Again, the only reason it exists beyond money is that Richmond and Carlton have a contract to play in Round 1 each year. Nothing about it being the opening round of the season, hence Opening Round (R0).
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The AFL has backed new headgear despite no scientific evidence to yet prove that helmets can reduce concussions.
Leading sports neuroscientists are concerned the helmet is being sold to the public.
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No. Gather round has been a huge success.
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In case you havenât noticed, Iâm not a fan of the whole Magic/Unite/Gather round concept. Donât give a rats if itâs successful.
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So you only want rid of it because you donât like it? If thatâs the criteria can we remove the 10 clubs I donât like?
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The hint is in the username. 
Also, this.
It takes away games from members, and it only serves to fellate areas that already have teams and a footy culture.
NRL does it, AFL does it, NBL does it, A-League tried it and got told off.
If youâre going to grow the game, take it where it it needs to grow. Otherwise, piss it off. Itâs a blatant money grab. Brisbane doesnât need Magic Round, Adelaide doesnât need Gather Round, Perth doesnât need Hoopsfest, so on.
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I donât think thatâs what heâs saying at all.
These rounds are meaningless in my opinion and do nothing to add value
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The AFL doing something good for the heartland of support is why Gather Round is good in the current implementation. Not everything needs to be relentless growth - a Sydney gather round would have no atmosphere. Having it in a footy state in school holidays is perfect.
Nearly every match in the round is a stinker of a combo, lots of lopsided results will happen, so they arenât matches youâd otherwise have big crowds for and be cut up about missing - no rivalries etc. They instead can get big crowds as part of an event.
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Itâs an additional round.
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Nope youâre confusing the Grand Final decision with UNITE-Round which was the replacement. It was actually well recieved because it meant teams played an extra game, something sorely needed in our short Australian season.
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Carlton loses again, except they didnât even need to wait until the second half.
You canât have second-half fade-outs if you faded out in the second quarter.
| Quarter | F | A | % | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 24.16 (160) | 12.13 (85) | 188.24 | 4-1 |
| 2nd | 10.11 (71) | 13.18 (96) | 73.96 | 2-3 |
| 3rd | 12.15 (87) | 24.15 (159) | 54.72 | 1-4 |
| 4th | 10.15 (75) | 26.17 (173) | 43.35 | 1-4 |
One line from the ABCâs live blog of the match:
Talk is already flying about Michael Vossâs future at Carlton â a bad loss in front of a national audience would not be good.
Carlton will play their 4th Thursday night next week. Then theyâll get 5 Foxclusive matches in the 9 weeks after.
Iâd say losing in front of a national audience is their specialty.
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No team in history has ever won from 30 points behind with 20 minutes left in a match.
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Meaningless? They are for premiership points⌠and you only think they are pointless because you donât understand the value it is putting in to grow the game, add infrastructure and the investment in grass roots football. No value is the biggest laugh I have had all morning. The SA government has put so much money into it.
Iâd love to know how itâs taking away from members. They havenât lost a game on their membership.
you arenât wrong here. They do need to grow it in the northern states. However, the AFL canât rely on Victoria to give the high quality talent. If it means the AFL, recruiters and the likes are coming to SA and watching talent in the under 18s once a year itâs good for the game. It means the next Tony Modra from the Riverland thinks he has a shot and might take AFL more seriously. And if he is 10 years old might get a chance to go to the borossa to see a game.
I canât see why anyone thinks gather round isnât adding value to the AFL or the supporters.
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A key event is the Official AFL Gather Round Business Lunch, presented by Grant Burge Wines, where the brand is a co-sponsor. Hosted by the AFL and the South Australian Business Chamber, the event will be held on Friday 10 April 2026 at the Adelaide Convention Centre and will bring together AFL figures, club representatives and members of the South Australian business community.
In the Barossa Valley, the Grant Burge cellar door will open daily during Gather Round from 10:00am to 4:30pm, offering tasting experiences including the Legends of the Vine tasting, which features wines from Grant Burge and St Hugo.
Executive chef Simon Hicks has developed a food pairing for the event, a Meshach pie served with a glass of Grant Burgeâs Meshach Shiraz.
Grant Burge Wines will also be present in Lyndoch on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 April, when AFL matches are held in the Barossa, giving fans the opportunity to access local wines as part of the match day experience.
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84 points scored tonight, fewest since round 18 last year (83 in Richmond v Essendon).
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Fremantle beat Collingwood by six points in a low-scoring match at Adelaide Oval tonight. It was another see-sawing battle, but the Pies were held goalless in the final term while the Dockers kicked two late goals.
The result means the Dockers won back to back matches at the venue for the first time.
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AFL platforms have quite an outage right now.
Live scoreboard:
On the app, the clock is running without a score. On the web, the game is âstarting soonâ. (The issue was fixed at 12.50pm.)
Second half will begin 2.07pm.
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Early game at Barossa Park saw Brisbane defeating North Melbourne by 26.
The other Melbourne team, playing at Adelaide Oval, are not exactly doing well either. This game is guaranteed to be Essendonâs best performance of the season so far, even if they lose.
Bombers were down earlier by just 19 points, the lowest âpeak deficitâ since round 23 last year vs. St Kilda.
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