Melbourne Cricket Club CEO Stuart Fox has backed the AFL to return the Grand Final to its traditional daytime slot for the 2021 season decider.
After a COVID019 impacted season, the 2020 Grand Final was moved to Brisbane for a historic first that also saw the first bounce kick off proceedings well into the night.
Fox said that the AFL has no need in copying other codes and should revert to its traditional time slot.
“The day slot is really special, we don’t need to copy other sports. I don’t subscribe to the thought it’s about lights and entertainment, I think people just love our game so much,” he said on SEN’s Whateley.
“If we can focus on that more than the bells and whistles and bands, that’s why our game is so special. The tradition of starting off with breakfast and then lunch and getting our families home at a responsible time, I think they’re the positives of the game and that’s why our game has been so special.
“That’s a personal opinion - the ‘G is just happy to have it and if the AFL schedule it at night we’re there to host it and wouldn’t want it anywhere else.”
Victoria has now recorded 34 straight days without a new COVID-19 case, essentially eliminating the virus from it's community.
Fox said that if numbers remained on their current trajectory that strong crowd numbers would be on the cards for Victorians.
“I’m very, very confident that if we can keep progressing forward without too many more outbreaks, I think it sets us up for a stronger return come March or April,” he said.
“Hopefully by then we’re talking 75 per cent or, who knows, even a 100 per cent return of crowds. Lets keep our fingers crossed that we can start in a really positive manner because it has been pretty dormant in Victoria for a long time in terms of the AFL landscape.”
