The eyes of the football world fall onto South Australia this week as the 18 clubs and tens of thousands of supporters descend for Gather Round.

In what will be the fourth instalment of the now must-attend annual fixture, nine games will be played across four days at Adelaide Oval, Barossa Park and Norwood Oval, starting with Adelaide taking on Carlton tonight.

Fremantle flew out on Thursday to join in the festivities, with the Dockers to be a headline act of the round when they take on Collingwood at Adelaide Oval tomorrow night.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas made a special request to the AFL for the Dockers to have one of the marquee timeslots, after being impressed with their brand of footy and his desire to further attract a West Australian contingent to the weekend.

Fremantle are already coming off a stellar win at the iconic venue, with captain Alex Pearce’s match-winning smother of a goal attempt from Crows midfielder James Peatling one of the highlights of the season.

The Dockers will start as favourites against the Magpies, who will welcome back star Nick Daicos as well as former skipper Scott Pendlebury for the bumper clash.

Cross-town rivals West Coast will be hoping a change of jumpers will help turn their fortunes around when they resurrect the “ochre” design for the first time in 24 years.

A controversial look from 2000 to 2002, the once-common away strip has proven a hit amongst fans for its nostalgia.

The Eagles donned the strip at main training on Wednesday and will again pull it on when they take on Geelong at Norwood Oval on Sunday.

Meanwhile, there is plenty of intrigue around the future of Gather Round, with the three-year deal between the AFL and the South Australian government expiring at the end of this weekend.

“What we’re looking forward to is obviously a massive weekend of footy,” AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said.

“We’re having discussions, and I think South Australia has put its best foot forward over a number of years. South Australians, and all of Australians, have embraced Gather Round.

“We’re looking forward to fruitful discussions with the premier over the next couple of days.”

Malinauskas told reporters they wanted it for “as long as possible” as they continue negotiations.

“Andrew has got a really significant responsibility, as do I,” Malinauskas said.

“It’s about making sure that we approach the negotiations in good faith. I think there’s plenty of that. There is complexity. We’ve got our ambitions and the AFL has got theirs. We want to make sure we get those lined up as best as possible. If we’re able to do that, hopefully we can land a deal sooner rather than later.

“But I think we’re both of the view that it’s better to get it right than rushed. I would love to (get a deal done this weekend), but I’m not putting a value on the timing of any deal.”