Junior football punted

TASMANIAN kids won’t get to play Australian rules on the national stage this year, with angry parents blaming AFL Tasmania.

Boys and girls from every other state and territory will be represented in football at the School Sport Australia Championships. AFL Tasmania says the Department of Education should pay to send the children to the national event.

TASMANIA’S budding boys and girls football players will be left out in the cold this winter with no state teams going to the School Sport Australia championships – and AFL Tasmania has copped the blame.

Outraged parents are calling foul over the glaring break in the new-generation talent pathway heralded so strongly by AFL boss Gillon McLachlan when he announced sweeping changes to the structure of Tasmanian football 18 months ago, which included participation for all kids.

There are claims AFL Tasmania has dropped the ball by not supporting the state’s kids getting to the SSA championships. Tasmania will be the only state or territory not represented in football this year.

While all other governing bodies produce teams for sports like athletics, basketball, soccer, baseball, cricket, cross country, hockey, netball, golf, diving, swimming, volleyball and touch, AFL Tasmania says this year it has handballed responsibility for organising SSA football teams to the Department of Education under its School Sport Tasmania arm.

The Department of Education will send 356 kids in nine other sports, but it has not registered any football teams for the championships and was unaware of AFL Tasmania’s decision.

“AFL Tasmania have not officially notified DoE of their intention to withdraw from School Sport Australia events,” said a spokesman for the Department of Education.

Disappointed parent Selena Hagan wants answers.

“I want to know why AFL Tasmania would pull out when AFL in Tassie is booming, especially in the women’s roster – shame on them,” she said.

“I have a daughter who absolutely loves her footy and would be keen to give School Sport Australia representation a go, but that seems unlikely if Tasmania has now pulled out.”

Blair Brownless, who coached one of the inaugural state football teams at the SSA championship in Sydney, said it was a travesty that no teams would go this year.

“AFL Tasmania probably did them [Education Department] a favour by running it for the last five years,” Brownless said.

“The Education Department could easily take it over and organise it all. They have a lot of people with football backgrounds who could get involved and help, they just need to centrally co-ordinate it.”

Brownless said Tassie kids should not miss out.

“The opportunity for our kids should be the same as every other state,” he said.

Damian Gill, AFL Tasmania’s manager of public affairs and infrastructure, said handing over responsibility to the schools was the right move.

“Previously, AFL Tasmania have run programs on behalf of the state’s school association – School Sport Tasmania,” he said.

“We were the only state governing football body to do so nationwide.

“From 2020, and moving forward, AFL Tasmania will be transferring operations of School Sport Australia programs back into the hands of School Sport Tasmania – communicated to the school sport body in late 2019.

“This brings us back in line with all state football governing bodies nationwide.”