To put it one way, the AFL has undertaken some noteworthy experimental changes in recent years and district competitions are following suit.
Some — like the reintroduction of a substitute in addition to the interchange bench — have earned greater public fanfare than others, such as ... well, the paper would need more space to list them all.
Anyhow, the Gather Round concept sits among the forerunners in the AFL’s current era of innovation.
While questions lingered over matters such as compensation for members when clubs outsource their home games, the general public voted with its airfares to deliver a resounding success in last year’s inaugural edition and look set to do so again in 2024.
With that said, can such a design translate to the local level in the Goulburn Valley League?
Football clubs nationwide generally understand the pulsating atmosphere of these events since many host finals days, bringing in supporters from across the region and some handy canteen coin to go alongside.
Suppose we narrowed down the concept to just senior football. Could a regular season round function the same way to supercharge one club’s match day revenue with hosts rotating annually, unlike the AFL edition?
More importantly, would personnel around the league support such a move?
The concept looks significantly easier to execute on paper in the netball sphere, where games are only about half the length.
You could get through a senior round in well under a day if you played games simultaneously on neighbouring courts.
However, football’s longer timeframes, coupled with certain venues only hosting one applicable playing surface, could serve as a hindrance.
A two-day format would be the most likely solution, with three games each across a Saturday and Sunday.
With night game capabilities across a handful of competition venues, could some put their hands up more readily than others?
Let’s have a look at the answers.
Benalla: Geoff Hill, president
“In my opinion, I don’t think it would work. I don’t think we would be in favour of it.
“If we had to give up a home game in Shepparton or Mooroopna, we wouldn’t be prepared because we have to look after our members.
“If you want certain teams to play somewhere, but the seniors to play elsewhere on a different day, I don’t think that would work.
“The concept is good, but I don’t think the practicalities would work well.”
Echuca: Justin Hatfield, president
“I think the main thing comes down to whether you’d get buy-in from the public; depending who we play, there are a few teams that have supporters who don’t travel too well.
“There would have to be a lot of thought on logistics and, being an amateur competition, there are probably some limits.
“I think it’s something you’d be mad not to explore to do something a bit different, but you want to make sure you do it for the right reasons.
“Some clubs rely on their gates, especially since the admin fees have gone up over 50 per cent in the last two years.
“If you can increase the gate and have it shared equally amongst clubs, they might go for it.”
Euroa: Scott Watson, president
“My initial reaction was that, like many other clubs, Euroa relies too heavily on our home matches to make ends meet to do something like that.
“In terms of whether I could see other clubs stepping into that space, maybe not unless it was heavily subsidised; if you had it in Shepparton and clubs got subsidies to enable it to occur, that could be one for Victorian tourism.
“As the president, I’m well aware of all our teams, and our 17-and-under netball is just as important as our senior footy.
“I couldn’t see a concept like this being hosted anywhere other than Shepparton; if it would be a Gather Round, it would have to be that way for all levels.
“If we lost that home game, financially that would be pretty tough.”
Kyabram: John Guinan, president
“I’d entertain the concept; it’s good to think outside the box and try different things.
“The footy department thinks it’s a good idea for the league, but we’re unsure how the logistics would work.
“By the time you shared it around each year, it would be six or 10 years to get it around to each town. The revenue was a main talking point for us, because you can’t tell a club ‘it’s your turn next year’ as it’ll take a lot of time to work around the circuit.
“Maybe if you divide up all the takings to every participating club somehow, you could do it.
“We’re always trying to attract good players and it would be a good way to get eyes on the competition, but it’s just about what it would look like.”
Mansfield: Ray Robinson, president
“The logstics would probably be the hardest part and I assume it would have to be based in Shepparton.
“It’s a lot easier for the AFL to do with their resources in Adelaide. It’s probably not a bad idea as it sort of brings everyone together, but how it would work is a hard task.
“If you’re looking to try and promote Goulburn Valley tourism, you’re looking at Echuca and Mansfield as two of the main centres other than Shepparton.
“The AFL distributes all those funds to clubs, but I’m not sure how it would work here; it’s always worth thinking about, though.”
Mooroopna: Bill Dowling, president
“It would have to be something the league would push and promote, but I imagine other clubs would be reluctant to give up home games to have one in Shepparton.
“If the GVL was looking for a venue, we would be keen to put our hands up, but we would only be interested if the league was.
“Obviously gate takings are essential and would have to be split up, but would everyone’s members be able to come in?
“It would be interesting to see how the league would run it.”
Rochester: Justin Cleary, president
“I thought about this and figured the only way it would work is if it was an extra round slotted in, and it was just senior football and A-grade netball.
“Maybe it’s got merit. Maybe it’s a way for the league to cash in and make some extra coin, but you’d have to work out how to market it.
“The AFL puts a lot of other live entertainment around it and maybe we could do that if somebody came up with a concept we could do.
“We’ve been lucky enough to take on brand-new state-of-the-art lights, probably the best in the GV, and we’ve got a magnificent surface, so we’re really in the box seat.
“I think it’s an idea that warrants exploration and I’d like the opportunity for something like that; the league doesn’t want to be seen as Shepparton-centric and it would be a great way to promote our community.”
Shepparton: Brendan Bicknell, president
“The natural timing for Gather Round would be at the start of the season; if Easter falls at the start of the season, that’s a good time for that.
“You would have to run it somewhere you’ve got a real drawcard with a big crowd being there, but the big challenge is how you would work the reserves and under-18 schedules in.
“If it was just seniors taking part, you could get away with it, but you’d need a substantial weekend to be able to do it.
“You could base it in Shepparton and use Deakin as well as Princess Park, and maybe even Mooroopna.
“You might have a general pass that lets people go from one game to another over the weekend.”
Shepparton Swans: Jarrod Sutherland, president
“I think it probably works for the AFL because people come from all over, but I don’t know if it would work in local footy.
“If we have a game in Shepparton while there’s another at Deakin on the same day, our gates are usually well down.
“We’d try and have some input into it if (the league) drew it up, but I don’t know if you’d get enough people to warrant the exercise; it would be very difficult in the country.
“Are people in Benalla, Echuca or Mansfield going to get in the car for those games in Shepparton? We’re in a situation where we’ve got great lights, but don’t have the opportunity to play night games when it’s decent weather.
“It’s good to try different things, but I’m not too sure.”
Shepparton United: Rebecca Monk, president
“We have experience in what it’s like to do these things given that we’ve hosted grand finals, but there would have to be a very clear understanding of how you’d do it logistically.
“Our motto is we’re one club united and we’d want to celebrate and promote all of our playing group.
“We don’t want to say that the only team that matters in the GVL is our senior football group rather than all the other players and volunteers on the courts and the oval.
“The concept of being able to do three or four games in a hub can work with our Goulburn Murray Women’s and Youth Girls’ sides; that competition has a better ability to do it because of the number of teams.
“We try to make it equitable for all our teams in football and netball.”
Tatura: Paul Barnard, senior coach
“Gather Round is great for the AFL, but logistically, there’s a whole lot of queries as to what it would look like.
“It’s not impossible, but the question is who gets the revenue for games. You’d need to fiscally look at it and build the budget and model first.
“Whatever money that gets distributed to each club has to go to junior development or equipment, et cetera; it’s very hard for country clubs to survive.
“If we give up Tatura v Mooroopna, a game with a bit of a rivalry, that could cost us between $10,000 and $20,000, but we’d need to look at what most clubs would want to know financially.”
Absent: Seymour
Overall thoughts
The consensus feedback appears clear: Clubs across the league are generally open-minded to the concept, but would seek clear and concise feedback about revenue sharing and proper compensation for home fans.
One advantage the AFL had in fixturing the Gather Round was the ability to shoehorn in an extra weekend of the season in an effort to lessen the pain on home game members, which may well be more difficult to enact at local level.
For now, however, the question lies with the league’s executive branch as to whether a feasible model exists out there, whether it closely resembles what we see in the national game or otherwise.