Non-Victorian clubs receive added boost for Grand Final week

The AFL will commit an extra $50,000 to non-Victorian clubs who play in this year’s Grand Final to better cover costs associated with an extended Melbourne stay.

The spend is in response to Chris Fagan’s 2023 letter to the league, which sought to highlight the significant differences he experienced as Lions coach compared with his time at Hawthorn and Melbourne.

But Fagan’s push for non-Victorian clubs to have access to as many as three training sessions at the MCG during Grand Final week has been rejected.

Stringent turf management early in the week and a near all-day Katy Perry rehearsal on Thursday means Sydney – and Brisbane or Geelong – will be restricted to a customary Friday captain’s run on the ground.

The Swans, who have played three games on the MCG this season, are set to arrive in Melbourne on Thursday.

The Lions, should they defeat the Cats, plan to arrive in Melbourne a day earlier having played at the MCG twice in 2024.

Fagan’s document last year stressed that the Lions had lost the 2023 Grand Final to the better team in Collingwood, but he also highlighted the unrivalled logistical stress non-Victorian sides face in playing a decider at the MCG.

Among many recommendations, Fagan argued for the AFL to cover the costs associated with a full week stay in Melbourne if a non-Victorian team chose to arrive earlier than they normally would.

The Lions coach also campaigned for the AFL to cover travel and accommodation costs for the partners and children of players and staff, a cost not incurred by Victorian clubs.

The AFL Commission has agreed to contribute around $100,000 to any non-Victorian sides in this year’s Grand Final, up from $50,000 last year.

It’s understood it last year cost the Lions around $160,000 to get their staff set up in Melbourne for the Grand Final.

The AFL money isn’t directly aimed at funding travel and accommodation costs of partners and children of players and staff, but its distribution sits at the club’s discretion.

Fagan this week spoke on the motivation for putting in writing his observations, which also included concerns over the proximity of fans in the Grand Final parade and the abuse directed at some Lions players.

“I sent that on behalf of all interstate clubs because I just wanted the AFL to understand more clearly what it’s like when you go through Gran Final week,” Fagan said.

“I hadn’t experienced that myself. All my Grand Finals had been with Hawthorn or Melbourne. When you’re in Melbourne it’s just turn up and play, right? It’s a little bit different when you’re an interstate club.

“I just wanted to point some of those things out and they’ve taken a lot of those things on board. They’ll be some changes in the process this year if we’re good enough to get there.”