As mentioned previously, the AFL has added a Gather Round into the fixture for the last three years but this was our first time, joining our friends who have been previously. Our team was due to play on the Saturday night so we started the day with breakfast followed by a stroll along the Torrens river Trail.

As you can see the river is quite narrow to the north of the city.

Late afternoon we left our lovely accommodation and our friend Pauline joined us as we took a free bus into the city. (Note- Public transport in Adelaide over the Gather Round period is free with a valid ticket to one of the football games.)

From the bus stop we made our way across the road

and through the railway station

and down the road

before taking some steps to the river.

There were lots of football related activities happening there.

One competition was to see if anyone could kick a football to the other side of the river. It was certainly a lot wider than where we had walked earlier in the day.

From there we walked back along the riverside and up some steps to the pedestrian overpass, joining a moving mass of football fans. As we approached the oval we checked our tickets to see which gate to enter through.

Once inside

we bought some food and shared a table with a couple of Melbourne supporters from Melbourne. After eating and having a good chat we made our way to our seats in one of the older grandstands. You can see the new stand in the background.

We watched the players warming up on the ground for a while.

They returned to the changing rooms and not long after came out onto the ground to run through a banner prepared by the cheer squad.

As it turned out, what had promised to be an exciting night was a dismal performance from our team in the first half. In the second half they made up some ground but were badly beaten by Essendon. It was the start of an underwhelming season.

Would we come again? If we were going with family or friends the answer is yes. Stopping in Adelaide for Gather Round as part of a longer trip in South Australia we would consider it too but otherwise we would probably prefer to go to another interstate game in another state as we have done in the last few years.

Next post we explore Adelaide city a bit more and head down to the showgrounds to visit the Adelaide Farmers’ Market.