AFL reveals the start time of this year’s grand final

Despite the push towards more games under lights amid rising TV rights values, the league has held firm to tradition for its showcase game this year, but said it would continue to review the start time for future grand finals.

The league also acknowledged the “great presentation” of a twilight start time, a time slot that has become increasingly popular this season.

“The Toyota AFL grand final is the best sporting event in the country. It is our competition’s biggest moment,” Dillon said.

“The AFL’s role is to deliver the best possible game experience, both for fans at the ground and for the millions watching the broadcast, and together with our broadcast partner the Seven network, we remain committed to creating the most amazing event in the country, both in the build-up during the week and on that magical last Saturday in September.

“We have had such an incredible season so far, more than 6.5 million fans attending games, 1.2 million members, the biggest crowds in the history of the game and come September 28, 100,000 fans marching into the MCG on the Saturday afternoon for the biggest game of the year.”

The grand final was played at night in 2020 when it was moved to Brisbane due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in twilight the following year in Perth, which equated to a nighttime start for the eastern states.

Tigers, Roos or Eagles: Who will win footy’s ‘race’ to the bottom?

Jon Pierik

Hey, what about us? That could be the catchcry for North Melbourne, Richmond and West Coast, as the football world largely turns its gaze on the teams still in the race to make the finals.

The Kangaroos, Tigers and Eagles, of course, have long been out of September contention, but the intrigue at the bottom of the ladder, and just who secures the No.1 pick in the national draft, is just as entertaining.

This year’s draft crop is deep, and club recruiters say there is no standout to rival the interest man-child Harley Reid attracted last season. But there is still plenty of rich talent.

Levi Ashcroft – a potential father-son recruit for the Brisbane Lions – inside midfielder Sam Lalor, strong runner Finn O’Sullivan, Jagga Smith, who has impressed in the VFL with Richmond, and midfielders Harvey Langford and Josh Smillie are all considered potential No.1 selections.

A bevy of blue-chip selections at the top end of the draft eases the pressure any of the clubs might feel from their supporters to claim the No.1 pick. But the top pick would provide the eventual wooden spooner with a real opportunity to consider trading for a star player, or to trade down for multiple first-round selections, not that the Kangaroos, Tigers or Eagles would be wise to do that.

The intrigue in the No.1 pick will intensify on Saturday when the bottom-placed Tigers face the Kangaroos (17th) – each with just two wins to their name – face-off in the largely hidden 1.45pm time slot at Marvel Stadium.

Whoever loses will be tipped to finish last come the end of round 24, although a bit more will play out over the following three rounds.

The Eagles, for now, are a game ahead of those two on the ladder, and all three teams have a similar percentage. What’s more, the Kangaroos will follow their game against Richmond by hosting the Eagles at Hobart’s Blundstone Arena, providing another potential twist at 1.45pm on a Saturday.

Remember, the Kangaroos knocked over the Eagles in Perth in round 13; their first win of the season, albeit the home side was without the suspended Reid.

The Kangaroos then finish the season against the in-form Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn.

In their final three games, the Tigers have a reinvigorated St Kilda, Hawthorn and the Gold Coast at the MCG, the latter a potential danger game if they want to secure the No.1 pick, as the disappointing Suns have yet to win a game on the road this season.

For the Eagles, the Suns hit town on Friday night, before the Kangaroos, Carlton and Geelong await.

Tigers coach Adem Yze and North Melbourne counterpart Alastair Clarkson have, naturally, said their focus is on finishing the year strongly.

“The same sort of thing with all of our players, too – there is just so much more to play for in preparation for next year, let alone just wanting to finish the season well, and play some good footy,” Clarkson said after last weekend’s loss to Geelong.

“We have been really competitive over the second half of the year, and we want to make sure we finish off the season pretty well.”

Yze was of a similar mind after last weekend’s loss to Collingwood.

“To be fair, I am not worried about who we are playing, it’s about how we are playing, so … we’ll just keep working on how we are moving the ball and try and get reward for effort on the back of our turnovers. [It’s] irrelevant who we are going to play; we just want to finish the season off strongly,” Yze said.

“Our supporters expect that, and we expect that. We want to go into the pre-season knowing what our game looks like and having some real consistency in that. I feel we are getting that, we are just not getting reward for that at the moment for the full four quarters.”

Yze makes valid points and, to date, there hasn’t been media speculation about selection manipulation, let alone the dreaded T word, heading into the final month.

However, we saw what happened when the Kangaroos, behind a career-high nine goals from Nick Larkey, broke a 20-game losing streak and upset the Suns in Hobart in round 24 last season.

It meant they lifted themselves off the bottom of the ladder, and left many of their supporters bewildered because they all but gifted the transformative Reid to the Eagles.

For Yze, the Kangaroos and Eagles, just what reward they really want in the final month of the season will be as fascinating as what those in finals contention are chasing.

‘On edge’: Bulldogs celebrate history, but keen to forge a new path

Jon Pierik

The Western Bulldogs have paid homage to their Footscray greats, but are intent on forging a new path when they tackle bogey-side Melbourne in a Friday night blockbuster at Marvel Stadium.

In a week when the AFL Bulldogs have rebranded themselves Footscray as part of the league’s retro round, Luke Beveridge’s men are keen to improve their poor recent record against the Demons, having dropped four of the past five games between the two clubs, including the 2021 grand final.

“Our track record against the Demons, who have been a formidable side over the last few years, hasn’t been on the positive side of the ledger, so it’s a huge challenge for us,” Beveridge said on Thursday.

“They got us earlier in the year. Round one, we thought we had prepared well, we had a really down day. They showed us what they are capable of, so it’s a huge challenge for us [on Friday night].”

The Demons won by 45 points in round one, despite Bulldogs stars Marcus Bontempelli, Tom Liberatore and Adam Treloar finding plenty of the ball.

Despite now having beaten top-three sides Carlton, Geelong and Sydney over the past three weeks to slip into the top eight, Beveridge insisted the surging Bulldogs will remain “on edge”.

“We need to make sure that there is no fatigue in our minds and our bodies. So, we are doing certain things through our words and our actions to make sure that we are on edge,” Beveridge said.

The Bulldogs have emerged as a top-four contender having won five of their past six games, and are increasingly resembling their breakthrough premiership team of 2016. They won contested possession by a whopping 27 against the Swans last Sunday.

That type of effort has warmed the hearts of the club’s greats, the Bulldogs hosting a legend’s night on Wednesday when many a tale was told from when the club was known as Footscray. The Bulldogs changed to the Western Bulldogs in 1996.

Beveridge, who played with the club when it was known as Footscray, said it had been “a time to reflect and celebrate some of our past heroes”, including Doug Reynolds, who is one of the four premiership players from 1954 still alive.

He said defender James O’Donnell (hamstring) will return via the VFL, the Dogs rejigged backline with a flourishing Rory Lobb excelling.

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