Three states in the hunt as AFL builds grand final contingency plans

The AFL is preparing a contingency plan that would allow it to shift the grand final interstate as late as days before the showpiece event should a lockdown or attendance issues in Melbourne force a late change.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan confirmed on Friday the league was in discussions with Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia â€" but not a locked-down NSW â€" about staging the biggest event on the league’s calendar in case it cannot be held at the MCG.

Gillon McLachlan is preparing contingency plans for if the grand final can’t be played at the MCG.Credit:Penny Stepehens

McLachlan said the AFL and Victorian government were determined to have the match held in Melbourne but Victoria’s latest lockdown highlighted why contingencies were needed.

“I just want to be really clear; our view and our expectation is that we are playing the grand final at the MCG,” McLachlan said on his fortnightly appearance on 3AW.

“However, I reckon if you have seen this week, the fact that at 11am yesterday (Thursday) there was a press conference, they (Victorian government) were looking at (a lockdown), and by 4.30pm or something we were in lockdown, things can move very fast.

“It is with the blessing and the understanding of the Victorian government, we are chatting to all states we think it is possible to see if we went into a snap lockdown leading into a grand final, what are the contingencies we need to have in place.

“We are not just chatting to WA, we are chatting to all of the other venues that are relevant â€" respectfully, not NSW â€" to say: ‘Listen, if we needed to at very short notice, ie days, how would the logistics work?’”

WA Premier Mark McGowan said on Friday he hoped the grand final remained at the MCG but his state was ready to step in, if required.

“I think the grand final is still 50 days away or so but, whatever we did, we’d be very COVID-safe and based upon medical advice so we wouldn’t do anything to risk people here,” he said.

“I know other states [would] crawl over broken glass for it. It would be good, it would be great fun and a great event but, whatever we do, we’d do in a safe way to make sure that we don’t allow the importation of the virus into WA.”

There are also financial and contractual obligations to address but these can be overcome.

When last year’s grand final between Richmond and Geelong was shifted to the Gabba, the AFL responded by adding an extra year to its contract with the Melbourne Cricket Club to host the grand final â€" until 2058 â€" and said it would schedule two extra home-and-away matches at the MCG in the 2022 and 2023 seasons. A similar arrangement could again be struck.

Just what state governments are prepared to offer in return for the grand final would also be a strong consideration. The success of this year’s Dreamtime clash between Essendon and Richmond which drew a capacity crowd of more than 55,000 supporters and included a spectacular light show at Perth’s Optus Stadium enhanced WA’s chances of securing the grand final should it be shifted.

Hopes of a quick return of crowds to matches in Melbourne have been dashed by the latest lockdown. The expectation had been that fans would be back in limited numbers for round 22 next week but that now appears highly unlikely. Round 23, the final round of home-and-away campaign, may also be held behind closed doors, particularly if the lockdown is extended, leaving only one extra week â€" the pre-finals bye round â€" before September action begins.

The AFL wants crowds back in Melbourne for the finals but, as reported last month, there is still the possibility the finals series could be held in Perth with teams in a hub at Crown or Joondalup Resort.

“What I know and can say … is that the integrity of the finals is our priority and getting crowds there is a close second, having the energy and the finish this season deserves. We will leave all decisions as late as we can,” McLachlan said.

“The health of our communities and our supporters is clearly going to be our priority and we will work with health, but then we will explore the options to have crowds within that envelope.”

Interim AFL football operations chief Andrew Dillon has been in discussions with club chiefs and coaches this week about how the finals series could unfold, particularly if matches had to be shifted from Melbourne.

“There is just a much different mindset to where we were a couple of years ago about how flexible and how late and how agile our clubs can be. The feedback is: ‘We don’t need much notice, we can really wait until late in the home-and-away season to know how the finals are going to play out’. That just means we will play the shots as late as we can,” McLachlan said.

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Jon Pierik is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.

Heather McNeill is a senior journalist at WAtoday.

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