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Here's where the 2020 AFL grand final should be held

Roar Rookie
20th July, 2020
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Roar Rookie
20th July, 2020
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Should COVID19 continue to escalate in Victoria, and a near empty MCG be frowned upon by most the AFL world, where should the AFL grand final be played.

In making such an important decision for the showpiece event of the game, what should be the criteria?

The three venues that could arguably stake a claim are Perth’s Subiaco, the Adelaide Oval and Brisbane’s Gabba.

If crowd capacity is the only criteria, you go with Subiaco. At 60,000+, it is larger than both the Adelaide Oval and Brisbane.

However, an important factor for choosing a city is whether or not a team from the region may be involved. Unlike in Melbourne, where several teams are in with a shot each year, Australia’s other AFL cities have a max of two possible candidates.

Despite some recent success in the west, this year the Fremantle Dockers and West Coast Eagles are far from certainties of making it anywhere near the big dance. At the same time, Port Power and the Brisbane Lions both currently sit on the top end of the ladder, showing the best form they’ve shown since the early 2000s.

So it should be whoever finishes higher, Port Power or Brisbane Lions? To the victor goes the spoils? Would this approach work?

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Hang on, there are other things to consider. As the AFL has just relocated to QLD, why not just play at the Gabba and make the call now?

Thankfully there is another path forward. A 2020 only, best-of-three grand final series played in
Brisbane and Adelaide, with a third game in Perth.

Suddenly the combined total crowd more than eclipses an MCG crowd!

Further, the issue of player fatigue and too many games played is not really a problem in 2020.

Likewise WA, SA and QLD currently are not plagued by COVID19. Whilst this could rapidly change, what other objections are there to a best-of-three series? Key point to reiterate, this would be for 2020 only.

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