TDFL committeeman Scott Fraser rules out change of grand final date

It was revealed last week that the Hume and TDFL grand finals will clash next year for the first time in more than seven decades.

It is believed that the two competitions have previously played their grand finals on separate weekends since the TDFL was formed in 1945.

TDFL committeeman Scott Fraser said the league won't budge on its grand final date but gave assurances the clash will be a once-off.

"Undoubtedly the clash is not ideal," Fraser said.

"Traditionally the TDFL grand final is played the weekend before the O&M grand final and not the second weekend in September.

"Logistically we can't move the date forward a week because it will cause too many clashes.

"Namely Wahgunyah with the speedway and Wodonga Saints playing at Martin Park and clashing with Wodonga.

"They are probably the two biggest headaches when configuring the draw.

"Our grand final date always hinges around when the O&M grand final is.

"We always wait until the O&M finalises its draw before we release ours."

The O&M grand final is traditionally played a week before the AFL grand final.

However, the O&M decider looks likely to be played the day after the AFL grand final next year if the AFL - as is expected - persists with a bye during the finals series.

The TDFL has three general byes scheduled in its draw.

Fraser said eliminating a bye wasn't a practical solution to avoiding the grand final clash.

"The first bye is over Easter which is what all the clubs want," he said.

"The second bye is for the junior inter-league in May which is required.

"The third bye is in early July.

"If we get rid of that it means clubs will be forced to play 14-weeks straight before finals.

"Last time that happened was in 2015 I think and there were a lot of unhappy coaches and players who had a bit to say about it."

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Fraser expects the clash to have a bigger impact on Hume league gate takings compared to the TDFL.

"Our grand final is usually played on the same day as the Hume league preliminary final," he said.

"The Hume league may get at a guess 1000 or more the following week that were at the TDFL grand final.

"So the Hume league may take a bit of a hit in that regard next year.

"Yes, footy fans will be robbed of the opportunity to attend both grand finals.

"But in my opinion there are enough fans to support both grand finals and still be successful financially."

Both the Hume and Tallangatta leagues first became aware of the grand final clash last month.

Officials from both leagues only had a brief discussion about the clash.

"To my knowledge Gavin Rendell and Dalton Wegener spoke on the phone about the matter," Fraser said.

"The clash is just very unfortunate set of circumstances."

Hume league president Phil Bouffler told The Border Mail last week that he was 'disappointed' the TDFL hadn't found an alternative grand final date.

However, Fraser said he had received no negative feedback about the decision since it became public.

"I've heard nothing from our member clubs," he said.

"It's just about playing finals again to be honest.

"Is the grand final clash as relevant as not playing finals for the past two years?

"The clubs had 28 requests in regards to the draw for next year.

"27 of the 28 requests were met which is satisfying from the board's perspective."

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