NINE games were played across four days in Gather Round, but away from Adelaide Oval, Barossa Park and in Norwood there were myriad events and functions featuring powerbrokers and dignitaries.
But only one gig on Friday centred around Crows star Izak Rankine singing in an intimate setting, tucked down a side street in Adelaide's CBD.
The 26-year-old sang on national TV in each of the past two years, but in 2026 only a select few were let in to The Gallery on Waymouth Street to listen to Rankine.
Less than 24 hours after beating Carlton to open Gather Round with a hometown win, Adelaide stars flocked to the private gig, including captain Jordan Dawson, emerging star Josh Rachele, veteran Rory Laird and recent recruits Isaac Cumming, James Peatling and Alex Neal-Bullen, as well as CEO Tim Silvers, GM Adam Kelly and new list boss Jarryd Roughead.
Rankine has taken time to recapture his best to start 2026 after an interrupted end to the pre-season.
But the South Australian delivered on Thursday night, collecting 22 disposals, seven tackles, seven score involvements and two goals in the 28-point win over Carlton.
Rankine kicked the first goal and the last goal of the game, where his unique celebration captured the attention of in-the-know Channel 7 commentator Brian Taylor.
Then a day later, with rain pouring outside, Rankine belted out a few tunes to showcase his other talent.
Rankine sang three songs while entertaining guests at the release of his collaboration with Rixx Eyewear, the brand founded by popular footballer-turned-podcaster Tommy Sheridan and Coen Rodgers.
Hawthorn’s box office star Jack Ginnivan was involved in a partnership with Rixx earlier this year after designing his own pair, while Australian cricket superstar Travis Head has also done a collaboration in the past.
"Tommy reached out maybe a year ago with the idea and we had a lot of conversations. I'm into fashion and that sort of thing and thought the sunglasses were a cool entry into it," Rankine told AFL.com.au.
"It was a long process, but a great thing outside of footy to express myself a bit more. I saw 'Ginny' did something and I thought that was pretty cool and it was a great opportunity just to do something cool.
"I've been doing music for a while now and love it, love doing gigs on stage. I did them the last two years for Channel Nine ahead of Gather Round.
"This was a great opportunity to express myself, show my other talents and then promote the glasses at the same time and intertwine both creative outlets. I thought I'd step out of my comfort zone and do it again, play the guitar and sing. I jumped on board with it and love the collab."
"It's a good way to be able to escape from reality, I guess, just being able to come home and play the guitar for hours after a stressful day at work, hanging around all the boys and training hard in pre-season," Rankine said.
"Being able to come home and dive into my other interest music is great and you get lost in it. You also create a lot of friendships out of it with people that aren't necessarily involved with footy, which is great."