Waleed Aly clashes with female TV host in furious debate about the AFL Grand Final - and there was one left-field suggestion

Waleed Aly sparked a fierce debate by declaring the AFL Grand Final should never again be played at night.

Saturday's end of season decider between Richmond Tigers and Geelong Cats was played under lights in Brisbane for the first time in history due to Melbourne's battle with a second wave of coronavirus.

Opinions about whether the match should continue to be an after-dark event remain divided and hotly argued about.

The Project host was quick to interrupt ABC's Offsiders host Kelli Underwood on Sunday to say: 'I hated it'.

Waleed Aly was quick to interrupt ABC's Offsiders host Kelli Underwood on Sunday to say, 'I hated it'

'I think it's the kind of thing you like when you don't actually care about the game that is happening,' he continued.

'It's the kind of thing you gravitate towards when you want it to be an event, not a game. And that is exactly what it felt like.'

But Underwood fiercely disagreed, arguing the pre-show entertainment under stadium lights reminded her of the Sydney Olympics in 2000 - hosted at the same venue.

Underwood fiercely disagreed with Aly

'That's c**p,' she told Aly, looking at images of local band Shepard during the opening.

'Look at these beautiful pictures. I loved it. I think it makes it more of an event… it has more spark.'

She then likened the game to the U.S Super Bowl 'which is not just a game, but you get an event'.

But not everyone shared Underwood's opinion.

Cricket journalist Gideon Haigh echoed Aly's sentiments, declaring it was 'total c**p' and that the pre-match entertainment was a 'bloody awful dirge'.

AFL reporter Caroline Wilson also agreed the game should remain an afternoon spectacle, before asking whether more iconic Australian traditions would be lost under the coronavirus 'administration'.

'I couldn't cop it if we lose the day of the grand final, I just think that is something unique to our game, and we sell out if we change it.'

Meanwhile, Offsider columnist Richard Hinds had the controversial idea of combining the AFL and NRL grand finals into one national ceremony. 

Local indie pop bank Sheppard perform at half-time during the 2020 AFL Grand Final on Saturday

Amy Sheppard of the band Sheppard stuns in a glitter ensemble during her half-time performance at the Gabba

The NRL grand final between the Melbourne Storms and the Penrith Panthers was held in Sydney on Sunday night - the day after the AFL in Brisbane.

Hinds suggested that in order to show Super Bowl-style entertainment, the NRL had done a better job at 'matching hype and expectation' than the AFL.

Referencing the 'cringeworthy' pre-match performance by Meatloaf in 2011, the columnist said the NRL has created touching moments, such as Indigenous band Macklemore's version of One Love.

'During these finals the pairing has also created a sense of discord; a feeling that we have two moments tailored for different audiences instead of one organically connected national ceremony,' he wrote.