A NORTH Melbourne proposal to no longer play opposition theme songs before games has been rejected by the AFL after supporters who were polled labelled it a "terrible idea".
The Kangaroos' proposal would have seen opposition teams enter the arena without their club song to create a more hostile environment and maximise home ground advantage.
The proposal reads: "The theme song should be reserved for the home team only – as is the case internationally and with most other codes".
League football operations manager Mark Evans said North Melbourne had approached the AFL to poll the market and gauge people's opinions.
He said the League's view was that playing both club songs before matches "adds enormously to the colour and the spectacle before the game, and it's respectful of the opposition".
"We did decide to test it through our fan database and over 2,000 people responded very quickly," Evans told radio station SEN.
"More than three-quarters thought it was a terrible idea and only seven per cent supported it.
"We weren't in favour of it anyway and the supporters confirmed what we thought."
Evans said although it didn't form part of North's proposal, 91 per cent of supporters polled thought it was a terrible idea to no longer play the opposition team's theme song after the game if they won.
In its proposal, North Melbourne said it was "perplexing" that it must introduce its opposition before a home game with fanfare.
The club believed that by creating a hostile environment and increasing the perceived home ground feel, more opposition fans would be encouraged to attend away games "in order to support their team and even up the disparity".
"Clubs will be more inclined to make a ‘call to arms’ to fans when they play as the away team," the proposal read. "There will be more reliance on supporters than ever before."
Twitter: @AFL_Nathan
