Optus Stadium will make a bid to host the 2021 AFL Grand Final should Victoria's latest COVID-19 crisis prevent the MCG from hosting the game.

More than 55,000 fans attended last night's Dreamtime clash between Essendon and Richmond at Optus Stadium and the thirst for football in the traditional football state meant the game was a sellout despite it comprising of two Victorian teams

Optus Stadium boss Mike McKenna told The Herald Sun's Sam Landsberger that last night's success highlights why the Grand Final only be played in a traditional football state if it is not held at the MCG.

โ€œPeople in Western Australia, South Australia or even Tasmania have put in a lot over the years to make the game what it is today and deserve to be part of the celebration of those events,โ€ McKenna told The Herald Sun.

โ€œWe were ready last year, and weโ€™ll be ready this year."

Tickets to Dreamtime were snapped up in 17 hours and fans were handed a treat with the pre-game entertainment and light show amplifying the success of the $1.6 billion venue.

The two teams went toe-to-toe for most of the night and it looked like the Bombers would pull off the shock victory when they kicked the first four goals of the last quarter to take the lead, however, the Tigers kicked seven goals in 13 minutes to claim a 39-point win.

The only downside to come out of the game was the dewiness of the ground, which made players slip and potentially aided the knee injury to Essendon's Andrew McGrath.

It is not the first time the venue has had issues with the surface and in 2019, West Coast and Fremantle raised their concerns about the number of leg injuries their players experienced playing on the ground.

Eagles CEO Trevor Nisbett said at the time that players reported that it was the hardest surface in the competition.

"The surface all looks fine, but when the players continually come off and report that it's the hardest in the competition and also that we've had so many ankle and stress fractures over the last 18 months, we need to look at every venue, but certainly this one is reported by the players as the hardest, so we're attacking that," Nisbett told AFL.com.au's Travis King.