Richo cub ready to roar

TSL CLUBS HAVE THEIR SAY SAVE OUR FOOTY

THE Tigers family is about to get a notable addition with former champion Matthew Richardson all set to sign up his six-month-old daughter Zoey before the AFL’s first bounce next week.

Proud Tasmanian Richardson said his daughter was destined to grow up a little Tiger.

Zoey comes from a rich Tiger dynasty with her grandfather Alan “Bull” Richardson playing 103 games from 1959-69, while her dad played 282 games from 1993 to 2009 after being recruited from Devonport.

But despite the possibility of a father-daughter selection in the future, the Channel 7 AFL commentator said there would be no pressure on Zoey to pull on the footy boots.

“I’m sure we will go to the footy together in the future. I would love that …not sure she will,” he said with a laugh.

“As for playing AFL, that will be totally up to her and what she wants to do with herself in the future, sportwise.”

Along with the joy of sharing his love of the game with his little girl, Richardson said he was excited about next Thursday night’s Round 1 match-up between Carlton and his beloved Tigers at the MCG.

“I’m really looking forward to the game and the unfurling of the premiership flag,” he said.

“It should be a full house and the Tiger members deserve to enjoy it. As for the season in general, I think it’s a wide open race again and half a dozen teams could win the flag.”

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has (finally) declared the big league won’t abandon Tasmania.

The footy boss will next week on a yet-to-be-disclosed day head to Hobart to meet AFL Tasmania chief executive Trisha Squires and Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman to discuss the perilous health of the code in this state.

But what do those at TSL club level want from Mr McLachlan and the AFL?

Yesterday, the Mercury asked a representative from the remaining seven clubs in the TSL for their message to Gill.

JOSH McGUINNESS (Lauderdale defender)

Obviously everyone is crying out for more money but that’s not the only answer. Help the clubs around volunteers. At Lauderdale I know we are stretched volunteer-wise. If we could support clubs and leagues with more volunteers I reckon that is a big one a lot of people don’t realise. That is one thing that stands out to me at club level. Around schools it is very important to get into primary schools; it needs to be a key for us. Because of our neglect five or six years ago we are now feeling the effect of that.

SAMAEL RICE (Tigers captain)

I am originally from Burnie, so it is disappointing for me to see the clubs up there out of the TSL. Young guys need that pathway up there and they have had to move to Launceston or wherever. We just need that funding to put us on the next level on the NWFL and the other country footy leagues to get blokes back to TSL level. We want a bigger, strong competition. It would be nice to see the North-West back in the TSL.

BRAD COX-GOODYER (North Launceston player)

It needs to be more appealing to get players to the higher level. It is very easy to go to a lower level to get more money and train less. That is the obvious issue, just the appeal of it. Whether it be more money or bigger crowds or whatever can be done for our young players to stay in the state league.

HUGH WILLIAMS (North Hobart captain)

I don’t think throwing money at it is the only solution. There needs to be a club on the North-West. I don’t think it is sustainable just having two clubs in the North, but it has to be a traditional club, you can’t create a football club. From my experience at Hobart City over the past few years, it is near on impossible. It needs to be a football club already up there. The TSL is a great product, a lot of people who bag it don’t actually watch it. Free-to-air coverage is a no-brainer. I played when it was on ABC and it was such a lift for our game and it was amazing how many people would watch it. To get that Saturday afternoon time slot on whatever carrier would be a great start.

PAUL KENNEDY (Glenorchy coach)

My message to him would be to invest in the pathway. Don’t throw money just at the TSL in isolation, throw money at link- ing the best young players with an easy transition step by step so they can see where they are heading, they can see the prestige of being in the TSL and over time that will build the TSL into a competition that clearly stands above local leagues just as the VFL, the SANFL and the WAFL do in other states.

JEROMEY WEBBERLEY (Clarence coach)

They need to do a review of the whole lot. I know they have done that in the past, but actually go into clubs and talk to people who are at the coalface. It is easy to look at Tasmania per capita and see we have a number of senior teams that is a lot higher than it is on the mainland. But if you look underneath that and what is coming through in terms of Auskick numbers and juniors, it is a real concern for the state of footy in Tasmania. It is great women’s footy is growing, but that could put a positive spin on our numbers. I would love to know in terms of numbers coming through from juniors and everything else. That’s why we have seen the demise of some senior clubs in the past few years.

HAMISH LEEDHAM (Launceston ruckman)

There are a lot of young players who should be playing in the TSL but because they have been offered larger amounts of money from lower leagues, they go to lower leagues to get extra income. To keep improving the competition, that needs to be addressed to a degree. I’m not sure how to go about it, but there needs to be something done to keep younger talent coming through and not getting siphoned off into the lower leagues for more cash.