Geelong Cats may lose home AFL clash against Richmond Tigers to MCGSam McClure
The Age
6 June 2017The AFL may consider moving Geelong's round 21 clash with Richmond from Simonds Stadium to the MCG if the form of both teams continues over the next 10 weeks.
In a time when momentum is building for the Cats to be handed a home final at Kardinia Park, the club could be stripped of a home-and-away game if circumstances call for it.
The match, scheduled for August 12, is one of seven games fixtured at Simonds Stadium, the majority of which will be in the back half of the year due to the venue's recent redevelopment.
But, with Geelong third on the ladder and Richmond fourth, the game could potentially draw a crowd double the size of Simonds Stadium's capacity of 36,000.
Geelong, bemused by even the suggestion of a change to the fixture, remain adamant that moving the game from Simonds Stadium would be almost impossible.
"We doubt it could be done and we certainly wouldn't support it," Cats acting CEO Justin Reeves told Fairfax Media.
"It's certainly the first we've heard of it."
While the AFL wouldn't comment on Monday, it's understood a fixture change would be considered if there was a chance of locking out tens of thousands of supporters.
The last four games between the clubs at the MCG have drawn an average crowd of 45,000 and on the one of those occasions that both teams were in the top eight, the crowd was 55,625.
The AFL now finds itself in a difficult position with a decision either way likely to prompt a heavy backlash from Geelong for moving a home game or from Richmond for potentially locking out 30,000 people.
"Pulling the fixture together is a complex task and we all understand there will be anomalies from time to time. Obviously from a football perspective we are happy to play anybody anywhere but we do think that in the interests of maximising crowds our games against Geelong should always be played at a larger stadium," said Tigers CEO Brendon Gale.
"We are one of three clubs with 70,000 plus members and, unfortunately, some fans will miss out when we play later in the year and that is never ideal."
Total Richmond attendances eclipsed 900,000 last year making Richmond the second biggest crowd-pulling club.
In 2015, the Tigers played before more than 1.05 million people, making them number one in the AFL.
The MCG has no scheduled match on August 12, with the only event that weekend being the clash between Melbourne and St Kilda, which is the following day.
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