AFL Gather Round at Mount Barker
The AFL Gather Round is heading back to South Australia in Round 4, from 4th to 7th April 2024, with the West Coast Eagles and Sydney Swans facing off at Mount Barker's Summit Sport and Recreation Park on Saturday 6th April and the Gold Coast Suns playing the GWS Giants on Sunday 7th April.
The games on Saturday 6th April and Sunday 7th April are sell outs. However those who missed out on tickets will still be able to get involved through community events, details of which will be announced closer to Gather Round.
For information about where to catch all the action both before and after the games, stay tuned to the Mount Barker District Council website and Facebook page.
Further information about all AFL Gather Round matches can be found on the official AFL website.
Hills Football
Beyond the AFL Gather Round, the Adelaide Hills footy league is also a thriving competition that really heats up when the months turn cold. Hills footy is hard and hectic, thanks to inter-village sporting rivalries that go back over a century.
How do I get my fix of Hills footy?
The present league (Hills Football League, formed in 1967) is the largest outside of Adelaide and hosts 19 clubs. Each Saturday, ovals across the region reliably fill up, with crowds at their most feverish when finals start in August. Juniors usually enjoy first bounce at 9am, but you might be best arriving for 2.30pm when the Div 1 A-Grade teams face off. By this time, the braziers are roaring, the barbecues are sizzling and the home crowd and visitors are desperately trying to outdo each other, either by exercising their vocals or honking their car-horns.
A few basics. Entry will be around $7, a snag or a burger will set you back around $5 and if you really want to fit in, you should wear chequered flanny (several layers) and uggs. The piece de resistance is a ute, reverse-parked and suitably accoutred in the back with chairs, doona and esky. As well as local colour, a few ovals are enhanced by sublime country surrounds (Nairne, Macclesfield and Kangarilla are prime examples) as well as very supportive local pubs.
Reflecting the standard of play, you might see a few famous names on the field, and thanks to long-standing rivalries, some grudge matches are guaranteed to please: look out especially for Bridgewater-Bremer vs Mount Lofty, Birdwood vs Gumeracha, and Hahndorf vs Mount Barker. See the fixtures.