I have always been a traditionalist when it comes to Australian Rules football – I hope there is never a night grand final, and I also hope that the AFL never schedule a game on Good Friday. Both, however, appear to be inevitable.
Outgoing CEO Andrew Demetriou has long been an opponent of Good Friday matches, but he won’t be there next season. The momentum is starting to build, and it seems the AFL will play a match on this day from 2015.
Carlton, North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs had previously expressed interest in playing on Good Friday, but Essendon have recently emerged as the frontrunners to host the fixture at the Docklands as they are likely to fill the stadium.
Now life isn’t always fair. To give someone something because it’s their turn isn’t necessarily the best business decision, but the only Melbourne-based clubs without a permanent blockbuster match each season are North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs.
They obviously don’t have the drawing power of Essendon or Carlton, but these two teams from working class backgrounds have had an excellent rivalry in the past and would more than likely make Good Friday a special occasion.
All the other stand alone marquee match-ups are now etched in the AFL’s culture and physche: think Essendon and Collingwood on Anzac Day, or Carlton and Richmond to mark the first match of the season at the MCG. Even Melbourne has one with the traditional Queen’s Birthday contest against the Magpies, while St Kilda take on Carlton in the only Monday night fixture of the season.
The Bulldogs and the Kangaroos at least deserve the chance to trial it. If the AFL believes in equalisation, which the Dogs and Roos have been two of the biggest trumpeters of over the years, the League now has a chance to prove it.
I would still prefer the AFL leave Good Friday as a footy-free day. Local and country leagues have had the date to themselves and taken advantage of it recently to reap important financial dividends.
But the NRL, A-League and Super Rugby all hold matches on Good Friday, and the AFL is all about being the No. 1 code in the land. Even though the Royal Children’s Hospital Appeal happens on Good Friday in Melbourne, the league would no doubt find a way to ensure the appeal is a major beneficiary of Good Friday football.
The Royal Children’s Hospital Appeal is all about hardship and helping people. Although football pales into insignificance in comparison, the Dogs and North have also done it tough.
If an AFL game is to be played on Good Friday, why not allow them to contribute to this special day and hold their own blockbuster? They are sure to do the concept proud.
Gem
Guest
Kangaroos & Bulldogs seem like the best fit to make Good Friday work Bulldogs will be an exciting team to watch over the next 10 years with the likes of Stringer, Bontempelli and Tom Boyd while Kangaroos pioneered Friday night football and still play an exciting brand of football. Neither side has a marquee game while all the other teams have one at least Let North and Dogs experiment with the fixture
Martyn50
Guest
Rugby codes and soccer all over world are played on Good Friday. Football is played on Christmas Day in the USA. WAFL and SANFL is played on Good Friday. About time the AFL played games on Good Friday. Australia is not a heavily religious country. No football, does that also mean no camping over easter and other practical activities.
Paul
Guest
Seriously Lroy, you turn my stomach. Gee, I hope we become just like Premier League where only a few teams are successful just to keep you happy. Maybe you haven't watched the Dogs lately but they're play a pretty good brand of football at the moment and North has been until yesterday. Look once again, Channel 7 and Foxtel NEED 18 clubs, they NEED them to be competitive. The only way the smaller clubs can be successful is to be given access to decent timeslots and marquee games, not 4:40 Sunday, 4:40 Saturday, Mother's Day, Easter Sunday, etc etc. And once again, it wouldn't be at the G.
Lroy
Guest
Kangaroos and Dogs? are you nuts ? Two teams with no recent success and small fan base on a prime time TV slot?? Why not Gold Coast and the Skodas, there you go, another 2 teams no one wants to watch... make it a double header at the G, with luck you might get 20.000 people to both games LOL Surely you want a couple of your big clubs playing, and why only in Melbourne, an Eagles Fockers game or Crows Port game would be a big drawcard. Seriously, the Dogs?? Do you want people to stop watching football altogether?
Slane
Guest
Celebrating the spring and winter equinox predates christianity by quite a few thousand years.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
In most modern cases religion has been the way situations were manifested, but not often the driving reason for war, oppression and numerous other things. If religion hadn't been there, the same frustrations would likely have surfaced another way.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
Why does it need to be a blockbuster? Essendon and Collingwood always get a leg-up with promotion of their big games. Why is turning an 80k crowd into an 85k crowd more important than turning a 30k crowd into a 35k one? \North and Richmond put as much into promoting the Eureka game than the clubs involved put into ANZAC Day, but the league and the media just ognored it. It still happens by the way, but there is no coverage on it which makes it hard to build anything. And, quite frankly, its a pretty lame concept very little different from the plethora of other two team cups. I would rather there were no set days and all clubs got a fair slice of the premium days and times, but that isn't going to happen. The next best thing is for the smaller clubs to get as much help as the larger ones get from league HQ to create and market marquee events.
Phil McGrawhan
Guest
Why would a North-dogs game be a good idea? Because they don't have a blockbuster slot? Gee, I wouldn't mind a hot mrs, do I deserve a hot mrs?
Dalgety Carrington
Guest
Holidays and festivals predate Christianity. Religions have been responsible for as much good as bad. It's rigidity and inflexibility that is behind escalating conflict, although religious fervour does engender more than its fair share of this, any old ism will do likewise.
william
Guest
If the A.FL. is serious about equalisation it should give the good friday game to North melbourne and Footscray its a great oppertunity l for these 2 clubs to get some much needed exposure.Give Carlton the same draw as Footscray has (14 sun and 0 frid games) and see how they fare,their sunday twilight fixture in the opening round against Port only attracted 20 odd thousand. All teams need oxygen to grow their brand and its only fare that the smaller clubs be given a chance.Over time i'm sure this fixture can fill Etihad Stadium after all is'nt Footscray everyones second side.
Avon River
Guest
Simple - RCH Good Friday appeal. The channel 7 era meant it would conflict. Times have now changed.
Avon River
Guest
Ago74 - Re most Aussies -- the issue really has been a Melb one largely due to the Good Friday appeal. Until other codes showed mercenary zeal and disrespectfully played games then the AFL position while perhaps not previously justified had then become unjustifiable. The greed or need to be #1 is a AFL HQ argument that has so far NOT been applied. The desire has been of North Mlb for over 20 yrs to play such a fixture which has mostly focussed on Carlton as the preferred opponent - would be the battle of Royal Park - the precinct including the RCH.. Done right then those Essendon marshmallows can faff off.
Paul
Guest
TV/media rights are what prop up all clubs, so thanks for nothing. If there aren't 18 clubs the media rights money goes down, don't you get that. Would you rather Collingwood, Essendon, Carlton, etc play each other every week. So boring.
Cat
Roar Guru
kinda hard to go to work when businesses are shut down, I gladly work any holiday I can, extra pay is great.
Kev
Guest
Exactly. There are plenty who love to take shots at Christians and call us bigots but in the same breath they'll hypocritically enjoy the Easter and Christmas breaks. If you're that strong in your belief that you don't identify yourself as a Christian, walk the walk and fight to go to work on these days. No? Didn't think so, because most of you are gutless and spineless.
Stevo
Guest
Kangaroos and Bulldogs would definitely be a good idea for Good Friday. It is ridiculous that the AFL doesn't play on Good Friday when rugby, NRL and soccer do. Why should the AFL give these other codes a free kick? If someone doesn't want to go for religious reasons then that is their choice. Personally I would like to see games all around the country on Good Friday.
BNR
Guest
Not sure why the Moderator thought that the suggestion that those who have the right to not believe in the crucifixion of Christ on Good Friday may as well be at work today, was so out-of-line in view of some other comments like "religions are offensive". So find it ironic that they are happy to take the holidays associated with the mainly-Christian Easter festival. All people can choose to go, or not to go, to footy on any day.
joe b
Guest
I refer to the 20th century because it is more recent and it contained 2 world wars, korean war, vietnam war, gulf war 1, Iran Iraq war etc. The Holocaust was a genocide and certainly an example of religious intolerance...I don't think it is classified as a conflict/war as such. Middle East- jews and muslims lived happily together until Great Britain carved out a jewish state after WW1...so this started as land issue, and given they are non secular states, religion and geopolitical lines are one and the same. Yugoslav war - A group of countries (socialist republics or kingdoms) going back to their original borders. Geopolitical war not religious, nice try. 9/11 was a terrorist attack by a terrorist group. Syrian civil war - non secular states are always going to be susceptible to internal conflicts among religious factions as they battle for power, it is equivalent to political parties. Old crusades, inquisitions, empire expansions are from a period where mankind was less enlightened and I don't think they are relevant arguments. I am an athiest, and like most people (no exclusion of faiths here) I am a reasonable and tolerent person. Gene, it would be good if you could educate yourself (saves me from doing it) so you become more tolerent.
Phil McGrawhan
Guest
Good Friday could become bigger than Anzac day, and to say North and the Dogs "deserve" it is ridiculous, if they "deserved it" they would average 40k+ crowds, until their supporters start showing up week in-week out they aren't worthy IMO. The game should be played between Collingwood and Carlton, and it should be at the MCG, obviously the MCG isn't available on GF next year but it will be from 2016.
Cat
Roar Guru
so what if they don't, collingwood and essendon weren't born with drawing power, they earned it over time ... if given a fair chance other clubs will too, if we continue to hand the best dates to the biggest clubs the small clubs will always be small. And if it isn't a sold out so called blockbuster so what? the world ends?