What would the 2023 AFL season look like if Gather Round was never introduced?
That’s one burning question as we enter the last round of the home and away season.
The inclusion of Gather Round meant each team would play 23 games across the home and away campaign, the longest in league history.
This year’s Gather Round was held in Adelaide, with nine games taking place across four days.
Each game was played at a neutral venue apart from Adelaide’s game against Carlton and Port Adelaide’s game against the Western Bulldogs - both at the Adelaide Oval.
If we took away the result from each of those games, the ladder would look slightly different heading into the final round.
The only change to the top eight would be the Western Bulldogs moving into eighth - with their loss to the Power being scrubbed - and GWS slipping to ninth with their win over Hawthorn crossed out.
Inside the top eight, Melbourne would be sitting pretty in second on percentage with their loss to Essendon nullified, while Carlton, St Kilda and Sydney would remain in fifth, sixth and seventh.
Outside of the eight, Richmond would still be in the finals race with their loss to Sydney removed, while Fremantle would move to 15th and Gold Coast would rise to 14th.
Now, we're not suggesting Gather Round was not a resounding success, we're simply providing the details of what things could look like if the extra round never took place.
Check out the current ladder and ladder without Gather Round below!
Ladder without Gather Round
1 - Collingwood - Points (64) - Percentage (123.8) (-)
2 - Melbourne - Points (60) - Percentage (128.3) (+2)
3 - Brisbane - Points (60) - Percentage (119.7) (-1)
4 - Port Adelaide - Points (60) - Percentage (111.1) (-1)
5 - Carlton - Points (54) - Percentage (121.2) (-)
6 - St Kilda - Points (52) - Percentage (109.7) (-)
7 - Sydney - Points (46) - Percentage (109.6) (-)
8 - Western Bulldogs - Points (44) - Percentage (108.8) (+1)
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9 - GWS - Points (44) - Percentage (105.7) (-1)
10 - Richmond - Points (42) - Percentage (97.1) (+2)
11 - Essendon - Points (40) - Percentage (91.0) (-1)
12 - Geelong - Points (38) - Percentage (112.7) (-1)
13 - Adelaide - Points (36) - Percentage (112.4) (-)
14 - Gold Coast - Points (36) - Percentage (93.1) (+1)
15 - Fremantle - Points (32) - Percentage (93.7) (-1)
16 - Hawthorn - Points (28) - Percentage (80.5) (-)
17 - West Coast - Points (12) - Percentage (51.8) (-)
18 - North Melbourne - Points (8) - Percentage (70.0) (-)
Current ladder
1 - Collingwood - Points (68) - Percentage (123.2)
2 - Brisbane - Points (64) - Percentage (123.2)
3 - Port Adelaide - Points (64) - Percentage (111.5)
4 - Melbourne - Points (60) - Percentage (124.8)
5 - Carlton - Points (54) - Percentage (116.1)
6 - St Kilda - Points (52) - Percentage (108.9)
7 - Sydney - Points (50) - Percentage (111.6)
8 - GWS - Points (48) - Percentage (105.6)
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9 - Western Bulldogs - Points (44) - Percentage (107.6)
10 - Essendon - Points (44) - Percentage (92.7)
11 - Geelong - Points (42) - Percentage (114.7)
12 - Richmond - Points (42) - Percentage (94.9)
13 - Adelaide - Points (40) - Percentage (115.1)
14 - Fremantle - Points (36) - Percentage (94.6)
15 - Gold Coast - Points (36) - Percentage (93.0)
16 - Hawthorn - Points (28) - Percentage (81.2)
17 - West Coast - Points (12) - Percentage (52.5)
18 - North Melbourne - Points (8) - Percentage (68.7)
Gather Round results
Adelaide (118) def Carlton (62)
Fremantle (100) def Gold Coast (90)
Richmond (78) def by Sydney (122)
Brisbane (152) def North Melbourne (77)
Essendon (104) def Melbourne (77)
Port Adelaide (70) def Western Bulldogs (56)
Geelong (136) def West Coast (89)
GWS (77) def Hawthorn (75)
Collingwood (70) def St Kilda (64)