Josh Daicos reveals the surprising number of grand final tickets the game’s biggest stars get – as Collingwood boss explodes over ticketing disaster for Pies fans

Collingwood star Josh Daicos has revealed the number of grand final tickets players will receive – while Pies chief executive Craig Kelly is calling on Ticketek to ‘improve their system’ and wants an increase in allocation for club members.

Daicos was interviewed on Nova 100’s Ben, Liam & Belle Melbourne breakfast show on Monday morning, where Ben asked him how many tickets he had received for this weekend’s AFL grand final at the MCG.

“Well, we’re lucky that we get four during the season, and for the grand finale we get eight,” Daicos said.

Liam asked the footy star if other players received the same amount.

“No, everyone understands it’s useful,” Daicos said.

The Collingwood boss has called for more seats to be allocated to major clubs

“But obviously it helps to have Nick because it means you know you have to have those tickets where mom and dad are going and then we kind of have for maybe a friend or a cousin.”

Meanwhile, Collingwood boss Craig Kelly has done just that called on the AFL to increase club membership from 17,000 to 20,000 to meet growing demand from the league’s largest clubs with more than 100,000 memberships.

Amid the scramble for tickets to the decider, Collingwood members who had spent thousands of membership dollars were given standing room tickets when they should have been given a seat by ticket agency Ticketek.

Others selected to receive tickets through a ballot had their accounts debited before they were allocated tickets, while other members’ credit cards were declined in what has become an annual problem with the delivery of grand final tickets.

Kelly discussed the issue on Monday and while he said all Collingwood members would be guaranteed tickets to the grand final, he called for a change to the system and the number of tickets competing clubs were allocated.

“We believe that members who make their hard-earned contributions should be rewarded with a fair opportunity to watch our team on the biggest stage,” he said in a club statement.

“We have been reviewing the situation overnight and have some updates for you.

“Each priority one (P1) member who has registered for the grand final vote will receive a ticket to the 2023 AFL grand final.

Craig Kelly said all Pies members who were guaranteed tickets to the grand final would get them

‘There were 37 P1 members who did not choose the standing room option and therefore missed out on tickets via the automatic voting. We will sort each of those 37 members directly to ensure they have a seat.

‘Anyone who is a P1 member and has received a standing ticket will be changed from standing to an assigned seat.

‘We call on Ticketek to improve their system so that as soon as money is debited from the bank account, the tickets are immediately released to members.

“We know that grand finals are a matter of high demand and limited availability, which is why we are calling on the AFL to increase the number of competitive club allocations from 17,000 to at least 20,000 tickets.

“We would like to assure all members that we are actively working with the AFL, MCC, Ticketek and other stakeholders to push for change and improve this system and access for our most committed members.”

Despite the errors, Ticketek was confident it had fulfilled its role in allocating the ballots.

“Ticketek would like to reassure all Collingwood members that the voting process for the AFL Grand Final went as planned, without any issues, and as instructed by the AFL, Collingwood Football Club and the MCG,” a statement from the agency said.

The grand final is sold out.