But he was also disappointed when the pontoons turned around earlier than expected.

“It was a big day out for us and I’m disappointed,” he said. “I couldn’t really see them[the players] and we just thought they’d come a lot closer.”

Southbank resident Janine Byrne was standing on the riverbank behind a group of people in wheelchairs,who told her they had travelled from Werribee.

She said the group would have had the perfect view – if the parade had actually reached them.

“They didn’t see a darned thing,” she said.

“They had to get up early,get dressed and come down and they saw nothing,absolutely nothing.”

Byrne said everyone looked at each other in disbelief as the boats sailed into the distance.

“They couldn’t quite believe it,” she said.

Desley Pannan waited more than an hour on the bridge to see the parade and left disappointed.

“The map clearly showed the boats coming down almost to the bridge,however they turned way before the bridge and we really saw nothing,” she said.

It was the first time in three years the grand final parade has been held in Melbourne after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the AFL to move the grand final interstate in 2020 and 2021.

The revamped parade featured a flotilla for the first time,with players onboard boats and pontoons.

The AFL has been contacted for comment about the parade.

Acting Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece said he could understand the frustration of some fans on the Princes Bridge,but wanted the format to return next year.

“If I got there really early and set up there,and then the boat turned around about 80 to 100 metres short of that,and then headed back away from you back towards MCG,I could understand your frustration,” Reece told radio station 3AW.

“I think it’s a good idea and I think it deserves to be tried again,but there’s a few things I think we need to do differently. Like it would have been good to have had an MC perhaps.”

Not everyone was disappointed,however. Sydney Swans fans,the Brewer family,have supported the club since they were based at South Melbourne.

David Brewer said he couldn’t have a better team to support.

“Look at us now,we’re an army,” he said.

He said he believed his beloved Swans could triumph on Saturday.

“Well,it’s gonna be a tight,tight game. I think we’ve got the goods on the Cats,” he said.

With fans like Joe Skinner,it is not surprising that Sydney were well supported,this being his second trip to Melbourne to support his team this finals series.

“We got here at 9am this morning,flown down from Sydney,we’ve got tickets for the game,” he said.

“We were here for the qualifying final as well against Melbourne,so we’ve done them all”.

The Mackenzie family drove from Sydney on Thursday and managed to get from Albury to Melbourne on Friday morning.

Ken Mackenzie and his wife Cathy and their two children Callum and Lily are on the cheer squad for the Swans and wanted to experience the parade.

“We haven’t been down to the granny before,so this is a new experience,” Ken said.

“It’s amazing. It’s electric,” he said of the atmosphere at the parade.

“We’re here to experience it,it’s a bit of a bucket list item. We don’t have this in Sydney.”

Geelong fans weren’t to be outdone,with Jordan,who didn’t want to disclose his last name,driving all the way down from Canberra without even having tickets.

“We are sort of just winging it at the moment,” he said. “We are going to see if we can[get] tickets here,if not,well it’s Melbourne so we will find somewhere.”

Cats fan Sally Mills is originally from Queensland but her husband Michael White is a lifelong Geelong fan.

“I feel like I would have been booted out of the family if I didn’t[support the Cats],” Mills said.

The couple left from Gippsland with their family at 6.30am to arrive in time for the parade.

With Jordan McCarthy,Lachlan Abbott

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