Grand final to stay in the day

PREMIERSHIP coach Luke Beveridge has applauded the AFL’s decision to retain a 2.30pm start time for the grand final this year despite the push for a twilight kick-off.

The AFL Commission yesterday debated the start time vigorously but eventually decided the push for change was not strong enough.

It means the AFL Grand Final’s start time has now become an annual guessing game, after three years of the league teasing a later start.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan admitted a longer halftime — up to 29 minutes to allow a star act to perform — was a strong factor in retaining tradition.

The AFL is in only the second year of its six-year TV deal, with McLachlan admitting again it was inevitable the time would one day come for change.

Beveridge’s Dogs won the 2016 grand final but he said last night having to wait for nearly 30 minutes at halftime would be a concern for a coach.

Collingwood boss Eddie McGuire has long pushed for a twilight start, believing it would add to the spectacle and massively boost ratings in northern markets.

But McLachlan said the commission had made the decision after debate at yesterday’s Perth commission meeting.

“Going into the meeting, I thought the decision could have gone either way. But on balance, everyone was really comfortable to keep it where it was,’’ he said. “The heritage and the tradition prevails. I know a lot of people are happy with where that is.

“We’ll just review it each year. I’ve been open enough to say there’s merit in changing … but to do it you’d have to be comfortable that everything was right.

“There’s a lot of things into that — whether the entertainment’s right, the high performance aspect ... halftime would have to be a bit longer, making sure that was executed right.

“On balance, we’re comfortable keeping it where it is.”

McLachlan denied the AFL had kept its constituents waiting too long by announcing the decision in mid-April.

“We wouldn’t be waiting this long if we didn’t think it was fair and appropriate,” he said. “People know what day it is. It’s normally a full day for everyone and as long as there’s enough time to get all the logistics ... March/April is plenty of time.”