Excited footy fans arrive in droves for the Grand Final at the iconic MCG as the AFL season reaches a crescendo – but a last-minute pitch problem threatens to derail the whole game
- The Richmond Tigers will go head-to-head with the Greater Western Sydney Giants at 2.30pm on Saturday
- Thousands of keen footy fans flooded the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the 2019 AFL Grand Final
- With less than two hours before the match, ground staff were seen desperately attempting to clean the field
Advertisement
Thousands of footy fans have arrived in drones for the 2019 AFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Richmond Tigers will go head-to-head with the Greater Western Sydney Giants when the game begins at 2.30pm on Saturday.
With less than two hours to go before the match, ground staff were seen desperately attempting to clean the field with brooms and leaf blowers.
The last-minute pitch problem was caused by an under-17s curtain-raiser, as players ran across white painted lines that hadn’t dried forcing officials to scramble to fix it.
Thousands of footy fans have arrived in drones for the 2019 AFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Richmond Tigers will go head-to-head with the Greater Western Sydney Giants when the ball drops at 2.30pm
One Richmond fan went all out for the season decider, using face paint to dress up as a Tiger
A GWS Giants with orange hair and glittery face paint poses for the camera on Saturday
White boot marks were seen scattered around the centre circle lines as crew members worked to dry the paint and clean the mess.
Richmond fans were seen arriving at the MCG in bright yellow costumes, wigs and tiger paint across their faces.
Giants fans who travelled from Sydney for the big day donned orange team scarfs and held signs like ‘fight until the end’ in preparation for the season decider.
If Richmond Football Club win Saturday’s final they will be crowned premiers for the 12th time in the club’s history.
The Tigers last won the cup in 2017 against Adelaide Football Club, where they beat the Giants in the preliminary final.
With less than two hours before the match, ground staff were seen desperately attempting to clean the field
White boot marks were seen scattered around the centre circle lines as crew members worked to dry the paint and clean the mess
Greater Western Sydney Giants fans pack together as they arrive at the MCG
There is arguably more on the line for grand final rivals and underdogs GWS, who first entered the AFL in 2012.
In their debut season, GWS won only two matches and lost by more than 100 points five times. They were wooden spoons for their first two years in the competition.
A win on Saturday – their first grand final appearance – would mark the club’s first season victory.
One fan painted ‘Tigers’ on her leg, to show her support through the slip of her skirt
Australian cricketer Mitchell Starc shows support for his home city by wearing a GWS scarf. The bowler posed with a fan from the opposition
Australian bowler Pat Cummins posed with a Tigers fan before joining the Motorcade at the MCG
A fan of ‘underdogs’ GWS smiles as she holds a sign reading ‘fight until the end’