TASSIE TEAM MAKES SENSE
TASMANIA’S quest for an AFL team is just waiting for the sliding doors moment to give us an opening. Dealing with the country’s most powerful league is never easy. The sport’s Melbourne-based big wigs will expect us to offer up the world in exchange for them entertaining our dream. And we’ve done it.
We’ve poured money into North Melbourne and the Hawks.
For years we’ve bent over backwards trying to please our AFL overlords, given our loyalty and done our bit for the code that we love as much as the Victorians.
Yet we’ve stood by and watched as that loyalty is ignored in favour of expanding the code’ s national foot print to Queensland and NSW.
In 2019, Tasmania’s three daily newspapers and the community united for a powerful campaign calling on locals to pledge their support for the team to show AFL power brokers we have what it takes.
The goal was to get 50,000 Tasmanians to sign up in support — a number that was well and truly surpassed — leading to the establishment of a task force which produced an unequivocal business case in favour-o-fast and-alone state team.
The corona virus crisis curbed momentum and Premier Peter Gut we in’ s refusal to entertain Tasmania hosting an AFL hub would not have gone down well with the league’ s chief executive, Gill on McLachlan.
But, as the saying goes, one should never waste a crisis.
The financial implications of COVID-19 have hurt many industries and the AFL is not immune. There were some clubs already struggling before the pandemic that will find themselves in very hard positions and be forced to make tough decisions.
What does that mean for Tasmania’s pitch to have its own team? Well, it means it’ s time to play hard ball. If our state could financially prop up a team then the AFL has to consider our pitch. But what we shouldn’ t do is accept an existing team being re located here.
Sure that was the model for a Queensland and Sydney team, but those were not AFL states. Adopting a struggling Melbourne side, like North Melbourne, might be the quickest way to get what we want but it’ ll be the hardest model to make work.
AFL has been the dominant sport in Tasmania since 1864 and 91,000 Tasmanians are financial members of current football teams. When you compare that against the membership of the Gold Coast Suns (12,200), Greater Western Sydney (25,200) and even North Melbourne (41,000) — it’s clear that we have a captive audience.
Tasmania is a footy heart land and many residents already have their own clubs, but if a true Tasmanian team were to be formed, it would be easy for them to switch their allegiance, which would make for a very successful and well-loved side.