Today, as cleaners settle into the task of sweeping away piles of empty beer cups at Norwood and Adelaide Oval, South Australians are still trying to count the number of football show appearances their leader managed to fit into the last four days of worshipping the Sherrin.

Premier Peter Malinauskas managed to bag the Gather Round festival for another three years while single-handedly setting a new state record in televised political football appearances.

The state’s football-loving Premier also managed to receive homage for his own dob of the footy – footage of an awkward miss at goal while playing for an Adelaide University old scholars team drew much good-natured merriment from the crew fronting the Best on Ground football show.

A rare mis-step for a Premier skilfully delivering the State Government’s messaging over the weekend, positioning himself well in the AFL’s centre square and showing off serious skills in speaking sporting world language.

Gather Round, according to the Premier today, is about scoring some clear wins for the state in economic benefit, changing people’s perceptions of SA and boosting state pride.

The AFL announcement last night handing Gather Round – where all 18 AFL football teams play nine games over four days in one place – to SA for the next three years shifts the pride and perceptive benefits in the right direction.

Games “will be played exclusively in South Australia, with Adelaide Oval to be the central venue, with the intent from both the AFL and the SA Government to take regional matches in 2024 to the Barossa / McLaren Vale region,” its release said.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan was a constant companion of the Premier at numerous press conferences and games, and he officially declared the weekend a success as more than 220,000 fans watched matches at Adelaide Oval, Norwood Oval and Mt Barker in the Adelaide Hills.

“South Australia really turned it on. Gather Round and all the activity across the state, the nine matches, the footy festival and the community football engagement has been some of the best days and events the AFL has ever delivered,” he said.

The media was swept along in the atmosphere. Arts writers reported on football and political reporters appeared at events in their favourite club guernseys, the scrutiny of taxpayer money being spent to lure the game to the state set aside until the final siren marked the end of yesterday’s gripping Collingwood versus St Kilda clash.

Full stadiums and hotel rooms and more than 60,000 ticket sales to interstate footy fans will help balance the ledger along with the praise of all things SA, while drone footage of Adelaide Oval at sunset will likely draw more visitors.

One enthusiastic interstate commentator on ABC Radio was effusive in his stories about Adelaide Hills wineries and a morning jaunt tasting bratwurst sausages and buying jam in the picturesque town of Hahndorf on the way to the Mt Barker match.

While the 150m zipline over the River Torrens attracted a long line of punters to pop-up festivities at Elder Park, including Adelaide Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith.

State pride is a tough one to decipher in terms of its long-term impact but there was an almighty roar of support at Adelaide Oval yesterday evening when the Premier and McLachlan announced the event will return.

Recreation, sport and racing minister Katrine Hildyard enthusiastically posted an update on social media after the match finished and hordes of happy punters streamed home.

“My husband is on the train on the way home to the south. He tells me that people are celebrating and singing every club song,” she said.

Among the whirlwind of footy related words and events there were some poignant moments.

Collingwood made its apology to footy great Nicky Winmar for racist abuse 30 years ago, the Collingwood and St Kilda fans running together through a banner emblazoned with the words “30 years on, Nicky Winmar, still black and proud” at the beginning of the match yesterday.

Footy fans Tom Nolan, Zack and Hugo Williams with footy great Nicky Winmar. Photo: Blake Williams

While Eddie Betts, another fine player who dealt with racism over his years as a much-loved member of the Crows, ventured back into his pocket at Adelaide Oval over the weekend to pick up where he left off – effortlessly slotting the Sherrin through from an impossible angle.

The buzz is likely to last awhile in our much-referenced “City of Churches” as the Premier and his team prepares for the next sporting event – but this one may not deliver such a sweet run for the government.

Despite the same enthusiastic chat coming from the Premier, the LIV Golf event headed for Grange Golf Club with its own “festival-style Fan Village” has its share of detractors over politically questionable Saudi Arabian investment.

The Premier, unperturbed, has so far washed away critics’ concerns over the event “sports washing” Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses, investing time yesterday in mixing with some of its organisers who were watching the final footy game.

As SA takes a breath, he will be busy preparing for the next round of international sporting appearances hoping to keep his performance above par.