The AFL has scrapped a long-standing tradition and will no longer have a grand final replay should the match finish in a draw.
The last time the rare occurrence happened was 2010 when Collingwood and St Kilda drew before the Magpies won the following week.
Under the new rules, the next time a grand final finishes in a draw, two periods of five minutes plus time on will be played. If scores are still tied play will continue until the next score – effectively a golden point.
While many fans will likely be angered by the ending of another tradition, it’s what the teams have called for, with any potential grand final replays adding to an already taxing season and eating into other AFL dates including the draft and trade period.
Some on social media also pointed out that a replay might be unfair for interstate teams.
#AFL People can squawk about the loss of tradition but given addition of interstate clubs to the AFL, the removal of GF replay had to happen
— Crowdiegal (@crowdiegal) April 19, 2016
“We don’t change lightly,” AFL commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick said.
“The AFL is a truly national competition and this change eliminates the possibility of non-Victorian teams being disadvantaged by a significant travel burden if they had been required to return to the MCG for a grand final replay.”
“We are confident this decision reflects the views of the majority of clubs, the majority of players and the majority of fans,” he said.
Why drop the GF replay? It's happened 3 times in history? Personally I'd rather another full game than golden point… #afl
— Christopher Bawden (@bawdz) April 19, 2016
1) The AFL will no longer use a replay for a drawn Toyota AFL Grand Final. 1 period, split into 2 halves, of extra time for all finals.
— AFL House (@AFL_House) April 19, 2016
In the entire history of the VFL/AFL there have only ever been three drawn grand finals; 1948, when Melbourne won the replay against Essendon, 1977 when North Melbourne defeated Collingwood, and the 2010 replay as mentioned won by Collingwood over St Kilda.
Is this a commonsense approach or is it another important tradition lost to the ages? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.