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Sport
Roger Vaughan

Fagan, Clarkson want other states to have Gather Round

Brisbane's win over North Melbourne featured another sellout crowd for the Gather Round in Adelaide. (Michael Errey/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

Coaches Chris Fagan and Alastair Clarkson want Gather Round to be shared around, while acknowledging their sides' AFL match in the Adelaide Hills was a major success.

The AFL is onto a winner, with sellout crowds across the nine games as Adelaide hosts round five.

Any doubts about the inaugural Gather Round were dispelled when suburban Norwood Oval successfully hosted Fremantle's win on Friday over Gold Coast.

Then more than 7000 fans enjoyed the country footy atmosphere at Mt Barker in the hills outside Adelaide on Saturday afternoon, as Fagan's Brisbane mauled Clarkson's North Melbourne.

But Fagan would love Queensland to host the round, with Clarkson also keen for other states to pitch in.

Predictably, the South Australian government has other ideas and is lobbying the AFL hard to secure Gather Round beyond this season.

"We have plenty of football grounds up there, two good stadiums and some other grounds around Queensland - you look at Cairns, there's a good ground up there," Fagan said.

"It just has a good atmosphere about it."

Clarkson said after decades of Australian rules being so Victoria-centric, it is good to showcase the AFL around the rest of the country.

"Anywhere - Northern Territory, Tasmania, Queensland, WA - we've had a fair few Gather Rounds in Victoria over the journey, so I don't think that one will be happening," he said.

"But NSW ... there are some great venues right around the country and economically it would be great to share it around.

"It's so central, Adelaide, to all the states, which helps their cause. They've done a great job, the SA government."

The Mt Barker venue was a paddock only a couple of years ago, but the local council built the ground and successfully lobbied the AFL to get the nod over options in the Barossa Valley.

The AFL shipped in grandstands and other infrastructure from the local V8 Supercars race, as well as ensuring the playing surface was top-quality.

Fagan admitted to having a pleasant surprise when he arrived at the venue.

"I wasn't sure, when we were playing in some place called Mt Barker - I'd actually never been before," he said.

"I wondered what it would be like - it might just be a bit of a country ground, the surface might be scratchy, it's probably going to be small.

"But it's none of those things. The surface is sensational, as good as you'll find anywhere in the country.

"The ground is a great size, they did a brilliant job to put all the stands in here and create atmosphere."

Clarkson agreed, calling it a first-class facility.

"I spoke to a couple of the local lads who play their footy here," he said.

"They're pretty excited that once all these grandstands get pulled down, they have a pretty special oval."

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