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At 42, Cornelius van Uijtert has never had the chance to see his beloved Western Bulldogs make it to the grand final.
The Barwon Heads resident was up early Saturday morning with his 11-year-old son Sam to catch a bus with other fans to Sydney to witness his team score a six-point preliminary final win over Greater Western Sydney at Spotless Stadium.
This is the first time in 55 years that the Western Bulldogs have qualified for the grand final.
So come Monday, the father of three hopes he will be able to win a ticket in the club's ballot and see his team play at the MCG.
If he does, he will be one of the lucky few.
Of the 100,000 tickets available, only 30,000 are reserved for competing club members - that's 15,000 tickets each for the Western Bulldogs and Sydney Swans.
Dogs members number 39,459 and the Swans come in at 56,000, so the competition for the tickets - forget the game - is fierce.
AFL Fans Association president Gerry Eeman says fans deserve a larger slice of the tickets. The organisation has even launched a petition urging the AFL to increase the share to "at least 50,000".
He says that currently, competing club members only get 30 per cent of the tickets, "a very, very small proportion".
MCC members get 25,000 tickets, AFL members/Medallion Club 21,000, corporates and stakeholders 17,000 and other AFL clubs 7000.
"What you find when you go to the grand final is large sections of the crowd [are] neutral, not going for any team," Mr Eeman says.
"It is really sad. The atmosphere of the grand final is never as good as the preliminary finals.
"And that's wrong, the grand final should be the pinnacle."
He said AFL event office corporate packages costing $1610-$2590 are still available to anyone, regardless of whether they are an AFL club member.
"Soon after last night's game finished, Etihad Stadium also contacted its mailing list offering packages costing $990-$1400 plus," Mr Eeman said.
"About 25,000 of the Bulldogs' 40,000 members will miss out on grand final tickets but anyone with the cash can go online now and jump the queue."
Mr Eeman said both the game and the fans deserve better.
"This is their moment in the sun," he says.
"If you want fans to be loyal and bleed for their club, you've got to give them some payback.
Western Bulldogs heroine Irene Chatfield saved her beloved club from extinction more than 20 years ago.
In 1989, Ms Chatfield went to the Supreme Court to stop the club from merging with Fitzroy (who went on to merge with the Brisbane Bears in 1996).
But the 67-year-old says even she is not guaranteed a ticket in the grand final ballot despite being getting priority as a social club member.
"...I'd better get it. All the years and I fought for the club ... I ran a trash and treasure market to raise money for the club," Ms Chatfield said.
"I truly believe that the two clubs that are in the grand finals ... [their] supporters and members should have top priority over any other club.
"Then you give it to the other supporters and the corporate people. A lot of corporates ... I know they put their money in to the club ... but half of them don't even come to see a game all year and they just go when the grand final is on."
Ms Chatfield said she had never been to a grand final.
"I have never watched a grand final [game] right through, because I don't like to watch two other teams. I want to watch my own," she said.
"I want to be at the grand final when my team is playing.
"And I have always dreamed of going down Swanston Street for the grand final parade. And now I will be able to do it."
Mr van Uijtert says he will be devastated if he misses out on one of the "biggest days of his life".
"It is not fair," he said.
"So many people, who really want to be there, miss out. The people who go every week, to every home game, and to a lot of away games too, miss out on the big day.
"[They are the] heart and soul of the club, not the corporates, not the people who go there just for a catch up and to socialise."
The AFL has been contacted for comment.
