Wake-up call for AFL, says Premier

TASMANIAN Premier Will Hodgman says the state’s football crisis was a “wake-up call for the AFL” but has washed his hands of Government intervention.

Burnie has followed Devonport in pulling out of the top tier Tasmanian State League, leaving no representation on the North-West Coast and direct pathway for talented juniors through to the AFL.

The Dockers departure due to lack of players came just a day after AFL Tasmania’s chief executive Rob Auld quit to take up a job with the AFL in Melbourne.

Mr Hodgman, who is also the Sports Minister, said despite sinking millions of dollars in taxpayers’ money into the AFL, it was not the Government’s job to run the code.

“Our peak body AFL, including AFL Tasmania, are in charge of running the sport here,” Mr Hodgman said.

“It’s not government’s role to do that but we do invest significantly into grassroots foot- ball, facilities upgrades, into supporting more women into the sport.

“Tasmania is a footy heartland and we’ve got a strong and proud footy history but also we need a strong future, so this is a wake-up call to the AFL that not everything’s running beautifully in Tasmania.

“We need to perhaps ap- proach things differently and our commitment as a Government is to work with the AFL, with the leagues with grassroots footy to make sure it’s got a much stronger future.”

Former Melbourne star forward Russell Robertson grew up playing football for Burnie in the old statewide competit- ion and made a comeback for the Dockers after his AFL days were over.

“Obviously I’m shocked because of the success Burnie has had over the years,” Robertson said. “To not have them in the state league is just sad really.

“As a former player and someone who was exposed to the statewide competition as a 16-year-old, it was tough, it was hard. It wasn’t easy to get around obviously — getting up at 5.30am on a bus to travel down to play the Hobart teams and not getting home till 10pm.

“For me as a 16-year-old you take it in your stride but as a 25-year-old trying to raise a family, I can see how for some of the players it would be a real struggle.”

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan said football in Tasmania was progressing as planned, comments that staggered the local football community, and even baffled Mr Hodgman.

“It’s is unthinkable and untenable that the North-West Coast will not be represented in our statewide league so to suggest that everything is running beautifully here doesn’t add up,” Mr Hodgman said.