{"id":517906,"date":"2026-03-04T10:23:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T10:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/517906\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T10:23:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T10:23:09","slug":"grand-final-moved-to-twilight-time-slot-start-time-new-commissioner-craig-drummond-garry-lyon-draft-bidding-system-opening-round-queensland-whether-latest-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/517906\/","title":{"rendered":"Grand final moved to twilight time slot, start time, new Commissioner Craig Drummond, Garry Lyon, draft bidding system, Opening Round Queensland whether, latest news"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Melbourne legend Garry Lyon says it\u2019s time for the AFL to move the grand final to a twilight time slot as a decision looms over the next couple of months.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theage.com.au\/sport\/afl\/afl-to-review-grand-final-timeslot-under-new-commission-chairman-20260303-p5o752.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">The Age reported<\/a> that the league will review the grand final time slot \u2014 and the potential to move it from a day game to twilight or night \u2014 early in 2026, under new Commissioner chairman Craig Drummond with help from AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon.<\/p>\n<p>The report notes that a call will be made soon and won\u2019t drag too late into the season. <\/p>\n<p><img class=\"i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/poster-fallback.png\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/afl\/match-centre\/AFL20260003\" class=\"sc-1wtgx8i-5 gmewyC\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pointsbet.com.au\/sports\/aussie-rules\/AFL\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-1wtgx8i-5 gmewyC\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"i-amphtml-intrinsic-sizer\" role=\"presentation\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyBoZWlnaHQ9IjI4IiB3aWR0aD0iOTAiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgdmVyc2lvbj0iMS4xIi8+\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>WHAT&#8217;S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n<p>Watch every match of every round of the Premiership Season LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? <a href=\"https:\/\/kayosports.com.au?pg=default&amp;extcamp=fsaeditoriallinkafl-edt-fsp-lnk-awr-grc-afl-kyo&amp;channel=fsa&amp;campaign=fsacontra&amp;voucher=\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>So will the 2026 decider be shifted into the evening?<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on Fox Footy\u2019s AFL 360 on Wednesday night, Dillon confirmed a decision would be reached at the next Commission meeting in late April or early May.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny discussions about that will be decisions of the Commission. We\u2019ll run all of those decisions through the filter of our three focuses for this year \u2014 what\u2019s best for the footy, our fans and future,\u201d Dillon said on the program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI imagine that will be a decision on the Commissioner\u2019s agenda pretty shortly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur next Commission meeting is in sort of late April, early May. I imagine there will be a decision made at that meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Remembering Dennis Cometti | 03:40<\/p>\n<p>Former Geelong president Drummond on Wednesday was officially announced Richard Goydner\u2019s successor as the new Commissioner chair. <\/p>\n<p>And Lyon thinks Drumond should \u201cmake a brave choice\u201d to kick off his tenure and move the grand final. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been a bit ambivalent about it all. But I think Craig Drummond has the opportunity to go in and make a bit of a statement,\u201d Lyon said on AFL 360.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was always a bit of a traditionalist, but I don\u2019t think we lose too much about going to a twilight grand final, I think there\u2019s a sense of inevitability about it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s start fresh with a new Commisoner, make a brave choice. Cop a couple early, wear a couple early, then move on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Swans coach halts Curnow v Buddy talk | 02:23<\/p>\n<p>AFL 360 co-host Gerard Whateley suspects changing the showpiece game\u2019s time slot won\u2019t go down well with footy fans, but he thinks it\u2019s the right call long term.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019ll be a loss the day it\u2019s announced, it\u2019ll be a win when the impact of it is fully measured,\u201d Whateley said.<\/p>\n<p>Dillon also confirmed on AFL 360 that changes to the draft bidding system, which is set to make clubs pay a higher price for Academy and father-son linked players, are set to be introduced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCompetitive balance is the bedrock of the success of the AFL &#8230; it\u2019s super important,\u201d he began.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think what we have seen over the last couple of years is clubs have become more sophisticated. They\u2019ve worked their way through the draft bidding system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo what we want to make sure is, when that priority access is given &#8230; that a fair price is paid under the system we have. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had a good meeting with the Commission earlier today. We\u2019ve got a few more tweaks to make, but we\u2019ll be making an announcement on that in the next couple of weeks. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want all our fans to have hope.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the AFL chief said games in Queensland would go ahead this weekend despite weather concerns a year after the Opening Round fixtures in the state were abandoned due to the effects of Cyclone Alfred.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was a bit more nervous this time last year,\u201d Dillon said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s going to rain a bit up in Queensland, but we\u2019re not dealing with the aftermaths of a cyclone. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo the games will go ahead and I think we\u2019ll see some really good footy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Melbourne legend Garry Lyon says it\u2019s time for the AFL to move the grand final to a twilight&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":517907,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,258667,64,63,689,55,639,684,258673,1129,146518,160417,12148,31209,258511,166599,258671,10145,61,11288,258670,31732,258672,258675,258668,677,701,242361,85,136879,258669,258674],"class_list":{"0":"post-517906","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-andrew-dillon-dillon","10":"tag-au","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","13":"tag-australian-football-league","14":"tag-australianfootballleague","15":"tag-ben-cotton","16":"tag-brave-choice","17":"tag-charlie-curnow","18":"tag-craig-drummond","19":"tag-day-game","20":"tag-dean-cox","21":"tag-decision-looms","22":"tag-dennis-cometti","23":"tag-draft-bidding-system","24":"tag-final-time-slot","25":"tag-garry-lyon","26":"tag-gerard-whateley","27":"tag-grand-final","28":"tag-grand-final-time","29":"tag-lance-franklin","30":"tag-league-chief","31":"tag-night-time","32":"tag-night-time-grand","33":"tag-oceania","34":"tag-queensland","35":"tag-showpiece-game","36":"tag-sports","37":"tag-time-slot","38":"tag-twilight-time","39":"tag-twilight-time-slot"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=517906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517906\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}