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A multi-game AFL grand final series could just be the fairest thing for the competition

Talk of a best-of-three series for the AFL grand final, on face value, sounds a little bit ridiculous.

But in a league obsessed with equalisation, the draw and the fact the grand final is played at the MCG every season are the biggest hurdles towards true equality.

The draft, the salary cap, the soft cap on coaching departments and the controversial cost of living allowance (COLA) for Sydney clubs — scrapped in recent years — have been some of the many measures put in place by the AFL in a bid to ensure every club has a chance at success.

And with 10 teams based in Victoria, having so many games in Melbourne during the home-and-away season is unavoidable.

So why then is the grand final played at the MCG every season, and why will it continue until at least the middle of the century?

Yes, West Coast won the flag this year, and yes, interstate clubs have won in the past, but having to travel certainly makes it much more difficult.

Collingwood or Richmond playing a grand final at the MCG is like Manchester United playing more than 70 per cent of their league games at Old Trafford, or the Green Bay Packers playing the majority of their games at Lambeau Field and then the Super Bowl too.

It is a significant advantage, whichever way you look at it.

Grand final 'locked up' in Victoria

Many would argue the greater capacity of the 100,000-seat MCG is a must for the grand final, but these days it is more of a corporate event, and it is the TV audience that really matters.

For all of the MCG's history and tradition, the amenity at the ground has fallen behind the likes of Adelaide Oval and Perth Stadium.

Fremantle Dockers players seen from behind running onto Perth Stadium for an AFL game with a purple banner ahead of them.

On that point, anyone who thinks the grand final is played at the MCG purely for romantic reasons is mistaken, according to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.

"We've locked it up because we've done a deal," Mr Andrews told SEN Radio.

"Anyone who thinks that the grand final just naturally is here in our state really doesn't recognise that it's a competitive world.

"You don't build stadiums like they have in Perth and spending the money they have [for no reason]. They didn't build it for show. They built it to run big events.

"The notion that it's just ours and we can take it for granted, that doesn't work."

MCG deal equals more money: AFL

A new deal to keep the grand final in Melbourne until 2057 was struck in April this year.

AFL at the MCG, crowd and field shot

It coincided with the Victorian State Government committing $225 million to an upgrade of the AFL-owned Docklands Stadium, and $20 million to a redevelopment of Princes Park in Carlton to turn it into the home of the AFLW.

As part of the agreement, the MCG will also go ahead with upgrades to the MCG's Southern Stand, and home clubs will get fairer use of the ground.

It was a no-brainer according to AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan, who lauded it as a big win for Victoria.

"The AFL alone [has] a $3 billion economic impact for this state," he said.

"These sorts of deals mean that we've got more money going into the clubs, and that means we can work hard to keep the game affordable."

Interstate clubs eye bigger piece of the pie

Mr McLachlan said interstate teams would understand the decision to keep the AFL grand final at the MCG.

But it now seems the interstate clubs are questioning the move with Sydney, West Coast and Adelaide all recently pointing to the merits of playing the grand final outside of Victoria.

Shaun Grigg, Jack Riewoldt and Dustin Martin hug each other on the field after grand final

Any city would be keen to get a bigger piece of the economic pie and host the league's pinnacle event as a reward for investing in the game's infrastructure.

Outside of Queensland, all of the states with AFL teams now have venues that are worthy of hosting such a spectacle.

Although the intricacies of the contract to remain at the MCG are unclear, it now seems impossible to have a standalone grand final away from the MCG, so that is why the best-of-three series has become a discussion point.

Many have questioned whether the AFL, which was born from the VFL, is too Victorian-centric — and as long as the grand final is played solely at the MCG, it probably will be.

External Link: 2019 AFL fixture

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