The AFL's inaugural 'Opening Round' is in the books.
With a focus on Australia's north-eastern states, the league is looking at ways to grow and expand the game.
Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast and GWS all hosted some of Victoria's biggest clubs, recording near-sell-out crowds and huge TV ratings across the weekend.
Ranked as the number one program on free-to-air TV, the AFL was impressed with how 'Opening Round' performed.
Thursday's clash between the Swans and Melbourne raked in over 2.15 million viewers, while Friday's (1.99) and Saturday's (1.70) games fell closely behind.
In comparison, 2023's Round 1 clash between Richmond and Carlton saw the traditional Thursday night match reach a total of 2.14 million viewers nationally.
AFL Executive General Manager of Football Laura Kane believes the NSW-QLD season openers were a huge success, noting that significant AFL metrics grew from previous seasons.
โEverything was up - media, attendance, broadcast,โ Kane said onย SEN.
โBut then we've also seen spikes in things like club memberships and corporate hospitality and the hype leading into Round 1 is extraordinary.
โI think we're facing the highest attendance in terms of crowd numbers this weekend coming and everything's up.
โIt tells us people are hanging out for footy and are very excited that it's back.โ
The Giants also made note that the club is 60 per cent ahead on membership revenue year-on-year and passed 30,000 members three months earlier than in 2023.
But with all the focus on the numbers and the increases in sales, memberships and attendances, did the absence of the remaining 10 teams feel right?
Safe to say, no.
The packed crowds, TV ratings, increase in membership sales, revenues and so forth merely hid the fact that something was missing, creating an emptiness.
And if it wasn't for the financial and numerical recordings, the four games could have been easily mistaken as pre-season tune-ups.
But, in what is now a stunted start to the 2024 season, those who played in 'Opening Round' will have two byes, with the first coming between Rounds 2 and 6, seeing a lopsided ladder until then.
And although coaches and players will deny any sort of advantage or disadvantage, it simply "compromises" the fixture and potentially the year.
Geelong coach Chris Scott labelled it as "frustrating" but conceded that it could be worth it in the long term.
โOf course it does (compromise the fixture) but like with a lot of these things, is the juice worth the squeeze? In this case it probably is,โ Scott said on Fox Footy on Monday night.
โLet's just be honest. Of course it compromises it, but it might be worth it.
โThe bigger compromise is that those teams get two byes compared to every other team (getting one).
โIf you ask the players, and this has gone on for a long time, the Players Association pushed the AFL to bring back the two byes and the answer was always there was no time.
โBut now they've found the time โ that's the frustrating part."
'Opening Round' is a great initiative from the AFL.
Building and growing the game is what must happen to ensure the future of it, especially along the East Coast.
But, like Round 1 in years gone by, when all teams feature, there is a real buzz.
Kane announced following the completion of the weekend's games that the 10 clubs who weren't a part of the inaugural 'Opening Round' had "a bit of FOMO" - fear of missing out.
Is that something we want clubs to feel?
Do we want clubs to miss out? Or be included in the success?
Will we ever see sides like Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne in the 'Opening Round', despite their lowly membership numbers in comparison to the other Victorian clubs?
Or will it always be the big four in Collingwood, Richmond, Carlton and Melbourne?
The AFL's 'Gather Round' can be used as a blueprint for what 'Opening Round' can be heading into the future.
South Australia got the nod to host a weekend of games in which the whole competition descended into one state, whilst New South Wales and Queensland put forward their cases, highlighting their ability to do the same.
In what was such a success for South Australia and the AFL, the league agreed to a three-year extension, locking the concept in the state until 2026.
And while 'Opening Round' was used to grow the game in NSW and QLD, shouldn't all 18 clubs be sent there?
The AFL is on the right path but there's always room for improvement.
