For die-hard fans, visits to the city are more regular but often it comes attached with added financial burdens, such as hotel costs, or tiresome journeys to complete said-trip in a day.

While population density and potential dollar signs can be a draw-card for professional sporting clubs to stay close to the city, it shouldn't limit opportunities for the rest of us.

After the south-west missed out on hosting 2026 Commonwealth Games action, now's the time to capitalise in other areas and bring more professional sporting events to Warrnambool. Think AFLW, Big Bash and NBL.

The south-west already has a strong track record of producing national-standard events of its own from the Melbourne to Warrnambool Cycling Classic, the May Racing Carnival and the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic.

The first AFLW game in Warrnambool in October was another example of how we bat above our average when compared to metropolitan venues and crowds.

The Essendon-Geelong clash attracted more than 3800 fans to Reid Oval.

In comparison to other AFLW matches this past season, Warrnambool's numbers were just 300 shy of the season-opener crowd at Ikon Park between two of the league's biggest clubs in Carlton and Collingwood, and was almost double what Geelong achieved (1957) in a home game at GMHBA Stadium against the Magpies in round three.

Geelong's Nina Morrison told The Standard ahead of the Reid Oval game that taking the competition to regional areas was an "exciting part of the game".

But of the 53 games played in Victoria this season, 44 were in Melbourne, five in Geelong and the remaining four spread across Ballarat, Warrnambool and Mildura.

Regional Victorian games in the AFL were limited to pre-season clashes - with only one in 2022 at Moe in Gippsland - along with one regular season game in Ballarat.

The $10.7 million Reid Oval redevelopment, which turned it into a professional grade venue, does put us in the position to bid for games in the future.

Big Bash cricket is another league complementary to our region, as the sport has high participation numbers, especially in the women's grades, while The Arc's seating may be too limiting to host a WNBL or NBL game though clubs could choose to host pre-season camps in Warrnambool as a way to engage with basketball fans.

In 2012, Warrnambool's Trevor Gleeson - then a NBL coach at Melbourne Tigers - returned with several of his players to host a junior camp.

It's wonderful to see the region's exports give back to the community but it shouldn't be left up to them alone.

We as a community must continue to advocate for these events but sporting organisations and leagues need to understand the value of bringing their players to regional areas, where there is a willing and engaged audience who want to support the nation's best.

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