AFL GRAND FINAL - RESTRICTED VIEWING SEATS
Ben Jensen 25 September 2011

AFL GRAND FINAL GEELONG CATS COLLINGWOOD MAGPIES RESTRICTED VIEWING or not? Lots of queries coming in. The main message is to get to the Grand Final at any cost, literally - and restricted viewing isn't so bad. We bought a restricted ticket to the round 24 belting of Collingwood, which was level 2 of the Ponsford Stand, and pretty much wasn't restricted in view at all. Only issue was we had to deal with was it was literally a Collingwood exclave - the Social Club to be precise. But that turned out to be a bonus as the Cats BELTED the Magpies.

Meanwhile, Grand Final ticket allocations have been decided already by ballot; official advice from the club is to check your credit card for charges between now and tomorrow night. If you haven't been charged it's unlikely you received a ticket unfortunately. Standing room tickets go on sale on Monday for members who didn't score a ticket between 12noon and 5pm until sold out; at $150 it's a bit rich but probably worth it. See further details below.

AFL PRESS RELEASE

The AFL has invited Doug Wade to be the presenter of the 2011 AFL Premiership Cup if the Cats capture the flag.

Wade played 208 games for Geelong between 1961-72, kicking 834 goals. He was a member of the 1963 premiership side, won the best and fairest in 1969, was club captain in 1972 and was club leading goal kicker in 11 of his 12 seasons with the Cats.

He was named at full forward in the Geelong team of the century and was inducted to the Australian Football Hall of Fame in the inaugural year of 1996. He spent the final three years of his career at North Melbourne, ending his career with 1057 goals overall - the fourth-highest tally in VFL/AFL history.

If Collingwood wins Murray Weideman will present the cup.

Since 2004, the AFL has asked a former great of the winning team to be on hand to present the premiership cup. Fred Wooller presented the cup in 2007 and Bob Davis in 2009.

EMAIL SENT OUT TO ALL MEMBERS BY GEELONG FOOTBALL CLUB YESTERDAY

2011 GEELONG CATS GRAND FINAL BALLOT
A supervised random computer ballot based on registrations has been conducted for eligible members who registered their barcode/s in the 2011 Grand Final ballot.

For Priority Group 1 Members, this determines the order of allocating tickets on a next best available basis.

For Priority Group 2 Members, this will decide:
(a) who is successful and unsuccessful and (b) the order in which tickets are allocated.

Members who are successful in the ballot will automatically have their credit card charged this weekend (24 and 25 September). Rejected credit cards will be followed up via phone and any payments that have not cleared by 5pm (EST) Sunday 25 September will result in tickets being cancelled. These tickets will be reallocated to the member(s) next in the ballot.

The $4 registration fee (per ticket) will be retained to cover administration costs incurred in the set up regardless of whether the registration was successful or unsuccessful.

SUCCESSFUL REGISTRATIONS AND TICKET COLLECTION
Members can log on to geelongcats.com.au or ticketek.com.au from 9am on Monday 26 September to see if their registration in the ballot was successful by checking the account number (issued at the time of registration).

Members are advised to double check the account number to ensure that the correct account has been searched for and that the account has not been missed when looking through the successful list.

Unfortunately if your account number does not appear you have not been successful in obtaining a Grand Final ticket. If you are unsure as to whether your number was successful or require confirmation please contact Membership Services on 1300 GO CATS (46 2287).

Tickets can be collected from Victorian Ticketek agencies as of 12noon Monday 26 September or at the MCG on Grand Final day. Tickets must be signed for and collected by the credit card holder along with presentation of appropriate ID.

ACCESS TO STANDING ROOM
Eligible members who were not successful in the ballot but still wish to attend the Grand Final will have access to purchase a Standing Room ticket. These tickets are strictly limited and will be sold on a "first come, first served" basis via the Ticketek website or telephone (1300 796 939) services only. There is a limit of one ticket per eligible member, however eligible members can purchase a maximum of eight tickets in one transaction (barcodes for all members are required). Standing room tickets will be available from 12noon Monday September 26 until 5pm (unless sold out prior). Members who have been successful in the ballot will not be able to access a Standing Room ticket.

Standing Room Prices
Adult - $150
Concession - $102
Adult eligible members may only purchase tickets at adult prices and junior/concession eligible members may only purchase at the concession price only.

Purchased Standing Room tickets can be collected from Victorian Ticketek Agencies or any National Collection Agency from 9am Tuesday 27 September. Tickets may also be collected from the Ticketek box office at the MCG on Grand Final day.