QAFL JUST REWARD
After pleading for years, grand final could finally head to the Coast PAGE 74
THE Gold Coast Suns have expressed their interest in hosting the QAFL grand final at Metricon Stadium this year.
The Suns have held preliminary talks with AFL Queensland to determine if shifting the QAFL grand final from its traditional home at Yeronga’s Leyshon Park to Carrara.
The governing body is open to looking at the concept.
The Suns have been working to improve their engagement with grassroots clubs while trying to find new ways of using the stadium beyond their AFL fixtures.
“We are working hard to remove as much cost as we can to help things along,” Suns CEO Mark Evans said.
“It would be terrific to host the QAFL grand final at Metricon Stadium and allow the clubs and players to stage their showcase event at such a great facility.”
The 2019 QAFL grand final is scheduled to be held on September 14, the same weekend as the AFL semi-finals.
Gold Coast’s last regularseason fixture will be played at Metricon Stadium on Friday, August 23, against GWS.
They are tipped to miss the finals but Suns officials are confident if they do make the top eight, the scheduling of games would not be a problem.
The location of the QAFL grand final has caused debate in recent years, with Gold Coast clubs pushing for more flexibility in regards to grounds used for the game.
Two Gold Coast teams have played each other in the grand final in the past three years. At least one club has featured in the two premiership deciders before that yet, apart from the 2017 event at Southport’s Fankhauser Reserve, all have been played at Leyshon Park in Brisbane.
AFLQ officials have been eager to have all the grand finals played at the one venue for logistical reasons but Coast clubs believe the number of fans attending is hampered by having to travel to Brisbane.
AFLQ chief executive Dean Warren said they were open to taking the state league’s premier fixture to Metricon should it meet key requirements.
“The Gold Coast clubs have been at the top of the competition in recent times and that factors into it but we have got to look at all the options across southeast Queensland in order to decide if we can facilitate that,” Warren said.
“We are not opposed to having a grand final on the Gold Coast but there is a bit of work to do before it’s finalised.
“We have to work through the costs involved to open the stadium and some challenges in hosting it at a stadium like that are if it looks empty and if it has the right atmosphere.”