A day our from the AFL’s Opening Night, the excitement around the season is well and truly alive in Sydney.
The Swans are primed and ready to take on the Demons in front of a packed SCG.
It’s this excitement and growth of AFL in the northern states that has John Longmire calling for Gather Round to move to Sydney.
The concept will remain in Adelaide until 2026 but speaking on the club’s new podcast “More than Footy”, Longmire admits the move felt a little premature.
“I would have thought it would have been a no brainer to have Gather Round in Sydney,” Longmire said.
“I think it’s wonderful what’s happened in Adelaide in terms of a great concept.”
“But I would have thought that if you’re really keen to promote the game in the northern markets, in particular, where a great chunk of Australia’s population resides which is from Wollongong up to Newcastle, you’d be keen to try and expand the game’s growth.”
“Expand the marketplace, expand the amount of top-line athletes we can have playing our game as we try to get a new team up in Tassie. Put Gather Round in Sydney.”
“We need some more infrastructure, but we need to have a Gather Round in Sydney.”
Longmire says there is still a long way in the battle against the 17 other professional sporting teams across the NSW and ACT.
‘It’s so hard to establish yourself in this market. I’ve seen the Academies really change the way that football is viewed.
“I call it ‘the polo test’, when you get it you’re proud to put your polo on. Kids are really proud to get their polo and wear it, I reckon that’s when you’re really relevant.”
“We’ve got a long way to go, It’s the most competitive sporting market in the world but that’s an important start.”
“It’s interesting when you talk to guys like Adam Kingsley or Chris Fagan who have spent so much time in Melbourne.”
“They come up and see the challenges or the opportunities that are north of the Murray and how competitive the environment is up there. Their views completely change.
“You always look at your own backyard as a coach of a club, Victorian clubs can do that. We all do it, we all want the best from our football team. But if you try to step back a bit, and you look at those numbers, it’s pretty hard to argue in terms of the competition but also the opportunity.
“If we get it right, it’s good for everybody, it’s good for the game and that’s got to be good.”
More Than Footy, presented by Bing Lee
Hosted by Sydney Swans premiership player Nick Davis and sports journalist Hayley Falkiner, ‘More than Footy’ features guests connected to the red and white family who open up about their life and love of the game. The show illustrates that the reach of footy extends well beyond the game on the field.
