Tasmania link lift to Roos’ bid for AFLW

NORTH Melbourne’s new football operations manager Laura Kane believes the club’s connection to Tasmania will boost its chances of getting a licence in the next AFLW expansion for 2019.

North lost to bids from Melbourne, Bulldogs, Collingwood and Carlton for the inaugural women’s season this year.

The AFL will increase the women’s league by two teams and North faces strong competition for a licence from Geelong, St Kilda and Richmond.

“I really am excited by the prospect of working really closely in and with Tasmania,” Ms Kane said.

“We obviously play AFL football down there three times throughout the year and the allocation of Tasmania for our next generation academy region has meant we have been more significantly involved in the state through our next generation and schools program.

“When we were unsuccessful the first time around with our bid, we’ve since worked closely with the AFL and AFL Tasmania to try and grow the female game in Tassie.

“So we are in discussions with all the relevant people ... about what that could look like and we’ve outlined that in our bid about what we know and how well we know how to develop female talent and why we think we can translate that down to Tassie.”

North Melbourne’s bid for a 2019 licence mirrored Adelaide’s bid. The Crows joined forces with the Northern Territory to build a team that had players and home grounds based in Adelaide and Darwin, a formula that produced an AFLW premiership.

If successful, North Melbourne would play games at its traditional home, Arden St, in Melbourne, as well as in Tasmania’s South and North.