Gather Round: four days, three grounds

GR-02Catalogue name: Gather Round over four days and three venues

What it means

Gather RoundThe round in which every game is played in one host city. Every club appears once.Read more in the glossary's games are spread from Thursday to Sunday across three grounds in the host city.

Why it exists

This is the format the AFLAustralian Football League.Read more in the glossary has used since 2023.

For example

Five games at Adelaide Oval, two at Norwood Oval and two at Barossa Park across the long weekend.

How strictly it applies

Must-follow The fixture must obey this rule. A separate checker tests the finished fixture afterwards.

Must-follow. Gather Round grounds are allowed two games in one day (see VT-13).

Where to see it

How the fixture is made shows how this plays out across the season.

How it played out across versions

One cell per release, oldest first. Each shows the verdict that release recorded for this rule; a release with no row for the rule says so.

13 Sep13 Sep 2026Preview 13 September2027 · Generated
Off, switched off by these settings
no checker yet
13 Sep13 Sep 2026Preview 14 September (seed 42)2027 · Generated
Off, switched off by these settings
no checker yet
14 Sep14 Sep 2026Repeat-qualified (seed 42)2027 · Generated
Off, switched off by these settings
no checker yet
14 Sep14 Sep 2026Corrected (seed 43)2027 · Generated
Off, switched off by these settings
no checker yet
14 Sep14 Sep 2026Rules release (seed 43)2027 · Generated
Off, switched off by these settings
no checker yet
15 Sep15 Sep 2026B009 nominal (seed 43)2027 · Generated
Off, switched off by these settings
no checker yet
18 Sep18 Sep 2026B010 nominal (weight 0.10)2027 · Generated
Met, met
19 Sep19 Sep 2026B011 nominal2027 · Generated
Met, met
30 Sep30 Sep 2026B012 Wednesday opening2027 · Generated
Met, met
20252025 season as played2025 · As played
Off, switched off by these settings
rule source not recorded

First checked independently in TV slots added, 18 Sep 2026.

For analysts: catalogue text and codes

Rule id: GR-02
Catalogue text: Gather Round matches spread across 4 days (Thursday to Sunday) using 3 venues.
Catalogue type: Hard
Catalogue family: Gather Round Constraints
Class: hard · The fixture must never break it.
Step: S3 · Step 4: home ground and venue
Recorded status: met · source row evaluated
Catalogue reason: The format the AFL has used since 2023.