Press PLAY below to hear why Mick McGuane has a problem with the timing of the Geelong v Collingwood clash

A Collingwood great turned suburban league coach says the AFL’s decision to hold the Geelong v Collingwood blockbuster at 4.35pm on a Saturday is a “dagger in the heart of community sport”.

Mick McGuane, who is current coach of the EDFL’s Keilor side, is among local footy chiefs who’ve hit out at the AFL for holding an afternoon final on September 3 saying it’ll do “serious damage” to suburban and regional football competitions.

“You’re giving a choice to a group of people who actually could just up and go and get to the MCG, and leave grassroots footy,” he told Ross and Russel.

McGuane says sponsorship has dried up “enormously” due to COVID-19, so suburban and regional teams are more reliant than ever on volunteers.

“It’s very difficult to get volunteers to even partake in canteen rostering or around the ground raffles, those traditional income streams that have become so important to local footy,” he said.

I can’t believe the @AFL scheduled @GeelongCats v @CollingwoodFC on Saturday at 4.35. Another dagger in the heart of community sport as most competitions are starting finals. Stop the lip service saying you look after community footy. Volunteers are thin on the ground as it is

— Michael McGuane (@MickMCG34) August 22, 2022

Image (background): Mark Dadswell/Getty Images