AFL rookie sparks romance with legend's daughter
One Instagram post has sparked talk of the number one pick in last year's AFL Draft, Western Bulldogs teenager Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, beginning a relationship with Mia Fevola.
The 18-year-old became the first Indigenous player to be picked first overall since Des Headland in 1998 when the Bulldogs picked him, with the 2016 premiers hoping to fashion Ugle-Hagan into a Lance Franklin prototype.
'NO EXCUSES': AFL great torches $5.4m man's 'pathetic' act
HARD: Gary and Jordan Ablett rocked by fresh health scare for son
An Instagram post by Ugle-Hagan showed he and the daughter of former Carlton Blues and Brisbane forward Brendan Fevola arm in arm.
The Herald Sun has reported the pair were spotted together frequently over summer as Ugle-Hagan prepared for his rookie AFL season.
While Fevola said the pair were 'merely friends' as recently as last month, her post made the pair Instagram official just over a year after she parted ways with Richmond Tigers player Daniel Rioli.
In between relationships, Fevola has been hard at work establishing and promoting her leisurewear label MALLT Collective.
In November, Fevola joked that Rioli wouldn't be able to get rid of her footy mad dad.
“Daniel and I are really good friends. I’m not seeing anyone,” Fevola said.
“Daniel is really close to my family. He always talks to them. I don’t think he’ll ever be able to get rid of dad.”
AFL ditches night grand final, back to day
The AFL will revert to a day grand final this year after experimenting with a night decider in 2020.
The league's 18 clubs have been told the 2021 grand final will return to a daytime slot at the MCG on September 25.
Coronavirus complications saw the bulk of last year's schedule, including the entire finals series, played outside of Victoria.
Richmond won their third premiership in four years by defeating Geelong under lights at the Gabba in Brisbane last October.
Last year's grand final was historic for two reasons: the first time the last game of the season was played outside Victoria and it took place after dark.
Instead of a fully fledged night game, the AFL toyed with the idea of a twilight grand final, but a return to a 2.30pm slot is sure to please a large contingent of the league's fans who like the tradition of a day match.
AFL boss Gillon McLachlan declared last year's decider in Queensland as a "huge success" but the league wanted to look after its supporters by making the grand final the "best event" in Australian sport.
"Our members and supporters were incredible in continuing to support their teams last year and they are wanting a season where they can return to some of the traditions and rituals around footy," McLachlan said.
"Ultimately, the AFL commission decided that while we will keep some of the unique components of the 2020 season, the prestige, nostalgia and atmosphere of the day grand final is something that people can look forward to.
"Wherever they are located around Australia, we want to give footy fans that familiar feeling back on grand-final day.
"We still have a lot of work as a league and a community to get the finish line, but I would love nothing more to see 100,000 back at the MCG on the last Saturday in September."
With AAP
Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.
