AFL’s night of nights could be on the move north of the border.
In a move that is sure to ruffle a few feathers south of the border in the AFL, Sydney is launching an audacious bid to securing hosting rights for the Brownlow Medal.
AFL boss Andrew Demetriou has been spotted in Sydney scouting possible locations for the event, if it was to be held there when the current rights expire in 2016.
The Brownlow Medal night honours the best players for the past season and has been held in Crown Casino in Melbourne for several years, but with the end of the current deal fast approaching, a bidding war could erupt.
Sydney already has the premiership trophy, after the Swans pipped the Hawthorn Hawks in a thriller last year and Demetriou believes it might be time to take the Brownlows on the road.
“We are a national code, we’ve taken the draft out of Melbourne successfully and the season launch was successful in Sydney last year. In a national competition anything is possible,” Demetriou told News.com.au.
The Brownlow Medal has been held in New South Wales capital once before in 1999, however, it was panned by critics and has since not been taken out of Victoria.
With the addition of the league’s newest team the Greater Western Sydney Giants, the AFL was on the brink of taking its gala event to the harbour city before changing their mind at the eleventh hour.
The Brownlow Medal has come a long way since it started in 1924 when the votes were simply counted at a VFL meeting.
The first television coverage started in 1970 and was won that year by one of the Swans’ South Melbourne greats Peter Bedford.
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