AFL to review grand final time slot under new commission chairman

The decision on whether the AFL sticks with a day grand final or moves to a twilight or night slot will be up for internal debate early in 2026, under new AFL Commission chairman Craig Drummond.

The commission will have a discussion about the grand final’s time slot and decide – with input from chief executive Andrew Dillon and his team – relatively swiftly, and not allow the issue to drag on well into the season.

The AFL will consider the grand final time slot with an open mind, according to AFL sources familiar with the process.

The call will be made under a new chairman, ex-Geelong president Drummond, whose appointment as Richard Goyder’s replacement will be ratified by the clubs and commission on Wednesday.

The AFL will consider various the arguments for and against shifting the game into the evening. These include the potential to increase the audience with a later slot – as seen in other sports with evening broadcasts – but also the views of fans, who on the whole, have voted (in surveys) for the status quo of an afternoon (2.30pm) starting time for the grand final.

The decision rests with most of the AFL commission, which takes a recommendation from the executive. Dillon has favoured a traditional day grand final since he took over the role from Gillon McLachlan.

The twilight time slot, which was used for the 2021 grand final in Perth – a night slot for viewers in the eastern states – has long been regarded as more likely if the league makes a move away from the afternoon, partly because of the time needed for presentations and post-game festivities.

Dillon told this masthead ahead of Thursday night’s season opener in Sydney between the Swans and Carlton that the decision on the grand final’s time slot this year would be worked through under new commission chairman Drummond.

“That’s a decision for the commission,” said Dillon. “We’ll have a new chairman in Craig Drummond, and we’ll work through that, but it will be a decision that we’ll come to sooner rather than later.”

The AFL chief executive said Drummonds’s vision was about making the fans central to decisions.

“His vision for the game is not dissimilar. It’s about growth in NSW and Queensland. It’s about having the fans at the centre of everything that we do.

“I think what Craig also will bring as a chairman is someone with really recent senior club experience, having been a president of Geelong only a couple of years ago. Just a different view, and we know how important the clubs are for us to grow our game.

“The kids here are wearing their Giants shirts, not AFL shirts, and we know that. The clubs are our way to grow.”

Asked whether the AFL had any plans to take the game to India, where he visited recently, Dillon didn’t rule out international expansion.

“We want to continue to grow the game,” he said. “We’ve got so much opportunity within Australia, but it doesn’t mean you close your mind to opportunities offshore. As we looked into India, we found that we had nearly 10,000 Indian nationals playing our game.”

Meanwhile, Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield is stepping down from the AFL Players Association board after 12 years, six of them as president.

Dangerfield has had a huge impact on the shaping and expressing the priorities of the players, including through two CBA negotiations.

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