Norwood Oval Image exposes AFL Gather Round black eye

The iconic spectacle of AFL football returning to a suburban venue in Adelaide included some embarrassing numbers for one club.

The Suns run onto Norwood Oval. Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Charm. Norwood Oval adds a bit of charm.

Gather Round had another massive test in front of it as the Suns and Dockers ran onto an Adelaide suburban footy ground in an unfriendly Friday evening time slot — and it passed with flying colours.

Gold Coast and Fremantle played out an unlikely thriller and they did it in front of a crowd of 9329 that produced a rocking atmosphere that punched well above its weight.

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The novelty game could easily have been scoffed at as a sideshow ally attraction — but images of AFL football being played at the quirky venue will be iconic in years to come.

Norwood became the 47th venue to host an AFL/VFL game on Friday afternoon, with its unique dimensions and picturesque setting a novelty for footy fans who have travelled from all over the country to witness a fully-sold out Gather Round.

This was no gimmick — as it could easily have been if executed poorly.

This is what Gather Round is about. It was something different, and something beautiful — especially for anyone with white hair sitting in the stands taking a trip down memory lane.

This fixture was not just about novelty.

Caleb Serong and Brayden Fiorini compete for the ball in front of the Norwood Oval grandstand. Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

For the Gold Coast Suns and Fremantle, the match covered up a potentially embarrassing scenario of the pair facing off on the Glitter Strip.

The fixture at Heritage Bank Stadium last year had an attendance of 6136 — more than 3000 fewer than the crowd that jostled into Norwood Oval.

It is both a testament to Gather Round’s legitimacy — and a black eye for footy on the Gold Coast.

This was, after all, a venue where high profile media personalities, including Dermott Brereton, Alastair Lynch and the rest of the Fox Footy team were crammed on top of each other. Where corporate types didn’t appear to be bothered to show up. A venue 22 hours drive from Broadbeach.

That doesn’t mean it went off without a hitch in Norwood.

The event had all the richness you would expect at a suburban footy venue, the good, the bad and the ugly.

As reported by News Corp, fans said they waited up to 40 minutes in a queue to buy a beer as the food and beverage services struggled to meet the demand and the occasion.

It shows elite-level suburban football is a thing of the past, but it has a future thanks to Gather Round.

The not so glamorous SEN commentary box at Norwood Oval with call team Kym Dillon, David Wildy and Darryl Wakelin. Photo: Twitter, AFL Nation.

The Norwood Oval hill in all its splendour after the crowds had left.

The spectacle has also further enhanced the prestige and attraction of Adelaide — the much-maligned South Australian capital too easily referred to as the most boring town in the country.

Adelaide’s reputation has only been advanced by Gather Round with more than 50,000 supporters coming from interstate among the 190,000 tickets sold.

“From South Australia’s perspective this is more than just a footy round,” South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas told reporters on Wednesday.

Friday’s Norwood Oval fixture proved it.

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan has also been blown away by the host city and let the cat out of the bag on Friday morning, by suggesting Gather Round will be returning to Adelaide in 2024 - despite the deal being far from done.

The major difference reportedly being considered is a push for the 2024 Gather Round to include a game being played in the Barossa Valley — to showcase the nation’s most iconic wine region. News Corp reports the AFL has already begun a feasibility study into potentially taking a game to Tanunda.

James Aish of the Dockers handballs in front of the Norwood scene. Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images.

Meanwhile, Fremantle was publicly unhappy about being scheduled to play in the fixture when it was announced in December - but they won’t be complaining if they’re rostered on to do it all again in 12 months’ time.

Dockers coach Justin Longmuir admitted after the game his players got lost in the uniqueness of the ground, but that didn’t stop him from leaving the venue with four premiership points and a grin from ear to ear.

“It was alright for me. I was coaching from the bench so you could see everything a bit easier with the smaller ground,” Longmuir said in his post-match press conference.

“Maybe it spooked us a bit not having the extra width early where we could switch the ball and take it off the line.

“Once we settled into it we started finding the gaps a bit more. There’s still plenty of room out there, Gold Coast found it in the first half they were able to chip the ball around, at one stage it was 60 marks to 25 or something silly like that. Once we adjusted, I thought we played some pretty good footy on it.”

The footy world gets to soak in the delightful scenes again on Sunday when the Giants face Hawthorn. This hack hopes it is not the last time we see AFL footy at The Parade.