Sports Minister Kate Worden has flagged an interest in bidding to host the AFL’s Gather Round after the current South Australian deal expires, saying the NT is ‘more than capable’ of pulling it off.
Sports Minister Kate Worden has thrown her weight behind a suggestion from Collingwood superstar Mason Cox that the Territory should be the next host of the AFL’s Gather Round.
The 211cm US-born ruck-forward made the suggestion after being asked in a tweet if his homeland would work as a new setting for the unique round earlier this week.
Cox replied saying the AFL would need to initially invest more in the international market prior to any such move, before throwing the NT into the mix as another possible contender.
“Playing in the Northern Territory would be on my bucket list before retiring,” he wrote.
In response to questions from this publication, Ms Worden said she supported the high-profile Pie’s idea, saying the Territory was “more than capable of hosting a major event”.
“We always want to see more sport played in the NT and we would be open to any discussions about potentially hosting the Gather Round when it becomes available,” Worden said.
“The Northern Territory has a rich history of Aussie rules, and proved when we hosted the Dream Time game in Darwin, we are more than capable of hosting a major event.”
Ms Worden said playing footy in the NT was already “a career aspiration of many AFL footballers”.
“In recent years the likes of Eddie Betts, Gary Ablett Junior, Allen Christensen, Mitch Robinson and Jarrod Waite have all pulled on the boots in the NT to get that experience,” she said.
Cox, 32, who has travelled to the Territory in the past, including the Tiwi Islands and Blue Mud Bay, spoke highly of the game in the north.
“Their passion for football in remote communities is special and there is lots to learn there,” Cox said in his tweet.
If the NT was to host the Gather Round, Darwin’s TIO Stadium and Alice Springs’ Traeger Park could be used as two major venues while Cazalys Stadium in Greater Darwin would offer another possible option.
Both TIO Stadium and Traeger Park have hosted AFL games on many occasions in the past, with the former set to host another two games this season when the Gold Coast Suns take on Western Bulldogs in Round 11, followed by Adelaide in Round 12.
Traeger Park is also set to host an AFL match in Round 16 between Melbourne and GWS.
After the first iteration of AFL Gather Round in Round 5 this season, the league swiftly announced that South Australia would host the next three until 2026.
It would mean Cox would need to remain in the league as a player until he was 36 for him to potentially play in a Territory-hosted Gather Round.
Currently, there are three players in the game who are over the age of 35; Shannon Hurn, Scott Pendlebury and Lance Franklin who is one year old at 36.
AFL NT was contacted for comment.
Originally published as AFL Gather Round: Sports Minister Kate Worden backs Mason Cox’s NT host suggestion