Prime Minister Julia Gillard, deputy opposition leader Julie Bishop, AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou, Collingwood president Eddie McGuire, St Kilda president Greg Westaway and a host of others were on hand at the Melbourne Convention Centre to kick off grand final day.
As usual, the speeches were light-hearted and jovial, with a bit of point-scoring from the politicians.
The Prime Minister had the best line of the morning when she compared the tension of the coming grand final to her own recent close election contest, saying “Please, please we cannot have a draw. Our nation just couldn’t bear it.”
Ms Gillard had to have a sense of humour on the day. Not only had her beloved Bulldogs fallen agonisingly short of making it to the grand final but she was also subjected to a Kevin Rudd impersonator serenading her with a rendition of 'I Will Survive'.
She also took to the stage as adapted lyrics from Slim Dusty’s famous song blared out across the room: “I love to have a beer with Kevin, cos Kevin’s me mate.”
The AFL chief also had the audience in raptures when he spoke of the many requests he had received for tickets to the grand final.
The most bizarre, he said was from someone claiming to be the governor of Thailand who would pick up the tickets from his office on Friday.
But suspicious of the request, a bit of research quickly discovered that Thailand did not in fact have a governor. Demetriou joked he would console the desperate footy fan with two free tickets to round one of the NAB Cup next season.
Melbourne president Jim Stynes was the guest of honour and confirmed he would be attending the game despite ailing health.
Victorian premier and Collingwood supporter John Brumby was a last-minute withdrawal from the event due to his father’s own poor health.
Channel Seven commentator Bruce McAvaney was named the media personality of the year.
