He said he’d listened to widespread frustration regarding the grand final eve public holiday on Friday from small business owners throughout the North East, particularly in Bright, Myrtleford and Wangaratta.

“They’re all saying, ‘are you guys going to get rid of this?’,” Mr McCurdy told The Border Mail.

“I think it would’ve been an absolute disaster for the street parade without a Melbourne side in there.”

The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry released a report last week which claimed a whopping 87 per cent of businesses did not support the holiday continuing.

But Mr McCurdy said change would come from traders’ anger and not politicians’ rhetoric.

“It’s always nicer when it’s not an MP who’s in opposition who is calling to scrap these things,” he said.

“It’s like the CFA thing. If we’re the only ones standing up there saying they’ve got this wrong, well people take it with a grain of salt or a level of skepticism.

“But when it’s actually small business saying it, when it’s other individuals saying it … well then you are at least representing their voice, you’re not just picking holes in what the government’s doing.”

Small business owner Heather Murphy, who runs Cafe Elmwood in Wodonga, said she would be shutting her doors on Friday.

“There’s a lot of people that probably aren't happy about it if they’ve got full-time staff,” she said.

But Ms Murphy said she belonged to a footy family and could still enjoy the holiday despite the parade being in Melbourne. 

Her son Lachie Dale, who plays for Myrtleford in the Ovens and Murray Football Netball League, supported a holiday on the day before the big dance. “Definitely, it’s a good chance to relax and take a break,” he said.

Opposition leader Matthew Guy indicated his government would scrap the holiday if elected in the 2018 state election.