Bob Ansett, one of the men responsible for North’s 30-year-long Good Friday Football push, says the time is perfect for the AFL to have announced the Roos as hosts of the history making game.
“I think it’s terrific,” Ansett told NMFC.com.au from his home in Noosa, QLD.
“I’d be surprised if Etihad Stadium wasn’t packed to the rafters. It’s taken a while to come to fruition but it was our idea and it’s great to see we’ve been recognised as pioneers yet again.”
The former North president said he discussed the possibility of playing on the day with then VFL boss Jack Hamilton way back in the late 80s, after night football began to gain some serious momentum.
“We got the idea of Friday night football over the line and were drawing some big crowds and attention under the lights at the MCG. It was a logical extension to play on Good Friday but to be honest, given the amount of resistance at the time, I didn’t push it too hard,” Ansett added.
“It was always on the agenda but it wasn’t until I left North in 1991 that my successor, Ron Casey and CEO Greg Miller, started to push even harder for a Good Friday game.
“Back then there was a lot of opposition but now, things have changed a great deal and there’s widespread acceptance that people can practice their religious beliefs, but also attend a football game. Other codes have shown that it can be done in a respectful manner, and they’ve trumped the AFL in that regard.
“The time is definitely right, now.”
Ansett acknowledges the event will have its critics, but believes the best of both worlds can be achieved.
“No one is forcing people to attend or watch, people still have a choice. I think it’s fantastic for the game and the fans to have the option.”
When Miller took up the cause, the same level of resistance remained and from a friendly foe.
“It would have been about 1992 when we first approached the AFL,” Miller told NMFC.com.au.
“The AFL was the last bastion really. It was just before John Kennedy took over as chairman of the commission, because it was really him, you wouldn’t believe it, our previous coach and friend of mine, who told us they’d quashed it.
“It got headlines in the paper every year but Kennedy came out and said the day would be protected and the AFL wouldn’t follow all the other sports and entertainment groups around the world and participate.”
The hard-line stance wasn’t enough to deter the Roos.
“We made submissions for pretty much ten years in a row, that the Kangaroos should be the first club to play on Good Friday.”
“We certainly led Friday night football, we led Grand Final Breakfasts and we led playing home games interstate among many other things. We’ve always been trailblazers. We’ve always been imaginative, innovative and on the front foot. Bob Ansett and Ron Casey were always putting these types of things forward and looking at new marketing opportunities.”
North will play the Bulldogs in the first ever Good Friday game in 2017 on April 14 at 4.20pm.
