‘Ticks a lot of boxes’: Hint on future of AFL’s Gather Round as Origin talks to ramp up

AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon says South Australia “ticks a lot of boxes” as the home of Gather Round as the state pushes to extend the current deal beyond 2026.

SA hosts the third instalment of Gather Round this week, with games to feature in the Barossa for the first time, while there’s no official host for the event from 2027 and beyond as yet.

Other states would be keen to lure Gather Round away from SA in the future given its success, with the Herald Sun this week reporting Tasmania is trying to launch a bid for 2028.

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Asked on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Wednesday night if South Australia was the “perfect venue” for Gather Round, Dillon suggested it fits the criteria.

“Gather Round 1 and 2 were incredible. When we didn’t have expectations and they surpassed them,” he said.

“We’ve got seven of the nine games in this iteration already sold out. People are driving and flying in from Victoria in droves.

“Having an iconic venue like Adelaide Oval that can be the centrepiece of Gather Round is so important. Also the romance of a venue like Norwood, where we’ll have two really crucial games over the weekend.

“So it ticks a lot boxes.”

Dillon earlier on Wednesday at the Gather Round launch said the league “likes long-term partnerships, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look at other opportunities around the country.”

Asked how many years he’d like to extend the current deal, SA Premier Peter Malinauskas responded with a laugh: “Absolutely a lot.”

He added: “We had $90 million of economic activity in the state last year and I think it’s impossible that number doesn’t grow this year,” the SA Premier added.

“I think the power of this event transcends the three or four days it lasts. South Australia getting to tell its story to the rest of the country, that platform is important to us as we see our trajectory outperforming the rest of the country.

“Even more importantly, one of the big passions I’ve got is getting kids off phones and screens. Nothing beats kids engaging with one another.”

Dillon also confirmed a potential revival of State of Origin — in some form — would be on the agenda at Friday’s meeting between all 18 club CEOs in SA.

“It’s something we are talking about,” the AFL chief added.

“For any form of representative football, what we need to do is come up with something the players want to be involved in and really get behind. We saw that with the All-Stars game in Perth earlier this year.

“I think there is an opportunity at the right time at the calendar for a form of representative football to come back.”