The AFL is reportedly considering a Zak Butters-versus-Port Adelaide grudge match to headline next year’s Gather Round.
It follows Butters’ blockbuster free agency move to the Western Bulldogs this month, with his first clash against his old Power teammates set to be circled in red on the calendar.
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And according to the Herald Sun’s Jay Clark, the league is looking to leverage that juicy matchup as it aims to add flavour to the showpiece round.
It’s believed a potential Port-Dogs bout would either open or close the round, after Crows-Blues opened in Round 5 this year and Port-Saints closed on Sunday night.
Gather Round is again locked in for early April, aligning with school holidays around the country to sway interstate fans to flock to South Australia for the footy festival.
It’s set to fall in Round 4 of the 2027 fixture after the AFL scrapped Opening Round.
Over 270,000 people attended the Gather Round games played this year across Adelaide Oval, Norwood Oval and Barossa Park, with around 37 per cent of attendees estimated to be interstate visitors.
Gather Round will remain in South Australia for at least the next three years, through the 2029 campaign.
Elsewhere, Hawthorn is reportedly lobbying for a blockbuster Round 1 MCG meeting with Essendon.
It comes after the Hawks finally got a trade deal over the line for Zach Merrett, with the former Essendon captain to be met with a frosty reception when the sides meet in 2027.
The Hawks have historically played the Bombers early in the season, but Clark says the only threat to a Hawthorn-Essendon Round 1 clash is a “potential one-sided result”.
Sam Mitchell’s club projects as a serious premiership contender after adding Merrett and ex-Suns goalkicker Ben King to a preliminary final team.
The Bombers, meanwhile, are deep in rebuild mode under first-time senior coach Mark McVeigh, having won two games and the wooden spoon this year.
The AFL is working through the final stages of completing the 2027 fixture, which has typically been released to the public in the second week of November.
Among the other highly-anticipated fixtures will be Nick Blakey’s first clash with the Swans after joining North Melbourne in the trade period.
Blakey and Sydney’s falling out after the Pullman Hotel scandal has been well-documented, with Swans forward Tom Papley taking to Instagram earlier this month to say: “Love him (Blakey) like a brother, but Mr (Andrew) Dillon, please put out the fixture ASAP.”
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