“The clubs are very committed to[the match]. They accept the consequences of an unbelievable day of football on our calendar,but it has an impact not just for them,but for other clubs.”
Collingwood’s interim boss Graham Wright,said the club looked forward to hosting the annual match,describing it as an “important day for our nation”.
Meanwhile,Essendon have no Thursday or Friday matches for the first 15 rounds. Instead,the club will play seven Sunday matches and six Saturday matches.
Richmond and Melbourne will also forfeit those primetime slots for their Anzac Day eve match,which has been a feature of the league’s fixture since 2015. More than 70,000 were in attendance at last year’s MCG clash.
Melbourne,the 2021 premiers,will play three Friday night games and one on Thursday night in the first 15 rounds. Richmond will play three Friday nights and one Thursday,the traditional season-opener against Carlton.
Auld also said the Friday night 7.50pm kick off,which was criticised last year for being a non-family friendly time slot,will be an ongoing conversation between the AFL and Channel Seven,who have the broadcasting rights to the match.
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“We want to provide as much access as we can for fans to get to a game,and so I think we’re still learning a bit through COVID about having people in the office on a Friday,and how that’s impacting patterns of attendance. But Seven are very committed to that 7.50 slot,” he said.
In a survey conducted byThe Ageearlier this year,AFL footy club bosses said the late starts – which mean Friday matches finish near 11pm – were putting off families from going to the games,as dwindling crowd numbers threatened club revenue and the atmosphere at the ground.
The anonymous survey was conducted to have club bosses suggest ideas to bring back crowds,which were at their lowest level – apart from the past two COVID-impacted seasons – since 1996.