PM Anthony Albanese fired off a verbal jab at outgoing AFL CEO and certified CEOILF (you can figure out what it stands for) Gillon McLachlan. During the AFL’s annual Grand Final Breakfast, Albanese referenced Friday’s highly-roasted parade down Melbourne’s Yarra River.
In a video that has already notched up over 50,000 views on Twitter in a couple of hours, Albanese is seen at the lectern delivering his keynote speech.
Albo out here doing GEAR 😂 pic.twitter.com/XOuyw9F6PH
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) September 23, 2022
“Congrats to Gil McLachlan on a fantastic career as head of the AFL,” Albanese began.
“I’m glad you didn’t have to do the honours introducing me today. I understand from Christian Petracca that you have a few problems with the Italian surnames.”
The gag was in reference to McLachlan’s repeated mispronunciations of Petracca’s surname at the AFL Brownlow ceremony last week.
The Melbourne Demons player was visibly pissed off and BOY would I have loved to have been a fly on the tablecloth while this footage was being shot.
Petracca frustrated with Gill’s pronunciation of his name 😂🤌#Brownlow pic.twitter.com/is7oSIr5AT
— Basil (@BasilZoccali) September 18, 2022
But Albanese wasn’t done yet and circled back like a vulture for round two.
“To Gil I would say having watched the [grand final] parade on the Yarra yesterday, to quote a former prime minister, we do need to stop the boats.”
The gag extracted a hearty chuckle from the audience but we’d be remiss not to mention that Albanese’s Labor Party also support boat turn-backs.
Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story though, eh? Politics really is all about the messaging…
As for the grand final parade, it truly was a shit show and received near-universal canning by fans.
Grand Final parade. 0/10 experience. Would not recommend.
— Sara without an H (@sara_k85) September 23, 2022
This will go down in grand final infamy with Meatloaf and Angry Anderson’s Batmobile…how ridiculous that kids need binoculars to see their heroes in the GF parade https://t.co/iewIwZRoYO
— Tom Steinfort (@tomsteinfort) September 23, 2022
If Melbourne is trying to rejuvenate our city, why then would you put the stars of the AFL Grand Final in a barge and send them up the Yarra ? The essence of the parade was the closeness and interaction over the years with the players and coaches. Missed the target 🎯 AFL2023
— Bryan Martin OAM (@bmracingclub) September 23, 2022
Proposed #AFL Grand Final Parade for 2023. pic.twitter.com/2zmhONAEB7
— Darren 🧢 (@DrBlackVelvet) September 23, 2022
In preparation for the big dance between Sydney and Geelong, take a peek at our quick explainer on the Indigenous game of Marngrook and how it influenced the AFL game we know and love today.
Otherwise, we’ll catch you at next year’s parade. Far away from the river.
