A SEASON that started with so much fanfare is about to come to an acrimonious end.

While the inaugural AFL women’s competition has enjoyed bumper crowds and publicity galore in its debut year, the final game of the season will be played on a sour note.

The undefeated Brisbane Lions finished on top of the ladder and won the right to host the Adelaide Crows in the grand final. But instead of playing at Brisbane’s premier stadium the Gabba, the decider will take place at Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast because the Gabba turf was deemed unsafe.

Long-time curator Kevin Mitchell Jr’s decision to lay new turf after an Adele concert on March 5, with an eye on preparing for an Ashes Test in November, is at the heart of the issue.

But that’s not good enough for Brisbane CEO Greg Swann, who savaged Mitchell for so blatantly putting cricket’s needs ahead of football’s interests.

“Post the Adele concert the bloke who cuts the grass (Mitchell) decided what was going to happen to the venue and he decided to re-sow the grass and it hasn’t taken properly, hence we can’t play the game,” Swann told RSN radio on Tuesday.

“We’re just angry for the girls, they’ve battled fantastically, finished on top, undefeated and it would have been great. We thought we’d get about 25,000 plus for the game and it would have been great for the girls as a culmination, not just for our girls but for the season itself.”

The Lions will now play for the chance to win some silverware in a curtain-raiser to the men’s game between Brisbane and the Gold Coast on Saturday.

Swann was unequivocal in his response when asked if the debate around the Gabba’s readiness was a battle between football and cricket.

“Yeah a fair bit,” Swann said. “I don’t like talking about him (Mitchell) much, I just call him the bloke who cuts the grass, but if he had his way there wouldn’t be footy on the ground at all.

“He’s a cricket man and it certainly seems to get the priority as far as we can see and this is a good example of it.

“A couple of wickets in the middle got re-sown so that they’d be ready for a Test in November and it’s buggered us up along the way.”

Swann wasn’t the only one furious with the grand final stuff up as Brisbane legend Jonathan Brown and former Lions coach Leigh Matthews lashed out at Mitchell.

Brown was disappointed but not surprised by the turn of events given his experience with the venue’s management over the course of his decorated playing career.

“I lived this for 15-16 years ... the AFL are second-rate citizens in Brisbane, especially when it comes to the Gabba,” Brown told Fox Footy on Monday night. “It’s all about the cricket. Fair dinkum, for the government heavyweights not to be able to step in in this situation ... it’s like Kevin Mitchell is the be-all and end-all there.

“It’s an absolute disgrace.

“We’re trying to grow AFL in Queensland still and for it not to be at the Gabba is really disappointing.”

Brown said he had even been required to ask permission to have a kick out on the turf in the middle of football season, such was the curator’s authority.

Matthews was fuming the women had been robbed of the chance to play on the big stage in the most important game of the year.

Wouldn't it be great if the Gabba curator wanted a pristine football ground just as much as a pristine cricket ground — Leigh Matthews (@LeighRMatthews) March 16, 2017

Adele at Etihad , OK for footy 1 week later , Adele at Gabba , unsafe for footy 3 weeks later, who is liable for the embarrasing stuff up ? — Leigh Matthews (@LeighRMatthews) March 20, 2017

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan fumed at the venue’s handling of the situation, but added he had received assurances the ground would be ready for the Lions-Bombers match in week two of the AFL season.

However, he stopped short of accusing venue staff of sabotaging Brisbane’s bid to host the grand final at the Gabba.

“That’s a slightly different word — I just think this wasn’t made a priority and that’s what really disappointed me,” he told Fox Footy. “It just feels inconceivable that we get to a situation where the ground is not available.

“It’s very disappointing, it doesn’t make any sense to me, I don’t think anyone contemplated it wouldn’t be there ... they’ve had three weeks.

“It was either a competence or prioritisation (issue) ... I think it was prioritisation. I mean, you can get a ground ready in three weeks.”

Despite the disappointment, McLachlan said the league’s focus has quickly turned to making the clash the biggest spectacle possible.

“We’re going to make this a great game on Saturday,” he said. “It will be a good crowd, we were very aggressive with the state government and I’ve been thrilled with their engagement on this from the Premier down.”

— with Jason Phelan, AAP