WAFL 2024: Grand final set to be hosted at Optus Stadium but start time yet to be decided

Optus Stadium is set to once again host the WAFL grand final but a time for the game’s start is still yet to be determined. Sources have told The West Australian that the decider will be held at Perth’s iconic venue for a fifth time on Sunday, September 22 and once again will not be going to a suburban ground. It comes after a crowd of 27,104 watched on as East Fremantle broke a 25-year drought with a win over Peel Thunder – the biggest crowd in 21 years. Last year’s grand final was a twilight spectacle, with the game starting at 3.20pm because it was held on the King’s Birthday long weekend. It is going to be once again held before the same public holiday, but a starting time is yet to be decided because of broadcasting rights with Channel 7. The grand final has been held at Optus Stadium on four previous occasions since it was opened in early 2018. Fremantle Community Bank Oval held the decider in 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions, with 10,179 fans watching South Fremantle defeat Claremont. The decider was then held at Leederville Oval in 2022 after it was bumped off Optus Stadium because of an international Twenty20 match between Australia and England was scheduled eight days later. Optus Stadium officials needed several weeks post the AFL season to get the five drop-in cricket pitches ready in the centre of the oval which meant they couldn’t host the WAFL’s biggest game. It ended up at Leederville Oval, which needed to be re-turfed after the surface was torn up during a heavy winter schedule.