AFL 2023: Ticket sales surge for Gather Round, boosting SA hopes of keeping event
Footy fans are voting for Gather Round with their wallets, with the Crows’ clash against Carlton sold out and supporters set to flock to South Australia from interstate.
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The AFL says South Australia has done everything possible so far to prove it is capable of hosting Gather Round in coming years as ticket sales surge for the new round 5 initiative.
The AFL has now sold 150,000 tickets for the nine games across the round in Adelaide, including 50,000 to interstate visitors.
That number is critical because it will provide return on investment for the state government, which has invested well over $10 million after beating Sydney to the right to host the league’s first Gather Round.
While money will eventually talk to decide the 2024 host if the league goes ahead with the concept again, AFL executive Travis Auld said SA could scarcely have done more so far.
“We have just done the one year (agreement) so we can have a conversation on the back of that with clubs, players, broadcasters and fans, so if the appetite is there we are prepared to look at it again, but it appears so far the state has embraced it,” he told the Herald Sun.
“A number of the games are already sold out. The demand so far has exceeded expectations and a large number of tickets have been sold outside South Australia.
“We know our fans love to travel and we haven’t tried a concept like this before. I am not sure we expected that number of people to buy tickets outside South Australia.
“The fans are travelling to see their teams play, but then it feels like they will stay behind to enjoy that broader weekend.”
Thursday’s Adelaide vs Carlton clash at Adelaide Oval is already sold out, as is the Brisbane vs North Melbourne clash in the Adelaide Hills and the double-header that features Essendon-Melbourne and Port Adelaide-Western Bulldogs.
Of the state’s 10,255 hotel rooms, 80 per cent have already been sold for the Saturday of Gather Round, with Auld saying many fans were driving into the state instead of flying.
“We got a commitment in terms of the quantity of flights from (AFL sponsor) Virgin, in particular. But in a lot of the conversations I have had people are going to drive. We are working out how we can create a bit of a plan to help people on their journey and make a bit of an experience of it,” Auld said.
“We will have events leading into the round. There is an opportunity there with all the clubs together. We will have representatives of the clubs through the community and lots of players and coaches out and about.
“What we want to be able to do is create a weekend that strongly brings the football fraternity together, and so far from can see from ticket sales it is being strong embraced.’‘
How Sloane ushered in new era at Crows
– Matt Turner
A familiar voice pierces across the northern side of Victor George Kailis Oval in Perth, late on Friday afternoon.
First, it calls out instructions, encouragement comes next, then a shout with more urgency.
Adelaide and Fremantle are facing off in a match simulation, testing themselves against an opposition for the first time after a long summer of only internal competition.
With about 2000 spectators in attendance and no premiership points up for grabs, the noise from beyond the boundary is fairly subdued.
One voice is louder than the rest within the playing field, that of Crows veteran Rory Sloane.
This is his first match against an opposition club in almost 12 months, since a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament rupture against Richmond at Adelaide Oval on April 16.
It is also Sloane’s first game without being captain in five years.
No longer holding the title, but finding it impossible not to lead – or be himself.
“In the three-and-a-bit years I’ve known Rory, he’s just always Rory – he doesn’t fluctuate,” Crows’ leadership development manager Dan Jackson tells News Corp.
“When he was in pretty dark times and he’s had a few with those different injuries, you still just get this really positive, smiley guy someone who’s always there to support other individuals or get energy into the group.
“He’s Mr Consistent with his personality and I guess it comes back to he’s got a really strong sense of self.
“That’s what we saw this week, whether that was on the ground or in the hotel, he’s always just buzzing about, getting guys up, is very good at asking questions and checking in.
“It’s status quo for Rory Sloane but that understates how beneficial it is to have Rory Sloane around the group in weeks like this.”
Sloane handed over the captaincy to Jordan Dawson last month.
In some ways, nothing has changed.
Speaking on the club’s week-long pre-season trip to Perth, Crows ruckman Reilly O’Brien says Sloane has been just as vocal on the ground since handing over the captaincy.
“His voice just stands out so he’s a huge presence on-field just to command the troops and being a steadying presence,” O’Brien says.
“It was great to have him back out there.”
While the team is thrilled to have him in the fold again, Sloane’s comeback is hardly mentioned in meetings leading up to the game.
“We tried to play it down for his sake and not make a big deal of it, but everyone was really excited,” O’Brien says.
Sloane appears relaxed before the match as he enters the ground, which is at the Dockers’ administration and training base.
He admires and comments about Fremantle’s collection of past guernseys hanging on a wall.
At 32, Sloane is one of only a few Crows players old enough to have seen all of the retro jumpers being worn in games.
The former skipper has experienced a lot in his 14 seasons and may seem relatively calm on the outside, but he cannot hide pre-game jitters among teammates.
“He was a little bit edgy, as you would be after a year out, because it means so much to him,” O’Brien says.
“Even before the intra-club he was pretty edgy.
“You could tell he was pretty nervous, pretty excited.
“He just loves the club and just loves playing footy.”
Jackson says it is natural for any player to have some doubt but Sloane’s has been overshadowed by his typically positive self-belief.
“Rory’s done a lot of work over his career in mindfulness and breathing, and spent time with Mark Visser, the big-wave surfer, and quite literally been pommeled in the surf … and learnt to control his fear and emotions,” he says.
“He’s a teacher to everyone in that space, so you don’t get too many cracks in his veneer when it comes to his mental state.
“But it wouldn’t have surprised me if he was feeling all kinds of emotion.”
As Sloane and the Crows enter the ground for the warm up, he heads to the southern wing, on the edge of the centre square, by himself.
There, he tests his heavily strapped right knee.
Jogging in a straight line, short sprints in different directions, knee raises, then a couple of shots at goal.
The players go back into the rooms before re-emerging a short time later, as the first bounce nears.
Sloane told the Crows’ website in September that walking out behind his teammates before a game had been the hardest part of his recovery.
Specifically, the two minutes in the change rooms from when the players go from being huddled around coach Matthew Nicks to making their way onto the ground and all the nervous energy that comes with it.
He went from leading them out before his injury to at the back, in pants and a polo shirt, heading to the bench or coaches box.
On this Friday, Sloane is the last Crows player out.
He dashes towards the 50m arc and is soon going through drills with the midfield group.
Sloane has been spending the bulk of his time with that contingent since returning to training, but not on the ball, where the veteran has made his name, rather on a wing.
Moving there coincides with the Crows’ desire to add more dynamism to its midfield by playing Izak Rankine and Josh Rachele there at times.
Sloane told Jackson that spending so long on the sidelines last year gave him the perspective of a coach but being in his new wing role was giving him full view of the field.
“He’s leading like he always has but doing it 40 metres away, rather than in the middle of the stoppage, in the heat of the battle,” Jackson says.
“He’s got that view from the outside and can now help those guys to make sure they’re covering what they need to as well as talk to backs and forwards.
“He’s got himself in such good physical condition that he’s able to have that awareness of what’s going on across the whole field.”
Once the game starts, Sloane does not take long to work into it, finding the ball early and moving well.
He comes off for a rest at the 11-minute mark then is back in the action not before long.
When Fremantle turns the ball over exiting it defensive 50, young gun Jake Soligo finds Sloane in space and he snaps a goal, much to the delight of his teammates.
His celebration is understated, a simple fist pump.
Quarter-time comes and it is Sloane’s successor who does the bulk of the talking.
Sloane stands back and listens to Dawson.
“Rory and Tex have been very good at finding the right time to speak up and the right time to step back,” Jackson says.
“Even during his captaincy, I noticed many times Sloaney empowered other leaders and non-leaders to take the opportunity to address the group.
“We don’t want Sloaney to step away and say nothing, we need him to lead as he always has.
“He’s there to support Jordy and Jordy gets the benefit of having someone like that as a wing man to help guide them, and maybe step up at times when he’s not sure.”
Later, there is a slightly hairy moment, a collision with teammate Will Hamill and Fremantle’s Lachie Schultz, from which Sloane lands awkwardly.
He is up quickly.
Jackson says Sloane has not been concerned about potentially getting re-injured.
“Rory’s philosophy is always to find the positive and isn’t someone who sits in doubt,” he says.
“He’s been through so many things on field and in his personal life that he thinks there’s no point sitting in fear of what might happen, you just deal with it when it comes.
“Whether this is his last year or he manages to get a few more out, I reckon he’ll have the same attitude all the time … so I don’t think we’ll ever see him shirk a contest for the rest of his career.”
Sloane’s hard running and ability to find the ball is noticeable for the remainder of the game.
Those traits, his toughness and experience help make up for a lack of pace that will challenge him at times in that role when he faces the league’s speedier wingmen.
By the end of the fourth quarter, when Adelaide leads by 11 points, critics who have suggested Sloane may struggle to make the Crows’ best side are probably second-guessing themselves.
“There were a lot of doubters out there in the external world saying ‘he’s in his 30s, ACL, it’s not going to happen for him’,” Jackson says.
“But he’s had nothing but confidence and belief in what he’s going to be able to do this year.”
O’Brien adds: “He was one of our best players”.
Seeing Sloane around the group on other days during the trip away, he is often jovial.
Cracking jokes, laughing or smiling.
Sloane has that sort of personality anyway, but being back in the fold among his mates, doing what he loves after a year watching from the sidelines must be giving him an extra pep.
The veteran would be cherishing every moment in what might be the final season of his career.
“He brings great energy, it’s infectious,” O’Brien says.
“He’s a huge influence on the group.”
Jackson says he has “never really seen him flat”.
“My first impression of him when I met him was ‘this guy just makes you feel good every time you’re in his presence’,” he says.
“He’s just trying to make other people around him feel better.
“He might be feeling that he wants to make the most of every bit and has a new-found appreciation after spending so long out of the game … but he hasn’t expressed any of that.”
Handing over the captaincy does not mean Sloane is one of the boys again, he has always made time for others, according to Jackson.
It just allows him to focus on his footy a little more.
“He’s got three kids and is 10 years older than a lot of the guys but he’s always there going for coffees, gets guys around for barbecues, takes them surfing,” Jackson says.
“He really enjoys that part of being in a footy environment, that connection stuff, so I don’t think (not being skipper) would shift him at all in that approach.”
An avid surfer, Sloane does not get the chance to hit the waves in Perth, but the team does go to Rottnest Island, where they ride bikes and take photos with quokkas.
During the week, he is a sounding board for Dawson and is involved in a couple of leadership group catch-ups.
“You couldn’t have asked for an easier transition or a more humble character to support Dawse like he has and been so graceful,” Jackson says.
“Sloaney’s done this really well and he’s at that level 5 leadership where it’s about leaving a legacy and making others better around him.
“He’s offered an ear to answer questions or share advice, maybe ask a question here or there.”
Sydney recruit Dawson became an instant Crows hero when he kicked his post-siren goal to seal a Showdown win.
Two weeks later, Sloane’s knee buckled underneath him against the Tigers last April and instantly knew his season was over.
But Sloane told the Crows’ website in September that as he walked off Adelaide Oval, he had a moment where he “sort of smiled and looked around and thought ‘I can’t wait to get back out here again’, which was the opposite reaction to what I thought I’d have.”
His goal has long been to play in round 1 and he is on track to face GWS in Sydney on March 19, having ticked every box so far.
The week in Perth being some of the final steps in his long road back.
“Rory and Tex are exceptional competitors but have got an attitude that they want to enjoy the journey too, which is such a good influence for our young squad,” Jackson says.
“Rory in particular is really good at helping those guys keep perspective of what’s important, sticking to the process and not getting stuck.”
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