Patrick Dangerfield watched last year’s AFL grand final parade with envy. His team had just been eliminated in a painful preliminary final defeat to the Lions, and so to see Brisbane captain Harris Andrews enjoying the spotlight was not easy.
“Watching Harris on the back of a ute, I was envious, absolutely,” he says at the start of Friday’s proceedings at Melbourne Park. “There’s nothing like it, it’s a wonderful feeling that you’re in the biggest game of the year and you’re a live chance and it’s all ahead of you.”
Under cloudy skies the parade begins with a blue and white explosion, in front of a crowd thinner than previous years. The absence of a Melbourne giant contesting Saturday’s match is obvious, but still they come in all colours. There is even a GWS cap, and the emerald green of a Devils beanie.
Younger fans bring miniature footballs, making the most of what grassy slivers they could find until kick-to-kick is interrupted. “I hear music,” one primary schooler in a Lions jumper tells his father, as he drops his ball where he stands and scurries off towards the fence.
The MC of the first ute is inane. “Make some noise for Brisbane, if you’re bringin’ it,” he appears to say. “You’re the party animals right?” The clutch of Lions in front of him are in good spirits, flattered by the attention.
Then comes Jack Riewoldt and the premiership cup. One of his daughters wears a Devils jersey, a reminder that tomorrow isn’t everything. The umpires follow, then a strange gap of some 200 metres. “They’re meant to be right behind us”, one offers apologetically. Soon a brass band appears, wearing Hawaiian shirts speckled with club logos and white and blue hats branded “Gather Round”. Their rendition of The Final Countdown is the day’s musical highlight.
The hubbub draws Zeus to the side of the fence. One of dozens of dogs to watch the proceedings, what appears to be a rottweiler is being reined in by its owner, lead at full tension.Kids in Auskick sweatshirts are dragged along in a trailer. “Gee-long”, they shout, feeling very grown up.
There is Brownlow winner Matt Rowell, stars of the AFLW like Aishling Moloney and Ebony Marinoff. This year’s AFL rising star Murphy Reid motors by alongside the AFLW’s Matilda Scholz. Geelong winger Ollie Dempsey was in their position last year, but still reeling from the preliminary final defeat. Despite the status of the parade, Dempsey revealed beforehand he couldn’t remember if he had come as a kid. “I was a Hawks fan so I probably would have when we won three in a row.”
To be fair to Dempsey, some of the day is forgettable. One Cats fan chases down Chris Scott’s ute, shouting “good luck Chris”, at the same he stumbles on a bollard. The coach thanks him, the ute crawling away at walking speed.
The Cats’ mascots walk past, offering high fives to some on the fence – but not all. “No that’s a Cat, put your hand down,” one dad in Lions gear tells his daughter. The pre-schooler doesn’t take it well, not yet rehearsed in footy banter. Now there’s Jeremy Cameron, and a Lions fan shouts “don’t kick 12 on us, you cheeky bugger”. The forward can muster only an exasperated mutter: “Ah, ha.”
On the back of the utes, some pairings are obvious. Jack Henry is next to Mark Blicavs. “He’s one of my best mates,” Blicavs said beforehand. “I just texted the girls organising it all and said ‘do you mind if I go with Jack?’”. After the success in 2022, was Blicavs’ choice a superstition? “Nah, we got a cool photo taken of us, so I thought let’s try and do it again.”
Brad Close is driven by, his arms folded. Next to him, Tyson Stengle looks off into the distance, appearing transfixed by a plane taking off and away from Melbourne’s skyscrapers. Dangerfield is flanked by Bailey Smith.
Cats coach Scott said Smith had added “colour” to Geelong’s established squad dynamic. “If you know them, they’re a big group of introverts within that team,” he said. “Bailey’s not one of them now, but the players have really embraced him.”
There is a long wait for the Lions, and Zeus is anxious again. Finally, as the first Brisbane utes pass Rod Laver Arena, there are a few drops of rain. “There’s nothing on the radar,” one man in maroon and yellow tells his family. They cheer Oscar McInerney, the ruck whose injury last year in the preliminary final ended his grand final hopes.
This year, the pain belongs to Jarrod Berry. A shoulder injury last week had put his place in the Lions’ side for the grand final in jeopardy, and the return of Lachie Neale ultimately consigned him to the stands.
“Oscar was pretty easy [to leave out last year], he was adamant that he couldn’t play. Bez [Berry] wanted to try, which is natural enough, he’s a competitor,” Lions coach Chris Fagan said. “There was part of him that didn’t want to let his teammates down by not playing, and there was part of him that didn’t want his teammates let down by playing, and then the shoulder pops out and he’s out of the game. In the end, he arrived at that decision himself and as hard as it is, that’s common sense.”
As the utes find their way to the Footy Fest in Yarra Park, and Mike Brady steps to the mic, the rain gets heavier on the famous day before the big game. “It’s about the possibilities of ‘what if’,” Dangerfield says. “Because as incredible a day as it can be – and everyone up here has experienced both sides of the ledger, right – it can be equally as devastating.” The players are ushered away, now only the match to come.
