AFL hopeful of more Saturday afternoon games in 2021

AFL Fixtures boss Travis Auld says he is hopeful of more traditional Saturday afternoon time games later on in the 2021 season.

Speaking on Sportsday, he said it was a priority of AFL boss Gil McLachlan to ensure those Saturday afternoon games at the MCG, although the Thursday and Friday night blockbusters had changed the start of the season.

“If you look at the first 6 rounds, there is a lot of those big [Victorian] teams sitting on Thursday and Friday nights which drags them out of that traditional Saturday afternoon slot,” he said.

“We have lost a couple just in that early part of the season when we are focussed on that really strong Thursday or Friday night, hopefully we can get some of those back later on in the year.”

Sportsday fill-in host Matt Granland explained it was one of his “bugbears” with the fixture.

“One thing I think is dying a little bit … is the Saturday afternoon game the game we grew up with in Melbourne.

“You don’t see many Saturday afternoon games in the traditional spot.

“I think you need a game on a Saturday afternoon in Melbourne every single week. It’s a staple.”

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AFL 2021 fixture: Timeslots for rounds 7-23 yet to be announced