TEAM TASSIE
AFL drafts two of our state’s favourite sons to fix footy
AFL boss Gillon McLachlan has turned to two of Tassie football’s finest to help him sort out the code’s mess in the state.
Mr McLachlan’s hand-picked team to take on the state’s footy crisis includes proud Tasmanians Nick Riewoldt and Brendon Bolton.
Bolton, coach of Carlton, and Riewoldt, recently retired St Kilda captain and 336-game Saints legend, are joined by former AFL Tasmania chief executive Rob Auld, who is now the AFL’s head of game development, the person who replaced him, Trisha Squires, and AFL state league manager Simon Laughton.
Riewoldt, left, and Bolton, right, have been outspoken about their concerns for football in Tasmania.
Mr McLachlan was in Hobart yesterday to unveil the rescue team, which he will spearhead.
“I will ensure the right structures, resources and investment will arrive to ensure all Tasmanians have every opportunity to play footy,” he said.
“We won’t let Tasmanian football go without.”
The league boss said he would “love” the state to have an AFL team and in the next 12 months will start deciding whether it does or not.
AFL boss Gillon McLachlan vowed to personally get Tasmanian football back on track and will return to the state in three weeks to unveil the first fix.
The league boss will head a steering committee formed to analyse the problems permeating the game across the state, including dwindling player numbers particularly in senior ranks, a broken development pathway, financial sustainability and low numbers of Tasmanians being drafted.
Mr McLachlan said he was full of respect for the traditional football state.
“I will ensure the right structures, resources and investment will arrive to ensure all Tasmanians have every op- portunity to play footy,” Mr McLachlan said.
“We won’t let Tasmanian football go without.”
Mr McLachlan’s “fix it” team includes former St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt, Carlton’s Tasmanian coach Brendon Bolton, AFL head of game development Rob Auld, AFL state league manager Simon Laughton, and AFL Tasmania’s new CEO Trisha Squires, consulting with the AFL’s strategy team and the State Government.
“This group will liaise with all clubs and all relevant football people in Tasmania, and the project will include recommendations on State League sustainability and options to improve the talent pathway,” Mr McLachlan said.
“Investments and structures to support, strengthen and improve football in 2018 and beyond, future governance and funding of AFL Tasmania are part of the steering committee mandate.”
The steering committee will investigate a range of issues, such as: STEP 1: An immediate funding boost of $200,000 for junior players in academy squads. STEP 2: Fix the talent pathways, particularly ages 12-15. STEP 3: Consider reinstating the Tassie Mariners as a fulltime member of the Victorianbased under-18 TAC Cup competition — which seems likely. STEP 4: Investigate the advantage and cost of a Tasmanian team in the NEAFL or VFL competition — just an idea at this stage. STEP 5: Consider restructuring the top-tier Tasmanian State League into two conferences, one in the South and one in the North, to address travel concerns — seems quite possible. STEP 6: Consider increased funding for the Tasmanian
We won’t let Tasmanian football go without GILLON McLACHLAN
State League — highly likely.
Mr McLachlan said his trip was an important first step.
“I will be back on April 14 to provide specific announcements about talent pathways,” Mr McLachlan said.
“We have set a deadline of June 30 to have specific recommendations for the 2019 TSL season. Our vision for Tasmanian football is clear. We want Tasmanian talent competing at every level of the game.
“We want more kids, boys and girls, playing our game and we want a robust, sustainable community football structure that Tasmanians can support in their towns and regions.
“Today is a strong start to progress in one of our founding footy states and we need the help of the Tasmanian football community to create the solutions.”
Ms Squires has spoken to every TSL club president but is yet to establish all of their concerns. “I need to keep consulting with them — if there are things that come up in the committee that they would know the answer to, I can consult back to them,” she said.
But the AFL was last night slammed over its “ongoing neglect” of football in Tasmania by the state’s newest senator, Steve Martin, in his first speech.
Senator Martin vowed to use “all the moral and political weight” of his office to work towards a full-time Tasmanian club in the AFL.
“Almost 30 years after the creation of a so-called national league, Tasmania remains without a team, or even a genuine pathway. This is a disgrace,” he told the Senate.
Senator Martin said the state’s football fans were “a market taken for granted”.
“In the cold financial calculus of the AFL, they have nothing to gain by fulfilling our dreams of a Tassie team.”