Nine sold-out games could help Adelaide hold on to the AFL’s Gather Round beyond 2024

The buzz the AFL’s first ever Gather Round has created in Adelaide could mean an easy decision for league bosses about who will host in 2024.

Adelaide fans celebrate a goal during the AFL Gather Round m (Image Supplied for Editorial Use only - **NO ON SALES** - ©Phil Hillyard )

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan says Gather Round could be in Adelaide “for a while” after the final tickets were sold on Friday morning making all nine games sellouts.

While the league is set to do a full review of the new concept the enthusiasm shown by not just South Australian fans but also the government could ensure the state again hosts the full round of games next season and beyond.

Several other states, including NSW and WA have put their hand up to get in on the action but McLachlan said Adelaide “feels like the right spot” as a heartland of Australian rules.

“Adelaide just feels like the right spot. The fact that it’s in the centre of Australia,” McLachlan told 3AW on Friday morning.

“I think it’s got a strong case that it’s got its roots down here and it needs to be here for a while.”

Young Carlton fans from Melbourne in Adelaide for Gather Round. Pic: Michael Klein

The last remaining tickets to Friday night’s Sydney-Richmond at Adelaide Oval were snapped up in the hours before the game, after the league cut adult prices to just $15.

Games are also being played at Norwood Oval on Friday and Mt Barker across the weekend, with the potential for different venues should Gather Round return to the state in 2024.

There were 47,435 at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night to watch the Crows dismantle Carlton in a stunning start to the inaugural Gather Round, a concept the AFL copied from the NRL’s Magic Round during which all games are played in Brisbane.

Queensland has hosted Magic Round since its inception, although there have been suggestions the NRL could move it to Melbourne when the AFL takes all its games out of Victoria to fill the sporting void and seize on local interest.