Over the years, Good Friday has been a no-go zone for Australian rules football. Teams would play in the evening of Easter Thursday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday and even the Monday of Easter, but there was never a game played on Good Friday. As a Christian country, it has been considered sacrilegious to play any sport on a holy day like Good Friday.

Recent changes in community attitudes means that society is more tolerant to playing football on Good Friday. For some teams, it has been seen as an opportunity to promote their team by playing on Good Friday. The North Melbourne Football Club were the first team to push to lay football on Good Friday and insisted that it was their idea to play Good Friday football. 

The administrators of football resisted the push for Good Friday football for many years. Eventually, they couldn’t hold back the tide any further and relented to allow teams to nominate for a Good Friday game. The North Melbourne Football Club were the first to get the gig, and they have had a game on every Good Friday since. Now there are two games played on Good Friday.