'Festival of footy' to skip the Limestone Coast

Tuesday December 13, 2022

Published by: The Border Watch

By: Aidan Curtis

MOUNT Gambier has lost out in its bid to host an AFL match next year when all nine games are played in South Australia midApril.

The AFL magic round, dubbed "Gather Round", will see every team in the competition play in South Australia between April 13 and April 16.

Despite an impassioned push from Mount Gambier, the round's fixture does not feature the Limestone Coast.

The fixture, which was officially released Friday morning, listed six games booked in at Adelaide oval, with two headed to Norwood and one to be played in Mount Barker.

Premier Peter Malinauskas said the "festival of footy" will be a significant economic benefit to Adelaide's tourism and hospitality sectors, but not everyone is happy about that.

Mount Gambier MP Troy Bell, who teamed up with Mayor Lynette Martin to push for a game in Mount Gambier, said it was "disappointing" to see Gather Round only really benefitting Adelaide and not the whole state.

He said he believes it was more an AFL decision than a State Government decision, but he hopes Mount Gambier can be taken into consideration for future Gather Rounds.

"I think we're firmly put on the record that for any future rounds, we want to be considered and, perhaps with a bit more time, we can have a facility that is able to host an AFL game in Mount Gambier," he said.

"The exercise we've been through certainly hasn't been wasted; this is really about setting the groundwork for the future and we want to make sure that we are top of mind when these negotiations go on.

"I'm very confident that in future negotiations, Mount Gambier will be part of the discussion."

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