Kane Cornes admits he was a tad shocked to learn that the 2021 AFL Grand Final will return to its traditional afternoon timeslot.
This year’s Grand Final will be played at the MCG on Saturday September 25th and first bounce will be at 2:30pm AEST.
Due to COVID-19, the 2020 Grand Final was held at night at the Gabba in the first premiership decider played under lights in VFL/AFL history.
Richmond’s win over Geelong attracted a national average TV audience of 3.812m and a peak audience of 4.283m and was the highest average audience since the 2016 Grand Final.
The average audience was also up 30 per cent on the 2019 Grand Final.
“I must admit, I was a little bit shocked,” Cornes told SEN SA Breakfast.
“I came back from last year’s Grand Final and I said on this show there’s no way the AFL will go back to a day Grand Final after seeing what we saw.
“The ratings came through and I saw them and I was like, ‘Channel 7 are not going to allow this to ever go back to a day Grand Final’.
“I was wrong on that and the AFL have listened to the fans because that’s what the fans want.
“It’s not something I’m up in arms about. The timeslot doesn’t dictate my interest in the AFL Grand Final.”
Cornes says an afternoon Grand Final makes for a better a spectacle.
“It’s great for the players is what I will say,” he said.
“Having done it, it’s much better during the day.
“Firstly, usually it’s a better spectacle because the ball’s drier and not as likely to have dew on it, but then after you get the real time to celebrate.
“I was a little bit surprised the AFL went back.
“I’m glad they made an early call, so we don’t have to debate it all year.”
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