I'd like to see that - at night!

by ROD GILLETT

THE AFL grand final must be played at night, not at twilight, but at peak viewing time. Everybody with half an interest in sport would tune in, making it a truly national sporting event. And eventually the grand final must be shared around the country, not just played in Melbourne.

AFL GF balloon

The MCG on grand final day 2007. Photo by Les Everett.

This year the AFL grand final on TV drew 2.56 million compared to 3.15 million last year. In Sydney there were 320,000 viewers; last year, when the Swans played, it was 779,000. In fact the three highest-rating AFL grand finals have all involved the Sydney Swans, in 1996, 2005 and 2006. The average audience exceeded 3 million on all three occasions.

(Incidentally, the highest-rating program ever in Australian television was the 2005 Australian Open men's tennis final between Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin, which drew an average audience of 4,043,000; it was played at night. The 2006 opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games drew 3,560,000 - again it was screened in peak viewing time in the evening.)

Channel Ten's director of sport David White said this year: "The AFL grand final is the biggest, bestest sporting event in the land and, for it to take another step, it needs to think about moving to a time where more people can watch it." (The Age, 25 May 2007).

White was advocating the case for a twilight grand final, which he said could mean a 20 per cent ratings boost. He said the change would have no implications for advertising revenue which industry sources estimated in the same report in The Age at $10 million but would allow more people to watch the game.

Another 600,000 people would firmly entrench the AFL grand final as the most watched program on television in Australia each year.

The current AFL television rights agreement demonstrates just how important television is to the financial state of football, as well as the growth of the game. It's no longer enough for 100,000 to see the grand final on the last Saturday in September. It's now about attracting the largest possible audience to watch the game on television - which is now the life-blood of the game.

In late September, the weather's too good in most of NSW and Queensland for people to want to stay indoors. Most northern staters would rather go into the garden, to the beach or shopping - anywhere, as long as it's outdoors. But I'm convinced that these same people, regardless of whether they followed the game, would watch the grand final on television if it were played on a Saturday night.

The National Rugby League already plays its grand final on a Sunday night. The AFL needs to secure the Saturday night to ensure it has the prime time of its choosing.

A decision to play the grand final around the country on a rotational basis would demonstrate that the AFL is truly national. The match shuold not be assigned on a bidding basis; it should be shared by all the metropolitan cities.

We could begin at the Gabba in 2008, then go to Sydney in 2009, Adelaide in 2010, Perth in 2011, and come back to Melbourne in 2012. Sure, the capacity would be greatly reduced at some venues, but the resultant publicity and attention in the host city would generate tremendous interest.

The national titles are shared around between the the states and territories in an overwhelming number of sports in Australia. The same should apply for the Australian Football league.

As for home-ground advantage for a team that plays at its own venue, that's just the luck of the draw. It's no different to Collingwood, Hawthorn, Richmond or Melbourne playing in the grand final at the MCG.

Melbourne enjoyed a major home-ground advantage when it played in eight premiership deciders between 1954 and '64. There were complaints at the time, but there was no real suggestion of changing the venue.

As Rick Kane pointed out in an article on this website last year Sensible, natural, sacred - the most fragile argument for maintaining the grand final as a Saturday afternoon event is the argument for "keeping with tradition." The AFL, as it is now constituted, has only been in existence since 1990.

"I don't think we can claim that any great traditions for this competition have been established as yet," Rick said.

The VFL has evolved since it became the Australian Football League into a nationally focused competition. Currently six of the AFL clubs are based outside of Victoria. With the impending location of the Kangaroos to the Gold Coast, that number will rise to seven - almost half of the AFL.

The 2010 grand final between Fremantle and Sydney at Football Park, Adelaide - 'I'd Like to See That' - on TV on Saturday night.

7 November 2007

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