Should Tasmania have an AFL team?

[Dry Rot]

Should Tasmania have an AFL team? Interesting article about this.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-13/analysis-tasmanian-afl-ultimatum-for-local-team/13150966

Tasmania's AFL ultimatum is the right move, but it places the entire sport in Tasmania at risk

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein believes his ultimatum to the AFL presents Tasmanians with the ultimate win-win — and he's probably right.

Either the AFL gives Tasmania a date for entry to the league, or the State Government cuts funding to Hawthorn and North Melbourne, leaving multi-million-dollar holes in their balance sheets.

It's a threat from the pen of a Premier in charge of a state that no longer has anything to lose, and a scenario the AFL surely doesn't want to see happen.

But if the goal of a Tasmanian team is to resuscitate Australian rules football in Tasmania, the move is somewhat dangerous.

What if the AFL calls Tasmania's bluff and says "no team for you", leaving Tasmania either footy-less or having to pay other Victorian teams on a one-off basis to come to Tasmania to play games?

[boydogs]

Re: Should Tasmania have an AFL team?

No it's too small. The state is too spread out, the North is smaller than the South and the stadium in the South is in the equivalent spot to Williamstown, attendances would be small and TV audiences the same

[Hotdog60]

Re: Should Tasmania have an AFL team?

Would support be any less than GWS?
I think they should have a team and I think it needs to either one of North or Hawthorn and I'm leaning towards North.
One less team in Victoria may help the others that are left and over the years Tassie has produced some very good footballers.
Supporter base may not ever be large but the government you would assume after this push from them will continue to support them financially. National advertising for any large company down could be worth throwing in a few dollars to.
Isn't Cadbury based there?
If it good enough to have a second team in the northern states its good enough to have one in Tassie.

[GVGjr]

Re: Should Tasmania have an AFL team?

They should have a team but it's going to be harder to make that happen given the challenges the AFL has in front of it.
Working against it is that the state competition is particularly weak and is struggling to field enough viable teams

Unless a team is willing to relocate I think it's still a few years off happening

[Bornadog]

Re: Should Tasmania have an AFL team?

I would prefer Tasmania than a Gold Coast based team. At least Footy is followed in Tassie. GWS are hanging on by a thread and the only thing going for it is the population of Sydney could sway a few to AFL. Sydney Swans have taken a long time to establish up there and GWS will also take at least another 20 years.

However, Boydogs has a point about North/South divide and any team would have to split their home games between Hobart and Launceston.

[The Underdog]

Re: Should Tasmania have an AFL team?

Would support be any less than GWS?
I think they should have a team and I think it needs to either one of North or Hawthorn and I'm leaning towards North.
One less team in Victoria may help the others that are left and over the years Tassie has produced some very good footballers.
Supporter base may not ever be large but the government you would assume after this push from them will continue to support them financially. National advertising for any large company down could be worth throwing in a few dollars to.
Isn't Cadbury based there?
If it good enough to have a second team in the northern states its good enough to have one in Tassie.

When they first started, my theory was that GWS should have been nicknamed the Devils, so they didn’t have to change their nickname when they moved to Tassie.
I’m not 100% convinced a Tassie team could stand alone, but GWS and Gold Coast can’t either, so I don’t see the difference. Tassie would possibly require less AFL dollars than them, which possibly makes it more attractive.

[Twodogs]

Re: Should Tasmania have an AFL team?

It's farcical that there's a team on the Gold Coast but no team in Tasmania. Tassie should have been shored up with a team and the support of people who actually follow the game locked in before we went off on a folly in Qld.

People on the Gold Coast don't care about sport and they certainly don't care about AFL but people in Tasmania do. At least they did until the AFL ignored them. They have a right to feel slighted and the AFL should fix the problem before it's too late.

[Rocket Science]

Re: Should Tasmania have an AFL team?

If the Suns & Giants can endlessly sup at the teat of the 'national' competition, for little reward thus far, why not our Taswegian friends?

Failing that perhaps David Walsh needs a new hobby.

[The Adelaide Connection]

Re: Should Tasmania have an AFL team?

There are 200K in Hobart, 90k in Launceston and all up about 500k in Tasmania. It is probably important to note that there are only 250k in Geelong and 600k in Rugby heartland Gold Coast.

Assuming the natives embrace the team in the same way that occurred for the Crows (with huge swathes of people casting aside their main allegiances to existing AFL clubs) then it is a no brainer.

A Tasmanian team playing for a unified Tasmania should have a stronger supporter base than most Melbourne clubs have in Victoria. They should also be able to get a stadium deal that is more like the favourable money printing situation that Geelong find themselves in.

[Mofra]

Re: Should Tasmania have an AFL team?

No it's too small. The state is too spread out, the North is smaller than the South and the stadium in the South is in the equivalent spot to Williamstown, attendances would be small and TV audiences the same

The population is about 50% more than Geelong.

[Mofra]

Re: Should Tasmania have an AFL team?

A Tasmanian team playing for a unified Tasmania should have a stronger supporter base than most Melbourne clubs have in Victoria. They should also be able to get a stadium deal that is more like the favourable money printing situation that Geelong find themselves in.

With the Hawks and North deals ending, that's a fair chunk of cash too - I believe the current proposal will be underwritten by the state government as well which de-risks the entire project.

Now that we have bye rounds during the season I don't see a problem with having a bye every week in a 19 team competition. A unified Tassie team will be more financially secure than the last two expansion teams.

[GVGjr]

Re: Should Tasmania have an AFL team?

With the Hawks and North deals ending, that's a fair chunk of cash too - I believe the current proposal will be underwritten by the state government as well which de-risks the entire project.

Now that we have bye rounds during the season I don't see a problem with having a bye every week in a 19 team competition. A unified Tassie team will be more financially secure than the last two expansion teams.

It's a good observation. I'd prefer not to have byes but for the greater good of the competition and the fact that Tassie deserve it I hope the AFL get this moving. I don't have a second side and never will but an AFL Tassie side might just get me having a rethink

[Ozza]

Re: Should Tasmania have an AFL team?

It's farcical that there's a team on the Gold Coast but no team in Tasmania. Tassie should have been shored up with a team and the support of people who actually follow the game locked in before we went off on a folly in Qld.

People on the Gold Coast don't care about sport and they certainly don't care about AFL but people in Tasmania do. At least they did until the AFL ignored them. They have a right to feel slighted and the AFL should fix the problem before it's too late.

I'm not so sure that its that they don't care about sport - but I think that a lot of the people that move to the Gold Coast already have a team, in whichever code they follow.

In terms of a team in Tassie, yes the population and crowd numbers probably don't support it - but it is infuriating to me that we have teams in GWS and Gold Coast that nobody ever wanted, and do nothing but cost the league money - but we were prepared to do that instead of funding a team in Tassie.

I hope that Tassie do cut the funding for Hawthorn and North.

[Twodogs]

Re: Should Tasmania have an AFL team?

I'm not so sure that its that they don't care about sport - but I think that a lot of the people that move to the Gold Coast already have a team, in whichever code they follow.

Yep fair point. That's probably more the case. Most of the population of dolls and he Gold Coast move there from somewhere else and they come with inbuilt allegiances in place. I'm not 100% unconvinced that we have a team there so AFL officials have somewhere nice to escape to from Melbourne in July and August.

I hope that Tassie do cut the funding for Hawthorn and North.

Me too. For one thing Tassie isn't going to get a team of their own while the state government is supporting those two.

[Twodogs]

Re: Should Tasmania have an AFL team?

It's a good observation. I'd prefer not to have byes but for the greater good of the competition and the fact that Tassie deserve it I hope the AFL get this moving. I don't have a second side and never will but an AFL Tassie side might just get me having a rethink

Dunno if I'd go that far!