Veteran South Australian journalist Michelangelo Rucci has taken issue with a comment from North Melbourne coach David Noble.
While defending his club’s right to Good Friday football, the Roos coach said the club was disappointed the fixture was no longer standalone.
"The club fought really hard to get that. It's now not a standalone game, as it was when it was initially established. If that's the case, then all marquee games should be opened up … Anzac Day, Good Friday, Dreamtime,” Noble told reporters on Wednesday.
The AFL has fixtured Adelaide versus Gold Coast for Good Friday and previously had West Coast and Port Adelaide on the night.
Rucci believes the league must keep non-Victorian teams in the mix for marquee timeslots.
“I admire David Noble because he’s putting a stake in the ground at a time where they’re being smashed,” Rucci told SEN SA Drive.
“Let me go through a list here. Opening day, Richmond versus Carlton at the MCG. Easter Monday, Geelong versus Hawthorn at the MCG. Dreamtime, Essendon versus Richmond at the MCG. Queen’s Birthday, Melbourne versus Collingwood at the MCG. Anzac Day, Collingwood versus Essendon at the MCG.
“What’s the common thread here? Is this a national competition?
“Are there actually matchups around the nation that could stand up for national attention?
“When are we going to have marquee public holiday events played around the nation and not be exclusive to the MCG like the Grand Final is and not exclusive to Victorian clubs?
“David Noble wants to take this exclusively for North Melbourne, and I understand the complications in Melbourne with the Good Friday Easter Appeal, so it has to fit into that.
“If it’s now another game on a big public holiday that is taken by two Victorian clubs to be held in Melbourne, locking out everyone else in this national competition, is that right? For me it isn’t.”