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Scrapping Opening Round after once-in-50-years weather event would be short-sighted
Ashley Browne • March 8th, 2025 11:30 am
The critics are coming fast and loud for the concept of the Opening Round after Tropical Cyclone Alfred caused the postponement of this weekend’s two Queensland games at the Gabba and Metricon Stadium.
Sydney and now southeast Queensland are Australia’s most competitive sporting markets, and for many years, the AFL’s northern clubs watched helplessly as the two rugby codes got their seasons underway early and dominated the headlines and the airwaves.
Opening Round, together with new ground arrangements that gave the AFL access to the Gabba and SCG in March, was devised to counter that, and four sell-out crowds in 2024 were proof that it worked.
This weekend’s Queensland games were also on track to be sold out, and it’s not like Opening Round quells the appetite for footy elsewhere. Last year’s Round 1 was the most attended in League history.
Granted, with just two matches in Sydney, it has become an underwhelming start to 2025, but to abandon the concept entirely because of a once-in-50-years weather event would be short-sighted by the AFL.
The other talking point is the raft of high-profile injuries. The season starts earlier every year, which places greater demand on getting the players ready for the opening game. Club high-performance managers walk a tightrope every summer.
The generous length of the players’ off-season needs to be addressed, and the argument for them to give some ground and return to pre-season training earlier has considerable merit.
