Footy’s back! But it’s time to revisit the opening act

Footy’s back. How good.

And with it comes thousands flocking to the MCG tonight, decked out in their teams’ colours.

Richmond superstar Dustin Martin gathers one of 31 possessions during the Tigers’ last round one clash with Carlton in 2021. Credit:Getty Images

Surrounding pubs will be packed, fans shoulder-to-shoulder like sardines in a tin, bold calls made as fast as the beers flow.

But while I watch the Tigers and Blues tonight, I also wonder why, yet again, the AFL continues to give these two teams the privilege of opening the season.

I get the notion of starting the year with momentum.

Two big, proud and successful Victorian clubs going head-to-head.

A sold-out MCG, under lights.

But what have they done to earn a stranglehold on this fixture?

I, like many, will be glued to the screen.

Hell, it’s been 109 days since the AFLW decider was boomed into our loungerooms and 170 since last year’s AFL grand final.

So starved are footy fans, I’d just as happily tune in for a local rivalry between amateur clubs Bullcreek Leeming and the Willetton Blues. After all, we know full well how good the atmosphere in the can bar is.

Tonight’s match will be the eighth time in nine years Richmond and Carlton have been gifted the honour of starting the season.

The outlier was last year, when Premiers Melbourne kicked four of the last five goals to fight off grand finalists the Western Bulldogs.

During this time, the Tigers and Blues have played out dour affairs. Every. Single. Time.

The Tigers winning all seven games, only once the Blues getting within less than four goals.

And these one-sided outcomes could have been easily predicted by those at AFL HQ, given the formlines of them coming into the season.

Not once had Carlton made finals the year prior, while Richmond made the top eight in all bar one season and won three premierships.

But why don’t we take the guessing element out of the fixtures and go with a simple formula which is most likely to give footy fans a match deserving of a proper season opener.

A grand final replay.

Sure, it doesn’t ensure an amazing, tight, hard-fought contest, but it also doesn’t act as a free hit for clubs like the Blues, who are currently getting rewarded for being perennial underperformers.

Let’s reward the best team of the year prior with opening the season. Give the premiers the eyeballs of the footy world they deserve and a chance to unfurl the flag in front of their fans at their home ground.

There’s also a greater chance of an even contest.

Both sides have the exact same length of pre-season and time to recover from injuries and should anyone be suspended from the grand final, they’ll serve it against the team they infringed.

I’m not a fan of constant tweaking and changing of rules every season.

But at least this is giving the season opening match the best chance of being a spectacle, worthy of the occasion and hype.

“You get what you deserve in a game, really,” was a quote from Adam Simpson in 2021.

It was very fitting after the Eagles were smashed by 97 points by Geelong.

Unfortunately, the same principle can’t be said when it comes to the mindset displayed by those sitting at Docklands when landing on the best way to begin each AFL season.

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