By Matt Thompson
 

THE AFL is determined to prevent a repeat of the finals fixturing mess that resulted in minor premiers Hawthorn being disadvantaged and scheduling headaches in Perth because of rugby union.

Hawthorn had to play a twilight preliminary final last weekend despite finishing on top of the ladder, giving the Hawks less time to prepare for the Grand Final than the Swans, who played on Friday night.

The top-ranked team left in premiership contention is generally entitled to a Friday night preliminary final but a rugby league booking meant the Swans hosted their match on the Friday night.
 

Click here to view the photos from the GIANTS Grand Final Lunch

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou described the circumstances in Sydney as a "one-off" but took aim at the management of Patersons Stadium for booking a Wallabies Test at the venue in the first week of finals.

"In fairness to Hawthorn that's absolutely correct - they should have been playing Friday night," Demetriou told AFL.com.au.

Demetriou said in the future, a 50,000-seat SCG would give the AFL another option if ANZ Stadium had to be used for rugby league commitments.

But as far Western Australia is concerned, the League boss was less diplomatic.

"I think it compromises our finals, the integrity of the finals. It's incomprehensible to us ... that the Western Australian Football Commission could book a rugby union Test in September," he said.

"AFL football is the biggest tenant at Subiaco, it's helped build that ground.
We are entitled, after teams play off all year, to know that the ground is exclusively used for AFL football.

"If they want to play rugby union Tests, they can play them in the third week of September or the last week and they can play them on a Sunday."
 
In a wide-ranging Grand Final week interview with AFL.com.au, Demetriou canvassed a number of topics including:

Israel Folau
"Anyone who rules out Israel Folau being a success does it at their peril. You'll see a much better Israel Folau next year, and you'll probably see an infinitely better Israel Folau the following year. I know there's people out there that want Israel Folau to fail, I just think we should stand by."

Asked if he'd be disappointed if the rugby league convert decided to switch back: "If that's what Israel Folau wants to do from a personal perspective, I'll respect what he does but in my view he's going pretty well."

The father-son rule 
Jobe Watson's Brownlow win is vindication for the father-son rule, which is here to stay. "It's so unique to our game. I'm in awe of the father-son rule."

His future 
The AFL boss gave a clue to his long-term future, declaring he wants to play a key part in the next broadcast rights negotiations. "I hope so, it'd be great, I've loved doing the last two."

Succession plan
Demetriou denied the existence of a formal agreement for Gillon McLachlan to replace him as chief executive one day, but again endorsed him as a potentially "wonderful" successor.  

Grand Final VIPs
He confirmed News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch would be attending his first Grand Final, along with Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott. Kerry Stokes and James Packer will also be there.

Grand Final tip
The League chief tipped the Swans to win the flag by less than a goal.