The inaugural ‘Gather Round’ – aka the AFL’s take on the NRL’s ‘Magic Round’ – kicked off last night with a match between the Adelaide Crows and Carlton. That game was the 1st of 9 sell-out matches being played in South Oz this weekend in “a festival of footy”. The goal is to highlight the historical culture of the league – despite the top levels mostly being played in capital cities these days, it has its roots in suburban/country footy clubs. Over 180,000 footy fans nabbed tickets to games at the Adelaide Oval, the suburban Norwood Oval and the regional town of Mount Barker’s main footy ground. And while many games are still to play out this weekend, outgoing AFL boss Gill McLachlan says it’s already “exceeded expectations”. The SA-born league boss says “there’s people coming from everywhere… and it’s building into the weekend”. To get into the mood, there’s even a very-Aussie-sounding official playlist you can chuck on. NRL fans – your Brissie-based Magic Round starts on Friday, 5 May.