THAT LOSING FEELING
WHEN the Hawthorn Football Club signed its first deal to play home-and-away AFL games in Tasmania, it was a club in serious financial trouble. As one of the power clubs in the 1980s and early 1990s, the success of the Hawks was on the wane. The club’s membership was just in excess of 30,000 and its coffers were virtually empty.
Twenty years on and the move to Tasmania has been seen as a masterstroke. The money it received from the Tasmanian government provided stability needed to turn the club around. The novelty of regular AFL games in the state meant Tasmanian football fans turned out in good numbers and thousands signed on as members.
The recent years of success by the Hawks means the name Tasmania has been on display on the biggest footy stage in the past 12 seasons as the club played in five grand finals.
The success of the Hawks ensured a huge membership base – that had grown to more than 81,000 by 2019 – often enjoyed a weekend in Launceston to watch their team, drawing many from interstate.
It’s little wonder that at the height of the Hawks’ success, other struggling AFL clubs would be keen to get a piece of the Tassie action. St Kilda toyed with the idea for a couple of seasons and North Melbourne committed to regular games in Hobart in 2012. No doubt the government was hoping the Hawks Launceston-based model would work in Hobart too – that fans would fly to the capital to give the state a welcome tourism boost in the middle of winter.
Initially it seemed to work, but fast forward to 2021 and there has been a definite shift in the feeling among Tasmanian football fans. Now the government's investment in AFL football doesn’t seem like such a value-for-money deal.
As the fortunes of both the Hawks and North Melbourne has flagged, so too has enthusiasm for Tassie footy fans to attend the games. Earlier this month the Kangaroos attracted just 6007 fans for its game against an unbeaten Melbourne and the Hawks pulled just over 9007 to watch its game against Adelaide a week earlier – the equal-lowest ever attendance for an AFL game at York Park.
While COVID restrictions and ladder positions have no doubt played a part, there is also a definite shift in the attitude of Tasmanian fans towards the AFL.
Neutral footy supporters – fans who support neither the Hawks or North – have been less inclined watch AFL games on Tassie turf. You can understand why.
The fixture means Melbourne-based AFL clubs with strong support in Tasmania rarely play in the state and the lack of progress on our own AFL side has left many feeling jaded and snubbed by the league.
This Saturday the Hawks play the Kangaroos in Launceston. How many fans turn up will be telling for all concerned.