Football fans have flocked to the banks of Melbourne’s Yarra River to watch an AFL grand final parade with a difference – and some have been left disappointed.

Cats fan Emily Welch, who booked her flights to Melbourne weeks ago,  was among the crowd of thousands on Friday morning.

The Brisbane woman wasn’t expecting to get to the ground on Saturday but in a lucky break, she won two tickets to the last game in September.

“I haven’t been to the MCG before so I’m really excited,” she said on Friday.

“I went to the 2020 grand final in Brisbane and that was a really good atmosphere but I’m expecting it to be 10 times better tomorrow.”

Ms Welch was on the Yarra with her Leanne Deahl, another avid Cats fan.

“We just want to soak up the atmosphere,” she said.

“It’s a really good spectacle on the river.”

The parade usually moves through Melbourne’s city centre with players on the back of utes. But this year the Swans and Cats floated along the Yarra before making their way to the MCG.

It is the first grand final parade in three years, after the AFL scrapped the event in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID lockdowns. It will also be the first grand final at the MCG in three years.

But some of the devoted were left underwhelmed when boats carrying the players turned around well before reaching Princes Bridge, which was packed five deep with people.

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Others complained they couldn’t see the players out on pontoons in the middle of the river.

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But not everyone was disappointed.

Geelong supporter Naman Shah said his team was in with a chance after facing heartbreak in the 2020 grand final. The Melbourne man was a keen observer of the parade with his three young daughters and wife.

“The last couple of years, there was no fun parade so it is really great that this year we can come out and do this,” Mr Shah said.

Coffs Harbour resident Tom Smith flew down from Sydney to watch the parade after scoring tickets to Saturday’s big match.

“I don’t even want to tell you how much I spent on flights and accommodation but we made it,” he said.

“You wouldn’t want to miss this for the world.”

Fellow Swans fans Debbie Walker and Michael Hogan also made the journey to Melbourne by car and plane. The Sydney friends were excited and nervous ahead of the big game.

“I’m feeling confident,” Mr Hogan said.

“I wouldn’t just say that. We beat them earlier in the year and we’ve won nine games in a row so you have to be confident.”

The grand final has already drawn thousands of people to the city with 75 per cent of Melbourne’s hotels, motels and serviced apartments booked out.

“It’s a really extraordinary boom for us,” Victorian Sports Minister Steve Dimopolous said on Friday.

“It’s really important but it’s also fundamentally about who we are as a community of Victorians.”

Mr Dimopolous said allegations of racism at the Hawthorn Football Club would not tarnish the excitement of grand final week.

“They are harrowing and really disturbing allegations. But the AFL has strongly committed to an independent external investigation, which is the right thing to do,” he said.

“It’s provided us clear air and some genuine opportunity for Victorians to enjoy the greatest game in the country.”

– with AAP