Trending
A key part of the AFL’s strategy to achieve its ambitious goals for fans and participants is expanding its reach in the northern markets of Queensland and NSW.
If Cox was enthusiastic about the AFL’s potential visits to the United States, he trod a more diplomatic path when asked about how he and his teammates felt about travelling to play their opening round clash in western Sydney.
“Yeah, it’s good,” Cox said smiling and then taking a brief pause. “I think you’ll understand that by the look. It’s great to come up here. I love Sydney, it’s a beautiful place.”
When asked about Victorian fans missing out on early AFL action in favour of NSW and Queensland, Dillon pointed out that round one broke attendance records last year despite following the “opening round” fixtures, which were played in the northern states.
“Round one last year was the highest attended round that we’ve ever had in the history of the game,” Dillon said. “Over 410,000 people attended [last year].
“The week after [opening round] we’ve got Richmond and Carlton on the Thursday night, we’ve got Hawthorn and Essendon on the Friday, we’ve got Collingwood playing Port Adelaide, we’ve got Melbourne playing the Giants … so there’s going to be plenty of footy for people in Melbourne.”
AFL boss Andrew Dillon poses for a photo with Mitch Lewis of the Hawks, Will Hayward of the Swans, Jesse Hogan of the Giants and Mason Cox of the Magpies during the 2025 AFL opening round launch in Sydney.Credit: Getty Images
Dillon also said State of Origin could return as early as next year after receiving backing from the AFL’s club captains.
“We had an opening conversation with the club captains a couple of weeks back, and there was real excitement from the club captains,” Dillon said
“We saw it with the All Stars game, when the players and the clubs buy into the concept, well then everything goes and that’s how you end up with nearly 40,000 people watching that game and hundreds of thousands watching it on Foxtel and Kayo across the country.
“So if the clubs and the players get behind it, I think we absolutely could see it next year.”
Loading
Meanwhile, Sydney Swans forward Will Hayward says star midfielder Errol Gulden is recovering well from surgery on a fractured ankle sustained in a pre-season game against the Gold Coast Suns on Friday.
“He’s good, he’s out of surgery,” Hayward said. “I think once that’s all done, it’s all sunk in now, and he’s in touch with reality.
“He’s super professional. He’s already turning his mind to what he can do to get back and help the team.
“He’s a great leader about the football club as well, so he’ll be having an impact without stepping on the field.”
A key part of the AFL’s strategy to achieve its ambitious goals for fans and participants is expanding its reach in the northern markets of Queensland and NSW.
If Cox was enthusiastic about the AFL’s potential visits to the United States, he trod a more diplomatic path when asked about how he and his teammates felt about travelling to play their opening round clash in western Sydney.
“Yeah, it’s good,” Cox said smiling and then taking a brief pause. “I think you’ll understand that by the look. It’s great to come up here. I love Sydney, it’s a beautiful place.”
When asked about Victorian fans missing out on early AFL action in favour of NSW and Queensland, Dillon pointed out that round one broke attendance records last year despite following the “opening round” fixtures, which were played in the northern states.
“Round one last year was the highest attended round that we’ve ever had in the history of the game,” Dillon said. “Over 410,000 people attended [last year].
“The week after [opening round] we’ve got Richmond and Carlton on the Thursday night, we’ve got Hawthorn and Essendon on the Friday, we’ve got Collingwood playing Port Adelaide, we’ve got Melbourne playing the Giants … so there’s going to be plenty of footy for people in Melbourne.”
AFL boss Andrew Dillon poses for a photo with Mitch Lewis of the Hawks, Will Hayward of the Swans, Jesse Hogan of the Giants and Mason Cox of the Magpies during the 2025 AFL opening round launch in Sydney.Credit: Getty Images
Dillon also said State of Origin could return as early as next year after receiving backing from the AFL’s club captains.
“We had an opening conversation with the club captains a couple of weeks back, and there was real excitement from the club captains,” Dillon said
“We saw it with the All Stars game, when the players and the clubs buy into the concept, well then everything goes and that’s how you end up with nearly 40,000 people watching that game and hundreds of thousands watching it on Foxtel and Kayo across the country.
“So if the clubs and the players get behind it, I think we absolutely could see it next year.”
Loading
Meanwhile, Sydney Swans forward Will Hayward says star midfielder Errol Gulden is recovering well from surgery on a fractured ankle sustained in a pre-season game against the Gold Coast Suns on Friday.
“He’s good, he’s out of surgery,” Hayward said. “I think once that’s all done, it’s all sunk in now, and he’s in touch with reality.
“He’s super professional. He’s already turning his mind to what he can do to get back and help the team.
“He’s a great leader about the football club as well, so he’ll be having an impact without stepping on the field.”
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution
The Us Media 2025
