Gerard Whateley cannot believe why the AFL continues not to schedule games on Thursday night.
The League released its confirmed fixture for Rounds 9 and 10 on Thursday morning, with matches only scheduled across Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
It was also confirmed that the lucrative Thursday slot won’t return until Round 13, around the mid-season byes.
Whateley said he wasn’t buying the AFL’s rationale that the lack of matches in the popular slot was a result of not wanting to schedule clubs coming off only a five-day break.
“I can’t for the life of me work out why we’re not playing on Thursday night,” Gerard he said on SEN's Whateley.
‘I’ve heard the rationale, but the numbers are that there’s a million people that would be watching the footy tonight that don’t have a game to tune in to from an AFL perspective."
Whateley questioned if there were really a large majority of fans who didn’t want to see AFL matches played on Thursday night, saying that ratings were strong and attendances had held up, even with crowds down in Victoria largely as a result of COVID-safe protocols currently displacing members from their regular reserved seats.
“Who are these fans who don’t want it (Thursday night game)?" He said.
“Round 1, Channel 7, 885,000 people (watched). Round 2, 695,000 people. Round 3, 697,000 people. Round 4, 747,000 people and Round 5, 633,000 people.
“Top that up with the Fox (Footy) numbers between 250-400,000, and you’re talking a million people. Are we all resentful sitting there on Thursday night sitting watching the footy? Nah.
“I’m with the stronghold and the million fans who would be watching the footy tonight, next Thursday night and the following Thursday night, especially in a season where attendance is compromised.
“There's no point pretending that attendance isn’t composed, (we take calls every day) about how attendance is comprised.
“A million people would be watching the footy tonight, who are these real fans who don’t want it? Because what I see are the fans of footy lapping up the Thursday night and ever grateful that games are climbing on top of each other on a Saturday.
“Multiple games in the same slot, that’s very 1970s. The fixture that came out (for Round 9 and 10) with games all over each other on a Saturday, give me a marquee game on a Thursday night to do the marquee game on the Friday night, that’s the best way to get the footy round underway.”