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AFTER another record gate on Saturday, it’s clear AFL Central Victoria and its four senior leagues need to do whatever they can next year to ensure the four-week block of stand-alone grand finals can continue.
With the AFL season being pushed back a week because of the ICC World Cup, it presented AFLCV with a golden ticket to showcase all four of its senior grand finals on separate weekends this September.
And it has proven a raging success, with the North Central league reaping the benefits on Saturday.
Traditionally, North Central grand final day has clashed with the Bendigo league grand final.
But with the Bendigo league grand final pushed back a week this year, it gave North Central the opportunity to have the day in the spotlight on its own.
From a Bendigo Advertiser perspective, it allowed both its coverage in the lead-up and on the day for the league to be ramped up.
The stand-alone grand final produced a record gate of $39,445 at Wedderburn.
A week before a crowd paying a record gate of $59,000 flocked to Huntly for the Heathcote District league (pictured).
While the first of the four grand finals – the Loddon Valley at Newbridge – attracted a gate of $38,500.
That’s $136,945 in gate-takings across those three days, with the Bendigo league grand final this Saturday still to come.
So what happens next year when the AFL most likely returns back to its normal scheduling of playing its grand final on the last Saturday in September?
To keep all the AFLCV grand finals on separate weekends, could the Bendigo league – rather than traditionally being played on the second-last Saturday in September – be moved to the Sunday after the AFL grand final like the Goulburn Valley does?
If not, could the region’s first grand final be played on the last Saturday in August – although, that seems too early.
Perhaps there could be a weekend where one league plays their grand final on the Saturday and another on the Sunday, although, that seems to defeat the purpose of giving each league clear air.
Whatever the solution, hopefully, the leagues and AFLCV all work together to ensure the success of this September can be repeated again next year and beyond.