Anzac eve now a must-watch spectacleJon Ralph,
Herald Sun
26 April 2017BUILD it and they will come.
In the space of three years Richmond and Melbourne have turned a lukewarm rivalry into one of the AFL’s mighty spectacles.
Not only has their Anzac Day eve clash added 30,000 fans to its annual contests, it pays tribute to the fallen in all theatres of battle without diminishing Anzac Day.
Now it has grown so big it has the support Collingwood president Eddie McGuire, a reluctant convert who says he can see the potential in this game.
And as dusk fell on the MCG on Monday night in an eerie and sombre pre-match ceremony the AFL must have seen the possibilities of a night Grand Final
The crowd of 85,657 eclipsed the best crowd between these two sides by 9000 supporters and was Melbourne’s biggest home-and-away crowd since 1964.
The AFL has been particularly reluctant to schedule this game, but surely now it has irrefutable evidence it doesn’t detract from Monday’s contest.
And as McGuire said on there is an easy remedy when the contest is played on a Tuesday or Wednesday.
If Richmond and Melbourne play off a five-day break but take on either Collingwood or Essendon the next week it lessens the potential disadvantage.
The teams in the Anzac Day clash get 18 hours less break but it prevents next round’s looming issue where Geelong is handed two extra days over Collingwood.
Both Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale and Melbourne counterpart Peter Jackson say their football staff would be behind a shorter break.
“I think it’s jumped every hurdle so far. I know the AFL and its broadcasters had some early concerns with a Sunday night game but it came through well last year,’’ Jackson said.
“It’s the same as the Anzac Day game where if you want to be part of that stage you have to deal with the downside.
“From time to time there will be a five-day break and it’s something you have to deal with.”
Gale said his leadership group and football department would be prepared to play off a five-day break given the nature of the game.
“The ability of the game to showcase the sacrifice of wartime conflict and also compliment Anzac Day the next day, those things are strong,’’ he said.
“The other issues aren’t insurmountable.
“We have thought out about playing on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and we think it’s worth doing. It would involve talking to our players leadership group as to why we think it’s an important thing to do.”
Jack Riewoldt said post-match the roar he heard after Richmond’s comeback was dwarfed only by the Carlton-Richmond final of 2013.
The game itself was bookended by the Richmond roar and the stunning silence of the pre-match ceremony.
If that pre-match occasion was wildly different to the raucous Grand Final atmosphere, it still showed how pitch black is the perfect backdrop for an entree to a blockbuster clash.
From the crowd interaction with their camera lights to the joint banner to the light show, it was spectacular.
Time for the league to frank this clash any day of the week and ponder the benefits of a night Grand Final while they are at it.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/expert-opinion/jon-ralph/richmond-and-melbourne-have-built-the-anzac-day-eve-clash-into-a-real-blockbuster/news-story/fa662c6770ae20661906fafe1434a77c
