GEORGIE PARKER: AFL shows it is listening to its fans with opening round, AFLW and grand final decisions

The AFL isn’t renowned for asking fans what they think or when they do it often feels like they ignore the feedback.

Most of the time, decisions feel like they’re made in boardrooms, ticked off by broadcasters, and handed down with a “this is what’s best for the game” attached. Whether fans agree or not is usually beside the point.

But there’s been a few big decisions lately that looks like they actually have listened to what the heart and soul of the game have been saying.

The quiet climbdown on Opening Round

Round zero never really landed.

For three years it’s felt clunky, uneven, and totally unnecessary. It created fixture issues before the season had even properly started, with some teams playing and others sitting idle, and it didn’t take long for fans to start question what the point of it actually was, and was it worth it?

So, when Andrew Dillon this weekend confirmed all 18 teams will be involved next year, it was hard not to see it for what it is - a soft reset to what it should have always been.

They won’t frame it that way, of course, but effectively it brings things back to a proper opening round or dare I say it, round one. And while it might seem like a small tweak, it matters. Fixture inequality has been one of the biggest frustrations for fans for years, and this at least removes one of the more obvious problems. I’d hope instead of breaking the round up like they have, they’ll simply highlight the northern states teams in prime time matches instead.

The fixture will never be perfect, but this is an example of the AFL stopping, listening and then recognising something isn’t working, and then actually doing something about it.

AFLW finally getting a better stage

The AFLW has always been in a slightly awkward position. It’s never known where its season belongs, and as a byproduct, has found it hard to compete.

It’s a competition with huge potential and a growing supporter base, but for a long time it hasn’t been given the best chance to show that.

Midweek games, tough time slots, and limited exposure have made it harder than it should be to build momentum and bring casual fans along. A 5pm match at Frankston on a Wednesday night is hardly a fan-friendly time.

That’s why the move to introduce AFL/AFLW double-headers matters, even if it’s only four games to start with.

It’s a step towards putting the women’s game in front of bigger crowds and letting it grow alongside the men’s competition, instead of running parallel to it. For fans, it makes it easier - you go to the footy once and get both. For players and clubs, it creates a bigger stage and helps bring together the one-club mentality that is lacking.

There’s also a bit of history in it. Footy used to be a full-day experience, with reserves and seniors. This has the potential to bring a version of that back, while also strengthening the connection between AFL and AFLW teams under the same club banner.

Four games isn’t a complete fix. But it’s a genuine starting point, and importantly, it’s come directly off the back of what fans have been asking for.

A rare grand final win for fans

Locking in a daytime grand final for the next two years shouldn’t feel like a huge victory, but I feel like it’s kind of is.

Firstly, it will stop the conversation for a season at least, which will give us all a break from the same arguments for and against a twilight finale.

But every time the question gets asked to the fans, the answer is overwhelmingly the same - people want it during the day. It’s tradition, it’s what people know, and in my opinion, I genuinely think it produces better footy.

Cleaner skills, better conditions, and a game that doesn’t get impacted by the changing conditions of twilight. It’s a time slot for the game itself, rather than being a sidebar of the pregame and halftime entertainment.

There’s also something about a day grand final that just feels right. The build-up around the Yarra. The September sun feeling like winter sport finals time. The smell of barbecues wafting around the suburbs during the uniquely Australian game.

The AFL could have kept drifting towards that later timeslot to keep broadcasters happy, (we all know that’s what they want), and it probably will again at some point. But for now, this feels like a decision that leaned towards what fans actually want. That doesn’t happen all that often but for a second, we all felt heard.

None of these moves makes the AFL a fan-first organisation. That’s probably a stretch. But for once, it does feel like they’ve heard the noise, and instead of brushing it off, they’ve actually responded. And in sport, where it so often feels like profits come first, that’s probably worth pointing out.