GIANT HOPE
AFL open to home Cats final at Simonds
GEELONG has a realistic chance of hosting the second Simonds Stadium final in club history — but only if it can beat GWS Giants next week.
It is understood the AFL would consider scheduling the Cats for a Simonds Stadium final, only if they played lowdrawing GWS.
If both clubs win this week- end it will set up a blockbuster clash between GWS and Geelong at Simonds Stadium next Saturday night.
A Geelong victory would allow the Cats to leapfrog GWS into second spot, pushing the Giants into third place.
That would mean a Cats home final that almost certainly would be played at Simonds Stadium given GWS’s limited pulling power.
The Giants have more than 20,000 members but few would be expected to travel to Victoria for a qualifying final.
If the Cats won both homeand-away games it would place heavy pressure on the AFL to schedule the final in Geelong.
The AFL has already said GWS will host home finals at Spotless Stadium should they earn that right at the conclusion of the home-and-away season.
The Cats’ home clash at Simonds Stadium againstg GWS last year drew only 22,007, well short of the current 34,000 capacity.
The only other Simonds Stadium clash so far between the two teams in 2012 drew 17,243 when the Giants were in their formative years.
The only final at Geelong — the 2013 qualifying final loss to Fremantle — drew 32,458 fans.
Geelong president Colin Carter last month said the Cats wanted to play all their finals except the Grand Final at Simonds Stadium.
“This whole notion that you play finals where you get a better crowd has somehow filtered into the system. I don’t accept it as being a valid criteria at all,” he said.
“That is one of the things we will be arguing. It has somehow crept into the language. I don’t think it’s defensible.”
AFL fixturing boss Travis Auld earlier this month said the league was in no hurry to lock in finals venues. But it is understood if Geelong hosted any club other than the Giants the match would be at the MCG given the league wants to maximise attendances.
A Geelong loss in any of the next two games could see Richmond jump into third spot, potentially pitting the Cats in a qualifying final against ladderleader Adelaide at Adelaide Oval.