball courts are inside the precinct.”
The Hampden league is set to start on April 5 next year with officials wrestling with complications of school holidays, Easter and Anzac Day all falling in the opening rounds of the season.
As a result, the bye coinciding with the Warrnambool racing carnival in early Mary is set to be dropped.
The VAFA also held its grand final on the Friday before the AFL grand final this year, but other than Geelong, no country football-netball league has played on the date.
Hampden is hoping to finalise its 2025 fixture before the league’s annual meeting early next month.
.@GippyLeague have released their 2025 fixture https://t.co/VzK8OXTDmDpic.twitter.com/5yxwZzjItg
— Gippsland Footy (@GippslandFooty) November 8, 2024
Gippsland has its fixture out already and Bendigo has a draft draw for a 16-round, eight-team competition in 2025 sitting with clubs.
It means each club will have to play two other teams three times.
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