Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has led a push for assistance from the AFL for non-Victorian grand finalists, calling on the league to support travelling contenders and their families in the last week of September.
In a document addressed to the AFL by Fagan, which The Age has seen,ย the Lions boss has listed a number of avenues for how travelling grand final sides can be supported.
Fagan's trip to Melbourne last year for Brisbane's season-defining clash with Collingwood gave the long-serving football department operator a fresh insight into grand final week from a non-Victorian perspective.
The former Hawthorn football boss has been able to compare his experiences during the Hawks' handful of grand final week festivities to that of the Lions' last September, noting Brisbane's staff were "exhausted" by the time they arrived in the footy-centric state for the final game of the season.
Fagan has called on the league to consider several ways to assist travelling clubs, including covering travel and accommodation costs for the families of players and staff as well as greater access to the MCG in the lead-up to the event.
"My experience at the Hawks tells me that the biggest issues for Melbourne-based clubs are ticketing, who gets into the rooms after the game, and how we get to the after-match celebrations," Fagan wrote, via the publication.
"The Lions footy ops staff were exhausted by the time we got to Melbourne, which is a real pity and unnecessary."
According to The Age, Fagan sought feedback for the following:
- More MCG home-and-away fixtures for non-Victorian clubs
- Non-Victorian clubs allowed to train on the MCG three times in grand final week
- Non-Victorian teams funded to spend the full week in Melbourne should they wish in the lead-up to the grand final
- An extra week off in the lead-up to the grand final to mitigate the extra logistical demands faced by competing clubs from outside Victoria as well as increasing player availability
- The AFL to cover all travel and accommodation costs for the partners and children of players and staff, a cost not incurred by Victorian clubs
Fagan's plea for a potential pre-grand final week bye is said to be unlikely to be introduced by the AFL.
Non-Victorian clubs have won five of the 13 grand finals this year against Victorian sides this century, with two of those wins coming in the last 10 meetings.
While Fagan did not draw a link between the difficulties of travelling for the grand final and the eventual four-point loss his side suffered to the Magpies, the Lions coach has sought assistance from the AFL, which has gained support from the other seven non-Victorian coaches.
Sydney are currently the clubhouse leader for this year's premiership, with coach John Longmire a chance to lead the New South Wales club to its fifth grand final in his tenure.
The premiership coach has not been able to win a premiership since his side's 2012 victory over Hawthorn, falling to the Hawks, Western Bulldogs and Geelong since.
