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AFL grand final weather forecast 2020

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23rd October, 2020
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With the Richmond Tigers and Geelong Cats squaring off in both the first AFL grand final in Brisbane, and the first to be held at night, you can expect the weather conditions to be vastly different from the standard Melbourne fare.

Queensland has thus far hosted five matches in the AFL finals series, all of which have been played in largely ideal weather conditions. However, things may be different for the grand final, with the Bureau of Meteorology, the government’s weather agency, forecasting a morning thunderstorm which could make the evening’s game a slippery affair.

» AFL grand final live scores: Follow all the Richmond vs Geelong action

It’s predicted to be a rainy morning, but in good news for footy fans, it looks like the showers will clear in time for the first bounce.

Weatherzone, Australia’s leading commercial weather information provider, has a similar prediction, though they anticipate showers could linger around into the mid- to late afternoon.

A max of 28 degrees during the day, which will drop to 22 by the time the match begins, with a humidity of 68%, making it slightly muggier than the average Melbourne grand final.

The Tigers will be thrilled with the Saturday forecast. Their chaotic, surging game is perfectly suited to rainy, or even slightly damp, conditions, as evidenced by their narrow win over Port Adelaide in last week’s wet preliminary final at the Adelaide Oval. Their clearance dominance against the Power, as well as in their semi-final win over St Kilda, also suggests that the reigning premiers will thrive if Brisbane does offer up less than ideal conditions.

Conversely, the Cats’ game style relies on precision passing and elite skills by hand and foot, which may prove their undoing with a wet and slippery ball. However, their impeccable record at the Gabba this year, winning all five games they’ve played their this season, including a 40-point triumph over home favourites Brisbane in their preliminary final, suggests they’ve coped well with the city’s weather thus far.

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While it looks unlikely for there to be too much rain, expect conditions to be quite slippery, and should evening dew also become a problem, there’s every chance this grand final will put a dampener on the AFL’s desire to permanently move the big dance to a night-time slot in the years to come.

All data accurate as of Friday, 23 October.

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