MCG Turf’s move to the Gabba fails ahead of the 2020...

The piece of MCG turf that was dug up and moved into the gabba arrived ahead of the big AFL final on Saturday night.

But it won’t participate in the game exactly as the Victorian grounds turf worker had hoped.

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A 3 x 1 m target of the MCG’s city-end target area was The 1800 km to Brisbane was extracted and driven last week.

“I think it’s a little romantic,” Michael Salvatore was saying at the time.

“I hope that at some point it will come to the players’ minds and give them a little boost.

48 hours before the end, however, there was a realization: the lawn made it to the gabba – but only technically.

The relay piece of the MCG goal square is outside the Gabbas boundary line in the south wing.

The turf was placed outside of Richmond’s races, possibly to keep it in action for at least a few seconds.

But after the big plans and the “romance” had become virtually insignificant, the concept really failed with Footy fans.

The scenario was likely designed for the safety of the players, with moving the lawn in 360 degree play posing a great risk of knee injuries.

In the end, the border umpires may be the only Victorians to get a boost.

Tigers “away” game plot

With the MCG out of service, Richmond and Geelong will take different approaches the night before the historic gabba season-maker.

Both teams are based in Hubs on the Gold Coast, and the Cats made the call to stay there and drive up the road to Brisbane for an hour on game day.

But the Tigers will drive up on Friday evening, stay in a hotel and treat the grand final as an away game.

They’ll meet for a team meeting in the morning before leaving the players on their own for a few hours before ricochet.

Several factors, including the possibility of heavy traffic, played a role in Richmond’s decision to leave early.

“The last time we went up there was an hour and a half and some of our performances at Gabba weren’t our best – Sydney, Gold Coast, even the game in Brisbane,” said Tiger’s assistant coach Justin Leppitsch.

“We feel that maybe we can do some things a little better in our preparation.

“It was a combination of factors and our leaders really got into it and wanted to drive it forward.

“We’re in an away bed anyway, whether it’s here on the Gold Coast or up in Brisbane, and we just felt that this was our best preparation for the game.”

For Geelong, it won’t be much different than driving an hour to Melbourne under normal circumstances on a normal game day.

“We’re going to stay here (on the Gold Coast) and as far as I know we’re going to be pretty much the same,” said Cat’s spearhead Tom Hawkins.

Unlike Richmond, Geelong has played some of his best football matches at the Gabba this season and appears to have hit the ground well.

The Tigers decided to play a home game at the Metricon Stadium two weeks ago, but Leppitsch sees no disadvantage in the Gabba.

“One thing that I noticed about watching all of Geelong’s games is that they could get the game on their own terms, which you can do anywhere,” he said.

“It’s just that they did really well, especially the last couple of times on this floor.

“It’s not just about the venue itself, it’s also about making sure we get the game on our terms and I’m sure they want it for them. This will be the real arm wrestling. “

– mit AAP