Geelong's latest and ill-fated bid for a Kardinia Park final looks set to drag on until August despite the fact the Cats were told in no uncertain terms almost two years ago that the AFL would not lock supporters out of stadiums at the business end of the season.

That was in 2017 when the club smarted at having to play Richmond at the MCG in a qualifying final when Geelong was the higher-ranked team. More than 95,000 people attended the game and given the Cats do play home games at the MCG, the complaining then was ridiculous. So now the Cats, which under the Colin Carter regime have boasted a growing and generally commendable doggedness, have changed tack.

Home truths: Patrick Dangerfield at Geelong's home ground. Credit:AAP

Rather than lobby the commission as the club has done in the past, Brian Cook and his team took their case last month to the AFL's fixturing executive Travis Auld. While Cook and Carter have unofficially accepted they have no chance of hosting a Victorian team at GMHBA Stadium during week one of the 2019 finals series, they hold genuine hope of hosting Greater Western Sydney or the Brisbane Lions should the results fall their way.

Auld has not given them an answer, nor has he taken the issue to his chief executive Gillon McLachlan or the commission. Despite the fact McLachlan seems wedded to the MCG as Victoria's finals venue, with Marvel Stadium the second option only if required - and the suggestion by football boss Steve Hocking last week that the AFL could soon form a definitive finals policy - no one at the game's governing body seems prepared to tell Geelong there is no hope of a regional final any time soon.