Sydney chief has a solution to AFL’s Opening Round headache — and it involves everyone

"I've been listening to a lot of commentary, particularly coming out of the Melbourne media and some of the Melbourne clubs about Opening Round and their dissatisfaction with the bye structure and missing out early," Pridham said on SEN.

"Obviously, next year you're going to have complications with the MCG availability (due to the 150th Anniversary Test between Australia and England).

"One thing I really think is worth exploring - and I've actually discussed it with Andrew Dillon and Craig Drummond in the past - would be for Opening Round to become a second Gather Round.

"It could be a launch round, for example, it could be played in New South Wales and Queensland, and all clubs could be involved. The primary objective of Opening Round is to launch football in New South Wales and Queensland, where not only 52 per cent of the population lives but also where the media is based in a corporate sense.

"It's very important in Sydney that the market knows the season has started. The NRL starts well before us; they're a formidable competitor.

"I think having a Gather Round where we could play at Allianz, for example, we could have Collingwood play Essendon there in a huge game in front of 80,000. We would also play at the SCG, ENGIE Stadium and likewise at the Gabba and on the Gold Coast."

Pridham said AFL boss Andrew Dillon and new AFL commission member Craig Drummond said the idea has "merit".

Dillon has already confirmed the start of the 2027 season will look completely different, given the MCG's unavailability for the opening two weeks of March.

The league is considering pushing the start date further into March.

The suggestion comes as AFL great Gerard Healy unveiled an extraordinary stat regarding the struggles of football participation in western Sydney.

Healy revealed that 97 boys - aged 13 and under - were registered to play football in the west for the 2026 season from roughly 22,000 kids in that age bracket.