Why no other Aussie city works as Gather Round host | Nick Ryan

Adelaide is the only real conceivable host for Gather Round – there are problems with every other Australian city, writes Nick Ryan.

While the 17 people with no interest in football carried on regardless, the rest of us have been caught up in the AFL’s Gather Round.

It has been, to steal a phrase from the great HG Nelson & Roy Slaven a true Festival of the Boot.

It’s even encouraged all the television commentators to travel to the place where the game’s actually being played.

Before it’s even finished, we can safely call it a success and voluminous praise can be heaped upon those brilliant minds who came up with the concept.

The National Rugby League.

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Having pinched the idea, the AFL has done a great job in making the concept its own and there’s no doubt it is here to stay.

Now the AFL just has to decide which city gets the once-a-year opportunity to see multiple games played in the one weekend, like Melbourne does for the other 22 rounds in the season.

There’s a lot about what has happened here over the past few days to suggest South Australia is the natural choice.

A first-class major venue centrally located and capable of handling the traffic of half a dozen games, several options for suburban and regional grounds of suitable standard and a population more than willing to watch two hobos kick around a dead pigeon as long as it had ‘Sherrin’ printed on it.

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Sydney won’t work. The 100-odd Swans supporters who no longer shout out ‘‘great catch’’ when a player takes a mark at the SCG are unlikely to back up for multiple games, and the Giants supporter can’t get that much time off work.

In Brisbane, they’ll be playing on suburban grounds with crossbars between the goalposts and it’s actually against the law to make anyone other than politicians go to Canberra in winter.

Perth could certainly work infrastructure-wise, but with the way airfares are at the moment, anyone keen to go would be advised to start walking west about now.

Hobart needs a billion-dollar stadium to be even half ready and while Darwin would be kind of awesome, it’s the only part of the country that would be in cricket season.

So that leaves South Australia in the box seat, but the AFL is still going to want Peter Malinauskas to do his best Oliver Twist impersonation and ask, ‘Please Sir, can I have some more?’

Because this a national competition that exists on crumbs falling from a table at Docklands and that’s just the way it’s always going to be.

The fact Melbourne is never mentioned as a possible Gather Round host tells you that.

They don’t need it, they pretty much already have it.

So let’s remember that in the wash-up from this weekend and in discussions about how we ‘Gather’ in the future.

A bit of cash splashing on suburban and regional grounds can’t be a bad thing, but we shouldn’t be having to beg.

The past few days have shown us that the suitability of Adelaide for an event like this is fundamental to its success and negotiation should proceed with that in mind.

Because when it comes to bread and circuses, you get more nourishment being the baker than the clown.