Roos say Good Friday can fire

NORTH Melbourne has urged the AFL to back in its ongoing Good Friday aspirations, despite concern about today’s potential crowd.

The Roos believe they can build Good Friday into an annual success story like Anzac Day football if given the chance by the AFL. But they are aware the contest might take several years to sell out, given the Roos are in the heart of a rebuild.

Last year’s first Good Friday contest against the Western Bulldogs drew 42,814 fans with the Good Friday Appeal drawing a record of $17,605,662.

Critically, the AFL and Good Friday Appeal’s partners did not believe the football detracted from the fundraising appeal for the Royal Children’s Hospital.

This year’s rival St Kilda drew two modest crowds against the Roos last year — 26,107 in Round 13 and 29,126 in Round 22.

North Melbourne chief executive Carl Dilena said the AFL and Good Friday Appeal partners were happy with last year’s financial result and integration with the game. He hopes the AFL will back in North Melbourne in coming years for their only marquee contest of the year.

“Overall the feedback we got from them was pleasing first time around. The challenge with anything like this is to get into people’s psyche early on,’’ he said.

“There is the double whammy of a long weekend and the start of school holidays, so most people are leaving Melbourne.

“If we can turn it into a traditional match, Good Friday can be like Anzac Day or Boxing Day where we have it in our calendar.

“As we improve as a side, crowds will naturally flow from that. I think it has a lot of great potential but it’s a process we are building.”

Dilena said St Kilda had done an excellent job of encouraging their fans to attend the game

Clubs including Adelaide have pushed for their own Good Friday clash but the tiein with Melbourne’s Good Friday Appeal helps North Melbourne’s case.

The AFL believes no two clubs have a mortgage on Good Friday Football, with Carlton also interested in getting involved in the contest.