The AFL was contractually required to release the 2027 Gather Round fixture ahead of the rest of the season, giving fans and travelling supporters more time to plan for the annual footy festival in South Australia.
The fixture was unveiled on Monday, with Adelaide and Brisbane set to kick off proceedings at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night.
Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs will bring the weekend to a close in a blockbuster clash, with added intrigue surrounding Zak Butters' move from South Australia to Victoria earlier this month.
"When we did the contract renegotiations for Gather Round last year, it was actually a requirement of the AFL to release the Gather Round fixture before they release the fixture proper," South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas said on SEN.
"And that just allows people to plan and book accordingly. The other thing we were able to do as part of the contract negotiations is put a few requirements around the AFL and fixture for the Gather Round itself, and I think you can see that in the way it has come through.
"There are some cracking games of footy here. If you're a tipster and looking at these games right now, it would be really hard to work out which way you're going to go."
Malinauskas provided more detail regarding the new contract that was signed earlier this year, which ultimately locked in the football festival in South Australia until the end of 2029.
"We get a say, but as you reasonably expect, the AFL makes the final call," he said.
"The state government is a partner in Gather Round, and so we do try and exercise any influence we've got. The way it came through in the fixture, and it looks like this: absolutely, we wanted to see Brisbane play at the Adelaide Oval. They haven't played at the Adelaide Oval during the course of Gather Round. Given they're one of the greatest footy teams in history, they're on Thursday night against the Crows, which will be a blockbuster.
"We really wanted to see a big Melbourne team play on the Friday night, and there's no bigger than Collingwood in many respects. But the other thing we're really keen on is the Saturday night game at the Adelaide Oval has to be either the Grand Final replay or top-four clubs playing against each other."
2027 AFL Gather Round Fixture
Thursday April 8
Adelaide vs Brisbane, Adelaide Oval, 7:10pm
Friday April 9
Collingwood v Sydney, Adelaide Oval, 7:10pm
Saturday April 10
Gold Coast vs GWS Giants, Barossa Valley, 12:05pm
Carlton vs Melbourne, Adelaide Oval, 1:05pm
Richmond vs West Coast, Norwood Oval, 4:05pm
Fremantle vs Hawthorn, Adelaide Oval, 7:15pm
Sunday April 11
Essendon vs North Melbourne, Norwood Oval, 12:00pm
Geelong vs St Kilda, Barossa Valley, 2:45pm
Port Adelaide vs Western Bulldogs, Adelaide Oval, 6:45pm
Malinauskas also confirmed the Gather Round parade through the streets of Adelaide on the Friday night.
All but two clubs will participate in the parade, with Collingwood and Sydney set to miss due to match commitments.
“I can't stress enough – on the Friday night, we are going to see something special,” Malinauskas continued.
“We're going to have players represented from every club in a parade on the streets of Adelaide on the Friday night.
“Everyone loves the Grand Final parade – this is the Grand Final parade with all 18 teams, minus the two that are playing on the Friday night. That's going to be really cool.
“It's going to be in the city at twilight in the lead-up to the game on Friday night. It's Victorian school holidays, importantly, which is how we've timed it.
“I, for one, am optimistic that we will get a good crowd, because you just aren't going to see anything like this in footy.
“We want families and kids to be able to come and see all of their heroes, all of the captains, the coaches and the superstars, all there in one place at one time.
“It will be like Brownlow night but accessible to everybody.”
