Eddie McGuire’s radical plan for two AFL teams would see neither of them play a single game in Melbourne unless they reach the final
- McGuire explains the radical AFL scheduling plan
- GWS and Gold Coast would not play in Melbourne
- These parties would ‘build competition’ for AFL
Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has revealed that he would like to see two AFL teams’ schedules completely overhauled so that neither would play in Melbourne during the regular season.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced $240 million in funding for the development of a new stadium in Hobart, paving the way for Apple Isle to be given the go-ahead to become the home of the AFL’s 19th team.
McGuire believes there is also a ‘consortium’ to add a third Western Australian team alongside Fremantle and West Coast, bringing the total to 20 clubs and eliminating the need for a farewell.
“There is a consortium that wants to put a third team in Perth,” McGuire said on the Eddie and Jimmy podcast, which he co-hosts with retired Geelong prime minister Jimmy Bartel.
“Because they have the stadium there, they have to keep it rolling.”
Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has a radical plan to keep two AFL teams from playing a single game in Melbourne during the regular season
McGuire believes there is no point in GWS or Gold Coast coming to Melbourne to play
McGuire said the AFL needs to think financially when planning where teams play.
“I’d like to see your team [speaking to Bartel about GWS] play 11 matches in western Sydney and 11 matches in Canberra. You don’t have to come to Melbourne,’ he said.
“That way we could end up with let’s call it 2030 we could end up with the Gold Coast playing in the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland and Alice Springs – it makes no sense for them to come to Melbourne to play Collingwood or Carlton play – it is a loss maker.
“Let’s make these teams [GWS and the Gold Coast] what they were invented for and that is to build competition.
‘They will get [to the MCG] if they make finals and stuff – don’t worry about that.
“If we do that then we would have Western Australia and you could have three teams in Western Australia and I would like North Melbourne to play 11 in Tassie and 11 here. [in Melbourne]but we have our own team in Tassie.
‘We’ve got Tassie, South Australia, Western Australia, if we get you [GWS] meaningful to Canberra for the first time for 11 home games – tick. Western Sydney, 11 home games, that’s all you get.
“We need to pour resources into Queensland at the moment because NRL is throwing everything at it – that’s the growth area.
Under McGuire’s plan, GWS and the Gold Coast would abandon Melbourne matches (Collingwood vs Geelong at the MCG, pictured) in favor of Canberra, the Northern Territory and the far north of Queensland
“Nothing comes out of Tassie except goodwill — tap. But that’s not where growth or money comes from.’