North Melbourne captain Emma Kearney and coach Darren Crocker back AFLW to host overnight grand final

A NORTH Melbourne premiership coach and captain has backed the AFLW for retaining the night Grand Final, with winning captain Emma Kearney suggesting the men’s competition should follow suit.

A sell-out crowd of 12,122 flocked to Ikon Park on Saturday night to watch the Roos win their first premiership, just three weeks after the AFL confirmed the season’s deciding match would be played under lights for the first time.

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The decision was successful: on Saturday in Melbourne there was incessant rain throughout the day, and in the evening it gave way to clear skies.

Kearney has no doubt the call was successful and suggested the men’s decider in September would also be played under lights.

“The night grand final is something special,” Kearney said during the post-match presentation. “Maybe we’ll see this in men, who knows?”

Kearney then added with a smile, “Maybe not.”

Her coach Darren Crocker, himself a premiership player for the Roos, supported his captain’s decision.

“I agree with Kearns, it’s a great night,” he said. “Holding the Grand Final at night could be the recipe for the AFLW.”

As the evening wore on, the rain eased, meaning Australian band Lime Cordiale’s pre-match set took place under blue skies before the first bounce at 7:45 pm ET.

Given that Victoria is currently in Daylight Saving Time, the sun sets around 8:30pm AEDT.

The AFL has been flexible in its timing of AFLW Grand Finals throughout the competition’s short eight-season history, with four being held on a Saturday afternoon and three, including the previous two, being held on a Sunday.

Last year’s decider between North Melbourne and Brisbane took place at Ikon Park on Sunday at 2.30pm AEDT, the latest kick-off time in AFLW history but still in the traditional afternoon timeslot.

The AFL explored the possibility of staging the Grand Final at dusk or at night for its men’s competition, but only experimented with staging its showpiece event under lights during the COVID-19-interrupted 2020 and 2021 campaigns.

The 2020 grand final in Queensland took place at night, while the 2021 decider in Western Australia took place at dusk at 5:15 pm local time.

In August, the AFL acknowledged the growing popularity of twilight games but confirmed the men’s grand final in 2024 would continue with the traditional 2:30 p.m. kick-off time.

“While there was acknowledgment of the excellent presentation of Saturday’s twilight event, particularly in some of the important games in that time slot during this year’s home and away season, there was a collective view that the Toyota AFL Grand Final should remain in its traditional venue for 2024.” , the League said in a statement after the AFL Commission approved the traditional start time for another year.