GDFL GRAND FINAL TWIST

FRIDAY ON LEAGUE’S MIND:

GEELONG & District Football League clubs have been sounded out about playing their grand final on the Friday public holiday before the AFL Grand Final.

GDFL president Neville Whitley said the league had the potential to double its attendance at St Albans Reserve if the senior grand final was moved back 13 days, but was awaiting club feedback before taking the idea any further.

“We've spoken about it and it’s going back to the clubs to have a look at and see whether it’s a possibility or not,” Whitley told the Geelong Advertiser.

“We believe we’d double our patronage on grand final day if it was played on that Friday, but there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge yet.

“We’ve just put it out there to the clubs to have a look at it, prior to our draw being released and the dates being released. We’ve got to wait until we get our draw done and whether it’s going to be a goer or not.”

Crowds for this year’s finals series were down 28 per cent, attributed to the netball finals being moved to Newcomb because of court resurfacing at St Albans.

But a public holiday grand final would give the GDFL clean air to host its decider.

The GDFL grand final currently clashes with the GFL preliminary final, but that scenario would be flipped if the GDFL season was pushed back two weeks.

“A person at one of our clubs suggested it might be a bit of a crowd gatherer for that day, but there might be a few issues that curtail it,” Whitley said.

“It may affect clubs; it’s a holiday and a lot of people go away over that weekend, so those sort of things come into discussion.”

The other consideration is local cricket, given the GCA season starts the week after the AFL Grand Final, which would almost certainly leave St Albans Reserve out of action for the early rounds of the cricket season.

“Our preliminary final would clash with the GFL grand final and it’s the last Friday of the month, so whether cricket will be affected getting the wicket ready,” Whitley said. “There are a few issues like that at this stage, but we haven’t come to any conclusion.”

However Whitley said a positive club response would set the wheels in motion for a date change.

“A majority would get it over the line, but we’ll look at all the pros and cons,” he said.

The GDFL expects to have club feedback by its AGM on Wednesday, November 14.