Is Tasmanian football dead?

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Crowd wise, yes there maybe more go to SFL games overall, although i wouldnt think it would be a huge difference. This is bound to be the case when teams are playing other teams from other parts of the state. Quoting one or two games where the SFL got a good crowd doesnt exactly mean its like that every week, Using a night game at Kingborough would be a bad example, probably attracted a larger crowd than usual for the simple fact it was at night and nothing else was on. How many watched Sorell V East coast a couple of weeks ago? One sunny day doesnt make a summer. You are commenting on the TSL thread by the way......
 
Halftimehero said:
Crowd wise, yes there maybe more go to SFL games overall, although i wouldnt think it would be a huge difference. This is bound to be the case when teams are playing other teams from other parts of the state. Quoting one or two games where the SFL got a good crowd doesnt exactly mean its like that every week, Using a night game at Kingborough would be a bad example, probably attracted a larger crowd than usual for the simple fact it was at night and nothing else was on. How many watched Sorell V East coast a couple of weeks ago? One sunny day doesnt make a summer. You are commenting on the TSL thread by the way......
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Thread title - Is Tassie football dead? SFL and OSFA are apart of Tasmanian footy.These blokes could quote more than one or two SFL games to prove their comments. Almost every Dodges home game gets more than any TSL roster game would get. A fair few clubs get very good crowds to most of their home games. It's probably the same up north with the NTFL & NTFA. Other than Lauderdale, which other southern TSL club has good crowds every week? Not sure there is one.
The standard of football might be better but if I want to watch quality football I will watch an AFL game. Personally I wouldn't pay 10$ to sit in the cold with 37 other people at Bellerive.

There's no denying that the TSL is a decent standard but most of us just couldn't give a flying * about it. AFLTas have done some of their finest work with this comp.
 

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I think the decade without a state league hurt immensely, especially in the south.
In the TANFL and then statewide days, it was possible to support both Lindisfarne and Clarence, for example. They wer ein separate competitions. Then State League MkI was wound up, people had to choose as the SFL went through its various forms over that period.

In the north that wasn't such an issue. Pre-1987 supporting both Devonport and East Devonport was not common, they played against each other in the then NWFU. Hobart was really the only area with a major league and other leagues in the same coverage. The old NTFA had little competition in Launceston, there was an amateurs league but it was largely irrelevant. The old NWFU did have a few other leagues around, but they were mostly (not entirely) from smaller towns not in the NWFU. It was only really in Hobart that there were multiple suburban leagues
The state league hiaitus merely took things back to where they had been, in the south it created a new division of support. A lot of that seems to have been with the more "local" club, though they do have the advantage of being able to draw visiting fans as well.

The TSL clubs do not seem (from this distance it is hard to tell) to have maintained a local support factor as well as the local leagues, for whatever reason.

In the north-east it is a little different, my understanding is that NTFA crowds are pitiful for Launceston based clubs and that in Launceston at least, yes, football (except a few AFL games) is dead.
The north-west has always suffered in state league due to the relative strength of the NTFL being able to draw players away, and the extra travel demands on players at north-western clubs. Even in the first state league when the salary cap differential was real holding players was nigh on impossible for Devonport and Burnie. The Devonport-Ulverstone merry-go-round seemed to involve more than 5 or 6 players a year from each club's first team in the mid-90s; during Ulverstone's period of dominance.
 
by the way JS if you dont give a flying **** about the TSL why do you comment so much about it? why do you know profess to know so much about the teams and in particular players positions?
 
Halftimehero said:
by the way JS if you dont give a flying **** about the TSL why do you comment so much about it? why do you know profess to know so much about the teams and in particular players positions?
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Glad to see a man sticking up for this competition, great passion Halftimehero, but we all allowed our opinions, for all you know he might be playing TSL, doesnt mean that he doesnt care. We all care about Tasmanian football, we just sick of the constant crap coming from Argyle St.
 
Halftimehero said:
by the way JS if you dont give a flying **** about the TSL why do you comment so much about it? why do you know profess to know so much about the teams and in particular players positions?
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Not sure I do comment about the TSL often, Halftimehero. The topic is about Tasmanian footy which includes all the leagues in the state. Just giving my thoughts.
 
Well he did say that most of US dont give a flying **** about this competion, i certainly do hope he is not a player.......
 
well your on here now, and you have obviously been reading the articles about it in the paper, you obviously show some sort of interest in it.
 
Roo182 said:
I personally find that I just don't give a crap about the TSL over the SFL. The SFL to me feels a little more competitive, the crowds are a lot bigger at the few games I've been to, and it just seems that the comp is better set up. I don't pretend to know a lot about the TSL structure, but as a local for one of the SFL clubs, I find that I just don't really acknowledge Clarence (closest club to my demographic) as a team I affiliate myself with.

I know a few guys who played for Hobart in the TSL, left for Lauderdale, couldn't get a game, and now they're tearing it up in the SFL, and have since told me they would never look back.
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Just reading through the scores in the paper and comparing the results from the TSL and SFL, The Average winning margin in the SFL was over twice the size of that of the TSL and the top side which has a huge average winning margin had the week off. Also it was great to see a cracker game of football infront of a very large crowd at lauderdale on saturday, good old fashioned local rivalry is thriving in this comp, not sure you would have seen a better game of football anywhere else in the state, or of course you could have made the journey to shark park and witnessed a group of ex lauderdale reserves players playing against each other, would have been mouth watering that one.
 
Yeah, I heard the world largest library had a big gathering once again. Good to see Lauderdale nearly knocked Clarence off. They've been the big improvers over the last couple of years.
Who are the ex Lauderdale reserve players running around in the Dodges team? Hyland would have played 100 odd senior games for Lauderdale. Jake Gillie played seniors there at a young age too.
 
JS#35 said:
Yeah, I heard the world largest library had a big gathering once again. Good to see Lauderdale nearly knocked Clarence off. They've been the big improvers over the last couple of years.
Who are the ex Lauderdale reserve players running around in the Dodges team? Hyland would have played 100 odd senior games for Lauderdale. Jake Gillie played seniors there at a young age too.
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Brad Tennick? Tim Dennis? Daniel Chandler? Jason Hyland did play a lot of senior football for lauderdale finished in the 2s though when the team reached a higher standard, Jake gillie ws a fringe senior player in and out. also believe Will Coombe plays there although not sure he played in this game.
 

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Halftimehero said:
Brad Tennick? Tim Dennis? Daniel Chandler? Jason Hyland did play a lot of senior football for lauderdale finished in the 2s though when the team reached a higher standard, Jake gillie ws a fringe senior player in and out. also believe Will Coombe plays there although not sure he played in this game.
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harsh on Gillie,he was 19 or so when he last played there. He's a very good player these days. The reason some of those blokes are getting games are because the Dodges coach was coach of the magoos @ Lauderdale a few years back. When they sack him at the end of the year then those players may struggle for a game. Tim Dennis is a good player though.
 
JS#35 said:
harsh on Gillie,he was 19 or so when he last played there. He's a very good player these days. The reason some of those blokes are getting games are because the Dodges coach was coach of the magoos @ Lauderdale a few years back. When they sack him at the end of the year then those players may struggle for a game. Tim Dennis is a good player though.
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Im not saying that Jake Gillie isnt a good footballer im just saying how it is, Tim Dennis is ok not sure hes as good as he thinks he is though. I believe the coach gives his son a game and doesnt desreve one?
 
Halftimehero said:
I believe the coach gives his son a game and doesnt desreve one?
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The coach would have you think his son is the best player in the comp. Gave a great speech at half time v New Norfolk early in the season; "just give it to Miller, he'll do it!!!" :D Can play the game though, has very good skills. However, lacks hardness and accountability to say the least.
 
Thats putrid, i have seen a worse case of father son bias though, quite a number of years ago in the old lauderdale cats days a father who was coaching his sons team gave him the coaches award.
 
its a simple argument. in todays world why would a young player who misses out on the draft a few years in a row keep playing at the top level when his probably on an apprentice wage when he can go back to an NTFA/NTFL/SFL and get paid 100/150 plus a game and most of the time having a kick with his mates.
TSL needs to raise there salary to accommadate this.
Then there is the travel for statewide and training/amount of commitment each week, when they could be training tues/thurs and the odd recovery session depending on which club in an NTFA/NTFL/SFL and playing on a saturday and having a few beers that night.
This is more appealing to older guys starting families too. more coin, more time with the family.
The 8 TEAMS could work because it means it would be a stronger leauge with less clubs for better players to play for but wouldnt work with the salalry atm, But how they would go about it would be a huge task. Who to keep/who to drop to an NTFA/NTFL/SFL etc. Maybe drop dport and have one north west team or drop a lonnie team and a southern team would have to go. whether that be hobart/north or merge.
NO ONE is going to play for free and getting the best players from tassie or interstate is going to cost and the other downside is that there arent that many jobs going in tassie atm so who would want to come here to play for peanuts
 
leb16 - I would agree that the lack of salary cap difference means a lot of players will choose the lower leagues and take more money for less effort. (Again, the north west is hurt most by this due to the travel issues and NTFL strength.)
The problem is, how many clubs can afford a raised salary cap? Clarence, Glenorchy and possibly nobody else?
 
One of my brothers is a member of the South Launceston Dogs and during the members meeting with AFLTas, one official (can't remember who, could have even been Wade..) was heard to respond to a question regarding the treatment of life members that "we are moving past the old supporters" (paraphrased).

So basically, AFLTas is indifferent to how the heart & soul members, the rusted on old timers who live for their clubs and go every week, are treated. The ones who sponsor the kids playing, wash the jumpers, work in the canteen or on the gate etc. They don't care.

All it is concerned with is 'pathways' into the AFL. They just want to develop elite junior talent, presumably because having more Tasmanian's in the AFL will line the pockets of AFLTas and give them better bragging rights. Quite an unfortunate state for Tassie footy to be in.

In the NTFL, I do know Ulverstone was in serious debt but they have shaved approx half of that off and have repaid plenty of backdated match payments as well. They still have a number of club functions to go as well, so hopefully the club can pull itself through these bad times with the help of the rusted on supporters.

Penguin has a major coup with Kouta playing this week, should pour some money into the coffers. From a few mates who are life members there, apparently the 'culture' is quite disappointing for the older blokes right now. The players turn up, train/play, and leave. They don't care about supporting the club and getting involved, they just want to play footy and get their match payments. Some might say, so what? Well I'm telling you, even though I haven't personally attended a game this year, that the Robins wouldn't be cutting into their debt if they didn't manage to install a community feel about the club.

I'm not privy to any other clubs, but will say it is incredibly, incredibly unfortunate that North Hobart and Hobart, two traditional rivals, are joining. It is incredibly sad that this the situation Tassie footy finds themselves in. From the influence of Wade at South Launceston deliberately and maliciously running the club into the ground so they can come in and 'rescue' the club, or the Bellrieve curators being absolutely peeved that Lauderdale is to play there as well in 2014 and putting the ground at risk, Tassie footy isn't in a great state and is crying out for AFLTas to answer to someone higher up.

Only so many times the likes of Fev, Aka, Lloyd and Kouta can come down and play to put money in the bank for the clubs, and only a few clubs get the chance to rely on that. AFLTas needs to realise a Tasmanian based AFL team is unrealistic for at least 10 years and instead of being the 'heroes' that bring AFL to Tasmania, need to stabilise the grassroots level footy.

My 2c's worth.

edit: Don't get me wrong, I am all for the kids getting greater opportunities to achieve their dreams and play at the highest level. Unfortunate that there isn't a TAC level competition like over here, but that's the reality of a smaller state. Just think there needs to be a middle ground achieved.
 
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