South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas has called on his state’s football fans to turn up in droves for Friday evening’s match at Adelaide Oval in a cheeky bid to one-up New South Wales.
The AFL community turns its attention to Adelaide this weekend for the inaugural Gather Round, where all nine games will be played in the South Australian capital.
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“The turn-up in terms of ticket sales is what’s really got us excited,” Malinauskas told Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Wednesday evening.
“We had a bit of hunch that South Australians would show up, and they’ve done that and some.
“The fact that almost seven out of the nine games have sold out is a pretty exciting proposition.”
On Friday, the Sydney Swans will face Richmond at Adelaide Oval, which seats up to 53,500. Malinauskas has challenged South Australians to better the 31,686-person crowd Sydney mustered for last weekend’s match against Port Adelaide at the SCG.
“The test I’m putting out there to South Australians who are watching tonight … we want to get more people to the Sydney vs Richmond game, a Sydney game in Adelaide, than what Sydney can achieve at the SCG,” Malinauskas said.
“We’ll see how we go.”
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan continued: “I told him the Sydney crowd last week, which was 31,600, and he came out in the press conference and talked the crowd down by about 4000, lowering the bar.”
Malinauskas wants to see Gather Round return to South Australia in 2024, despite an inevitable push from Sydney to host the next event.
“It’s a footy state. We live and breathe this national game. It’s in our blood, and that’s showing up in the vibe that’s in the air at the moment,” Malinauskas said.
“We’re a sporting nation, and South Australia’s always punched above its weight in terms of showing up.
“Think about the Adelaide Test, for instance. We get a bigger per capita crowd to the Adelaide Test by a very long way in comparison to Sydney or Melbourne.
“South Australians love their sport.”
Before signing off, Malinauskas pleaded to viewers at home: “Turn up on Friday night! Big crowd Friday night!”
Gather Round gets underway on Thursday evening with the Crows facing Carlton at Adelaide Oval.
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