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“Makes no sense”: AFL Grand Final start time slammed
Andrew Slevison • June 17th, 2025 1:14 pm
The AFL announced just a few days ago that the 2025 Grand Final will again commence at 2:30pm AEST.
The game’s flagship fixture at the MCG will once again be played in the traditional time slot despite calls for it to be showcased at a later time.
A twilight Grand Final with a 4pm or slightly later start has often been floated to somewhat mimic the Melbourne start time for the Preliminary Final which last year was 5:15pm AEST.
Viewership numbers around the country would almost certainly increase with a later start and that is why Channel 9’s Sam McClure and Damian Barrett both cannot believe the AFL is sticking with the conventional start time.
McClure believes it’s become “embarrassing” for the league to continually overlook a twilight Grand Final.
“We’ve got a situation where we’re announcing a 2:30 Grand Final start time again which goes against everything that the AFL is propagating about crowds,” McClure said on Footy Classified.
“So here we are again. It’s become a little bit embarrassing, to be quite frank, that we have this debate every year.
“The AFL loves the debate and then they announce that, ‘Hang on, the announcement is there’s no announcement, we’re not changing it’.”
Barrett is equally perturbed by the decision.
He says it “makes no sense” for the competition to persist with the the 2:30 commencement time.
“It’s all you need to remind people of and I understand there’s a Fans’ Association that thinks it’s got a say in this, and maybe it does,” said Barrett.
“But there’s not one team that asks for a 2:30 Saturday game at any stage of any given season.
“So it just makes no sense, zero sense to play the biggest game, the marquee game, the pinnacle game that everyone is trying to reach at 2:30 on a Saturday.”
McClure added: “It beggars belief that in a billion dollar industry that the only argument for the 2:30 Grand Final is tradition.”
Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd is a traditionalist in that he loves the daytime start.
Lloyd said: “I’ve always liked it. The love of just waking up and enjoying the morning and knowing it’s a 2:30 day Grand Final.”
McClure added: “But if it was pushed back 90 minutes, would that really change your day?
“No one is saying night, but I think 4pm with an extra million viewers.”
Geelong great Jimmy Bartel also prefers the daytime slot, but could be convinced by a twilight beginning.
Bartel said: “I think most people can get to 4pm. I’m in the daylight (corner).
“There’s plenty of other big events that happen during the daytime as well. No night Grand Final.”
Since the 2018 Preliminary Final between West Coast and Melbourne in Perth (1:20 AWST start), the Grand Final has been the only finals match played with a red ball.
The start times for the 2025 AFL Grand Final are as below:
- ACT, NSW, QLD, TAS, VIC - 2:30pm AEST
- NT, SA - 2:00pm ACST
- WA - 12.30pm AWST
