Super Bowl punter Ben Graham believes Australia's historic NFL clash at the MCG will be similar to an AFL grand final as an occasion, despite potential concerns over the scheduling of the game.
The San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams will play the first-ever regular-season NFL match held in Australia, now locked in for 1035 (AEST) on Friday, September 11, allowing it to be telecast live in prime time on Thursday evening in the United States.
Australian Graham, who featured in the Arizona Cardinals' 27-23 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2009 Super Bowl, says it will be something special for fans.
"I was lucky enough to play an international game in 2008 at Wembley Stadium in London, and it's up there with my favourite memories of playing in the NFL," the former Geelong captain told AAP.
"I've played in an AFL grand final and in the Super Bowl. A regular-season NFL game feels like an AFL final, and an NFL playoff game feels like an AFL grand final.
"This will look and feel like it is on the grand final level for being a regular season game."
Graham believes the game could be the start of Australia gaining a regular slot in the competition's fixture, saying the NFL is keen to have 16 matches a year played internationally.
But concerns have arisen over the scheduling of the clash as it falls in week two of the AFL finals, raising the possibility of the MCG having to be reconfigured swiftly for a match on Saturday if one or two Victorian clubs earn hosting rights.
The Melbourne Cricket Club's chief executive Stuart Fox, insists they have a plan in place if there is a clash.
"We've obviously worked with the AFL on this issue, and we don't know what we're working with yet, and we won't know until five or six days out," he said.
"We're ready to play a game of AFL if needed, the next night or twilight, and we're also available the next day after that, Sunday."
The AFL has rarely hosted a week-two finals fixture on a Sunday, with the league usually opting to play on Friday and Saturday to maximise preparation time for the preliminary finals.
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said that they weren't blindsided by the NFL date and venue announcement.
“We've got Marvel Stadium. We've got the MCG, which will be available Saturday and Sunday. In the corresponding weekend last year, there were no finals in Melbourne," Dillon said.
“We've got options, and that's the important thing."
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan also ruled out the option of a public holiday as experienced with the AFL's decider, but expects a significant cash injection with more than 140,000 people registering interest for the game.
"The British Lions (rugby union) events (last year) that were held at the MCG generated over $100 million in economic return for our state. This will be potentially even bigger than that," she said.
Melbourne will host one of nine NFL international games being played in 2026 across four continents, seven countries and eight stadiums, joining London (three games), Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Munich, Madrid and Paris as hosts.
With AP.
