Among them were die-hard final fans Joanne, Russell, Dermott, Nigel and Cadell, who affectionately refer to themselves as the 'finals ferals' on account of their roughing it each year.

Camping out for grand final tickets is something of a tradition for the group, some of whom had been lining up every year for nine years.

The earliest of the early birds was Bendigo's Dermott Power, who said he had been camping out for the tickets since Friday.

Mr Power said the group had really bonded over the years and collectively believed in camping out because it "minimised the risk" of missing out on the coveted tickets.

"You've got to be here for a couple of days, but the risk is minimised. You could stay back and say yep I'll do it on the computer, but the risk is greater," he said.

"So I believe in minimising risk." 

Joanne, who did not want to give her last name, comes from Leitchville every year to line up.

She said the "old fashioned way" of lining up for tickets worked for her and for most people willing to do the "hard yards".