PERTH’S TWILIGHT DECIDER

THE Perth Stadium grand final will be a twilight contest, broadcast into Melbourne at night, as the league safeguards the finals by hosting the Western Bulldogs in Perth this week.

As revealed last month, the grand final will start between 5pm and 5.30pm in Perth. It will mean a second consecutive night season-decider for families in Melbourne, starting between 7pm-7.30pm.

Host broadcaster Seven has already spruiked a grand final in “prime time” in Sydney and Melbourne in press releases in the last week.

The league decided to fly the Bulldogs from Brisbane to Perth this week, despite them playing in Adelaide on Saturday night. The league’s risk mitigation strategies meant flying the Dogs into the city with the harshest border restrictions in case of a midweek Covid lockdown.