Let’s be clear here: It’s absolutely a good thing that the AFL finally caved to various external pressure and shut the league down partway through the deeply odd crowd-less first round of the year. But that doesn’t mean I’m any less of a punctured inflatable tube man flailing wildly in the wind without 9 games of footy to structure my suddenly very lonely weekends around. All is not lost, however, thanks to Channel Seven’s announcement that they will be filling the void slightly by airing full replays of some of the greatest games of AFL ever played.
With giant holes in their weekend broadcast schedule to fill, Seven has today announced the first raft of classic games from the vault to be screened in various markets across the country.
Tomorrow night, in the traditional Friday night prime time footy slot, the AFL’s official broadcaster is reaching into its archives and pulling out some absolute bangers.
In Victoria, the iconic 2009 heavyweight classic between St Kilda and Geelong – both of whom were undefeated at that point in the season – will be getting another airing. Both squads are replete with club legends and Hall of Famers in their absolute prime, like Gary Ablett, Paul Chapman, Matthew Scarlett, Nick Riewoldt, Lenny Hayes, Nick Dal Santo, and a stack of others. The game still holds the Marvel Stadium attendance record of 54,444, which is about as many people as you can fit inside the ground before folks start bursting up through the roof. It is, I cannot stress this enough, an absolute fucken banger of a game.
One of the best games of all time.
Friday night sorted 🍿#SevensFootyVault pic.twitter.com/di0fksDIka
— 7AFL (@7AFL) March 26, 2020
For Western Australian audiences, the 2018 Grand Final between West Coast and Collingwood is getting another airing, featuring almost inarguably the greatest comeback in Grand Final history, Collingwood blowing an historic early game lead, and *that* final end-to-end sequence resulting in Dom Sheed’s needle-eye perfect go-ahead goal.
You don’t wanna miss this, @WestCoastEagles fans 🦅#SevensFootyVault pic.twitter.com/NLQnaQaPdZ
— 7AFL (@7AFL) March 26, 2020
And in South Australia, the deeply iconic 2013 Showdown clash between Adelaide and Port Adelaide is set to hit the air, which not only represents the final all-SA clash at the famed if not grotty Football Park, but also an off-break that would even give Nathan Lyon a stiffy, and one of the most gripping final two minutes in any Showdown ever. Croweater footy at it’s absolute finest.
A Showdown in more ways than one. #SevensFootyVault pic.twitter.com/uQQUTIjCKl
— 7AFL (@7AFL) March 26, 2020
Those games continue on from FOX FOOTY’s previously announced plan of following the scheduled AFL season by playing a classic game in place of what would’ve been a regular season game, coupled with new commentary and tongue-in-cheek expert analysis. That run of coverage kicks off tonight with a past Collingwood/Richmond game of unknown origin.
Seven’s classic footy broadcasts begin Friday on 7Mate at 7:30pm local time in each state.
