Mick Malthouse: AFL prioritisation of income over supporters is creating a growing divide

I wonder if there is more anticipation for the Australian Grand Prix this weekend than there is for the AFL’s Opening Round. It used to be that round one was circled on the calendar of all Aussie Rules fans. A weekend of hope and a fresh start for every club. A build-up of intrigue and excitement that culminated with the first bounce of the Richmond-Carlton clash on a Thursday night. Footy’s back, we’d all say. Finally! Not anymore, thanks to the “round zero”. Ten clubs and their supporters miss out on the expectancy of the opening round of football. The concept came from the NRL’s opening round being played In Las Vegas last year, which gave the AFL a chance to showcase its games in the northern states without having to compete with rugby league. This year, the NRL will still run games in Brisbane and Sydney across this whole weekend, now competing with AFL matches in the same states. Not to mention that the addition of St Kilda and Collingwood on Sunday, albeit a night game, is being played on a day when Melbourne-based fans are getting their F1 fix. Yes, Melbourne can cater for two sports, but isn’t that defeating the purpose of the Opening Round intent in the first place? Plus, have we learnt nothing from Alfred’s interruption last year? The tropical cyclone forced the postponement of two Opening Round games last year. Inclement weather is typical for Queensland and New South Wales at this time of year, so it was no real surprise. But it became a scheduling nightmare for the AFL, when it was forced to play the Gold Coast-Essendon game in the pre-finals bye round. While it was a dead-rubber for the Bombers by then, it was a risky clash for the Suns, who were finals-bound. The league certainly wouldn’t want a repeat of that scenario, given that the Wildcard Round is to be introduced on that same weekend this year. What happens if they need wriggle room? On a sidenote, I was in Perth last week and asked a crowd of roughly 200 people who wanted the Wildcard Round, and only one person responded positively. But that subject is for another column. It sounds as if I’m bashing the AFL, I’m not. I’m just trying to get my head around whether the game is about chasing record income, or if it’s for the supporters first and foremost? The anticipation of the first round is what excites supporters the most, not a dribble of footy here and there. We’ve already had the State of Origin played in mid-February, and while the AFL labelled it a success, I wonder if the clubs who lost players to injury during that game feel the same way. Anyway, given that there is a round this weekend, let’s look at the games. Sydney and Carlton. It’s a new-look forward line for both clubs based on a player swap, it’s hard to go past Sydney and Charlie Curnow in the red and white. The new ruck rule will be interesting to watch in this one, given that Brodie Grundy was already able to expose a loophole in the centre ball-up rule during a practice match. Geelong’s lack of lead-up for several players hints that this should be a big win at home for Gold Coast. The interest here is how Christian Petracca gels with the other Gold Coast midfielders, given that Brownlow Medallist Matt Rowell will miss with an injury out of Origin. It’s a depleted GWS Giants side with no Tom Green all year and All Australian defender Sam Taylor sidelined with a hamstring tear, also from Origin. This game should fall smack-bang where Hawthorn wants it. It’s been a very disruptive start to the season for the Lions, but as highly as I rate the Bulldogs, I think the reigning premiers first-up might be a bridge too far. Then there is St Kilda and Collingwood. While the Pies’ pre-season doesn’t seem to have gone to plan and they’ll be missing Darcy Moore and Jeremy Howe, the Saints will also be without their forward target, Max King again. This is one where the Saints must put on a show however, to justify some of their expensive recruiting. And just like that, footy’s back on a big weekend of Australian sport.