Former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon has declared the decision to commit to playing the AFL Grand Final at the MCG through to 2057 wasn't the way to go about quelling the angst of interstate clubs.
The best-of-three Grand Final series has become a discussion point again, after a report on Sportsday revealed Adelaide coach Don Pyke approached the AFL Coaches Association about the idea after they lost to Richmond in last year’s decider.
After Tim Watson made the point that the AFL is too “exhaustive, difficult and combative” to ask players to play a best-of-three series, Lyon said the league had to find a different solution to what some consider an unequal Grand Final system.
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"Which is why committing to the MCG for another 50-odd years wasn't the answer,” Lyon told SEN Breakfast.
“That's why there's such angst from the interstate teams."
Watson explained his point of view further about the best-of-three Grand Final system.
“I never see it happening,” he said.
“I think it’s worth having the discussion about it but I can’t see it ever happening.
“It’s an exhaustive, difficult and combative game to play AFL football.
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“I just can't see how you can possibly ask people to play a best of three at the end of the season like that, unless you reduce the size or length of the season.”
Incoming Sydney Swans CEO Tom Harley believes the best-of-three idea is one that deserves consideration.
“At the very least I would like to see a discussion around it, as opposed to it just being taken off the table as something that should never be discussed…I think it has got genuine merit,” he told Sportsday.