The Shane Warne Legacy Health Checks 2025 AFL Gather Round Report has revealed the health checks conducted during this year’s AFL Gather Round may have saved lives, while empowering people to better understand their heart health and diabetes risk.
The Shane Warne Legacy Health Checks 2025 AFL Gather Round Report also revealed that more than 800 participants presented with high blood pressure, some even having readings consistent with severe hypertension, requiring urgent clinical attention. A dozen people were found to likely already be living with diabetes despite not being diagnosed, while 45 people were found to be in a pre-diabetic state, with prolonged elevated blood sugar levels.
These potentially life-saving health checks were made possible via the South Australian Government, which funded this complementary service in collaboration with Shane Warne Legacy, SiSU Health, and Flinders University.
Participants used self-serve checks on a SiSU Health Station to measure their blood pressure, BMI, body composition and Heart Age, while Flinders University provided blood sugar and cholesterol tests. These checks gave participants insights into their vital cardiovascular and metabolic health risks.
SiSU Health General Manager Adam McLeod advised “providing free and accessible screening at AFL Gather Round is an important step towards a healthcare system that invests in risk awareness, literacy, and prevention.
“We are encouraged by the positive impacts we saw, from driving people to a GP review, to increased health understanding, to social conversations about health.
“We thank the South Australian Government for their support for this campaign.”
Held at Adelaide Oval, Elder Park, Norwood Oval, Barossa Park and the Norwood Food & Wine Festival in April, these complementary screenings were offered to help improve health outcomes and reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 Diabetes by providing participants the chance to seek treatment sooner and identify lifestyle changes.
The report shows that these screenings alerted many participants to serious risks that required follow-ups with their doctor – risks they were previously unaware of.
As well as alerting people to likely undiagnosed diabetes and hypertension, about 1,800 people found out they were at risk of developing diabetes in the next five years if they didn’t make positive lifestyle changes like eating healthier or increasing physical activity, while 370 people were advised to see a GP after cholesterol checks returned abnormal lipid results.
Demonstrating the positive impacts these sorts of initiatives can have on behavioural change, a follow-up survey of participants revealed most were taking steps to improve their health:
63% of participants reported making or planning lifestyle changes such as improving their diet or increasing physical activity;
79% felt more confident in understanding their health risks, and;
57% had encouraged family or friends to get their heart and diabetic health risks checked, potentially amplifying the effect of the Shane Warne Legacy Health Checks.
This initiative forms part of the Malinauskas Government’s commitment to providing accessible preventive health services, having first appeared at AFL Gather Round last year and returning earlier this year at even more locations.
Shane Warne Legacy Chief Executive Helen Nolan shared “the Shane Warne Legacy was created to honour Shane and what he stood for, and we have been able to raise awareness and provide free health checks this year at AFL Gather Round because of your support.
“We’re proud of the incredible results from this campaign, and we know that Shane would be too.”
Summer Warne added “the stories we’ve heard from people who took part in a Shane Warne Legacy Health Check at AFL Gather Round have been nothing short of moving.
“So many admitted they hadn’t seen a GP in years, but that simple check gave them the nudge they needed to prioritise their health.
“Some even discovered surprise results and then made changes that could make a real difference in their lives.
“What touches me most is hearing how they’ve then encouraged their own friends and family to do the same, creating a ripple effect of care and awareness.
“Knowing that something so close to our family is making this kind of impact means everything to me.
“This campaign isn’t just about health checks, it’s about starting conversations, looking out for each other, and carrying forward the values dad lived by.”
Image. Credit: SiSU Health
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