News NMFC & Tassie (the mass debate re our future there, the academy, attending advice)

Sorry, thought you said 5 out of the last 20 games.
Its not your fault mate. I've read it 100 times and still have no idea what he was trying to say.
 
The only way to show people are disenfranchised with the current arrangement is to turn up and support it en mass.

There needs to be a show of force from the people and the only way to do that is a show of force in the local competition and a show of force in these exhibition games which would put the AFL in a position where it can't ignore the people.

At the moment the Tasmanian people are easy to ignore.
 
The current agreements with the government/TT-Line, AFL Tasmania and Cricket Tasmania are economic agreements, all those stakeholders get something out of it, if they didn't then we wouldn't be playing there. Those who support North or other clubs we play there get to see live games, they get something out of it too.

Then there is the majority of Tasmania who do not take any part of it, but want their own team. What platform do they have to achieve their goals? Bitching on forums isn't working. Academics whining on newspapers isn't working. High profile Tasmanians bitching on tv isn't working.

The current strategy just isn't working. I think the only short-term hope is for those who want their own team to make their presence felt and the most obvious way would be to go to the North and Hawks games and show there is a lot more interest in football than the crowds or the surveys suggest there is.

It actually is working. Our first realistic push at getting a professional Australian rules football team has come as a direct result of the government-appointed taskforce (advised by Gil McLachlan himself). The reason we know about it is high profile Tasmanians "bitching" to the media about it, and I'm certain that the case to be presented to the AFL will be the findings of those "whining" academics.

Your alternative solution appears to be for Tasmanians to attend these exhibition games of North Melbourne and Hawthorn, but we all know that when crowds are doing well, we'll hear the age-old argument that Tasmania doesn't need a team because they're clearly happy with the current arrangement.

There are over 91,000 paying members for AFL clubs in Tasmania, and yet crowds sit between 10-15k. What's the more likely answer for this?:
  1. Tasmanians are dumber than we thought and are happy to contribute financially to the AFL and gain nothing from it because they hate football but love big, soulless corporations
  2. Tasmania is not located in Melbourne's northern or eastern suburbs, and therefore Tasmanians are not content with supporting two foreign clubs bringing their smallest, non-rivalry games to the state only for their own financial benefit

Although the first answer is pretty enticing, I can assure you it's the second one. I think it's disingenuous to suggest that Tasmanians need to vote with their feet in a state where almost 20% of the population are financial contributors to AFL clubs. We've already voted, and we voted with our wallets. I love North Melbourne, and I'll be a member until the day I die, but given the chance as a kid I would have been a proud Tasmania supporter. The Tasmanian kids of today (and future generations) have a chance here to grow up with an AFL team of their own. There's no reason that 91,000 mainland club memberships that exist today can't be 100,000 Tasmanian Devils memberships tomorrow.

Any talk of North/Hawks crowd numbers having any bearing on the feasibility of a Tasmanian AFL team is pure fluff. Anyway, that's my last post on this topic (on this forum) for the time being. It was a great deal for North (and Hawthorn) at the time, and now it's time for it to end.
 
It actually is working. Our first realistic push at getting a professional Australian rules football team has come as a direct result of the government-appointed taskforce (advised by Gil McLachlan himself). The reason we know about it is high profile Tasmanians "bitching" to the media about it, and I'm certain that the case to be presented to the AFL will be the findings of those "whining" academics.

Your alternative solution appears to be for Tasmanians to attend these exhibition games of North Melbourne and Hawthorn, but we all know that when crowds are doing well, we'll hear the age-old argument that Tasmania doesn't need a team because they're clearly happy with the current arrangement.

There are over 91,000 paying members for AFL clubs in Tasmania, and yet crowds sit between 10-15k. What's the more likely answer for this?:
  1. Tasmanians are dumber than we thought and are happy to contribute financially to the AFL and gain nothing from it because they hate football but love big, soulless corporations
  2. Tasmania is not located in Melbourne's northern or eastern suburbs, and therefore Tasmanians are not content with supporting two foreign clubs bringing their smallest, non-rivalry games to the state only for their own financial benefit

Although the first answer is pretty enticing, I can assure you it's the second one. I think it's disingenuous to suggest that Tasmanians need to vote with their feet in a state where almost 20% of the population are financial contributors to AFL clubs. We've already voted, and we voted with our wallets. I love North Melbourne, and I'll be a member until the day I die, but given the chance as a kid I would have been a proud Tasmania supporter. The Tasmanian kids of today (and future generations) have a chance here to grow up with an AFL team of their own. There's no reason that 91,000 mainland club memberships that exist today can't be 100,000 Tasmanian Devils memberships tomorrow.

Any talk of North/Hawks crowd numbers having any bearing on the feasibility of a Tasmanian AFL team is pure fluff. Anyway, that's my last post on this topic (on this forum) for the time being. It was a great deal for North (and Hawthorn) at the time, and now it's time for it to end.
Your post makes me think 2 things.

1) NMFC should reduce the amount of sold games to 3 immediately.
2) NMFC should only play interstate sides in Hobart ever.
 
Your post makes me think 2 things.

1) NMFC should reduce the amount of sold games to 3 immediately.
2) NMFC should only play interstate sides in Hobart ever.

North should have never moved to 4 games to begin with. Reducing to 3 is good, but it's delaying the inevitable. They'll eventually move to 0 (or 11, if the AFL goes insane again and wants everyone to lose). What's your reasoning for #2?
 
North should have never moved to 4 games to begin with. Reducing to 3 is good, but it's delaying the inevitable. They'll eventually move to 0 (or 11, if the AFL goes insane again and wants everyone to lose). What's your reasoning for #2?

Because if we need to move out of there entirely, there is little point not putting the lowest drawing games to Hobart.

It's better business sense.

Reduce to 3 next year with a pathway out from that point.
 
It actually is working. Our first realistic push at getting a professional Australian rules football team has come as a direct result of the government-appointed taskforce (advised by Gil McLachlan himself). The reason we know about it is high profile Tasmanians "bitching" to the media about it, and I'm certain that the case to be presented to the AFL will be the findings of those "whining" academics.

Your alternative solution appears to be for Tasmanians to attend these exhibition games of North Melbourne and Hawthorn, but we all know that when crowds are doing well, we'll hear the age-old argument that Tasmania doesn't need a team because they're clearly happy with the current arrangement.

Everyone wants Tasmania to have a team, it is not like there is a grand conspiracy to keep Tasmania out. You don't need a whole bunch of backslapping hangers-on giving each other a reach-around. It just comes down to money. If Tasmania could have afforded it, you would have had a team. All they need to show is they can fund it.

Three major sources of revenue is broadcasting (established this is not a selling point), corporate sponsorship & advertising (not a strong suit but there will be support) and local support (best strategy for funding).

There are over 91,000 paying members for AFL clubs in Tasmania, and yet crowds sit between 10-15k. What's the more likely answer for this?:

I don't know and I don't really care. It doesn't help Tasmania's cause to get a team, that is a reality. The support looks weak.

  1. Tasmanians are dumber than we thought and are happy to contribute financially to the AFL and gain nothing from it because they hate football but love big, soulless corporations

Tasmanian's aren't dumber, there is just less of them and there is no good single concentration of population density which makes it difficult to get these people to a stadium. Need to prove people on one end of the island are prepared to go to wherever the stadium is going to be, this requires a bigger commitment than what clubs normally get. People don't usually travel a long way to see their team play, not in huge numbers.

  1. Tasmania is not located in Melbourne's northern or eastern suburbs, and therefore Tasmanians are not content with supporting two foreign clubs bringing their smallest, non-rivalry games to the state only for their own financial benefit

It doesn't matter, showing up shows that there is the demand for football and they are prepared to travel from wherever they live to the stadium. Your local competition has gone to s**t a number of times due to the lack of people showing up for games.

Although the first answer is pretty enticing, I can assure you it's the second one. I think it's disingenuous to suggest that Tasmanians need to vote with their feet in a state where almost 20% of the population are financial contributors to AFL clubs.

Before we sold games to Tasmania our Interstate membership was a low cost 1 game membership which had the newsletter and other various crap, not sure what other club packages were like and i am not sure what proportion of these will translate to full memberships, particularly if it is going to require a significant premium to fund a football club in Tasmania.

We've already voted, and we voted with our wallets. I love North Melbourne, and I'll be a member until the day I die, but given the chance as a kid I would have been a proud Tasmania supporter. The Tasmanian kids of today (and future generations) have a chance here to grow up with an AFL team of their own. There's no reason that 91,000 mainland club memberships that exist today can't be 100,000 Tasmanian Devils memberships tomorrow.

I like Tasmania and I want to see them have their own team. I also want North to get out of Dodge as soon as humanly possible, I didn't want us to there in the first place.

Yeah, I don't know... you guys might get 200k members. We just don't know. The easiest way for the public to express it's desire is to make what is currently on offer from the AFL to be insufficient regardless if people do not like North or Hawks.

Any talk of North/Hawks crowd numbers having any bearing on the feasibility of a Tasmanian AFL team is pure fluff. Anyway, that's my last post on this topic (on this forum) for the time being. It was a great deal for North (and Hawthorn) at the time, and now it's time for it to end.

You can disregard it, but I think it is going to severely hurt Tasmania's bid for a team.
 
Apr 24, 2013
81,024
153,170
Arden Street Hill
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
Essendon Lawn Bowls Club
Another year and another swarm of football starved Tasmanian's turned out for this years TSL grand final.

751188
 
Jun 9, 2001
37,642
145,026
Fogarty Street
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
St Johnstone
This years attendance: 4692

There's been a massive rise!

It constitutes an approximate 6% increase.

I'm actually pretty bullish about their prospects now. If Tasmanian attendances can continue compounding at an annual 6% in 25 years they'll crack the "magical" 20k ceiling.

Before you guffaw, they said no one would achieve a four minute mile before Bannister made short work of it. You gotta believe.
 
Apr 24, 2013
81,024
153,170
Arden Street Hill
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
Essendon Lawn Bowls Club
It constitutes an approximate 6% increase.

I'm actually pretty bullish about their prospects now. If Tasmanian attendances can continue compounding at an annual 6% in 25 years they'll crack the "magical" 20k ceiling.

Before you guffaw, they said no one would achieve a four minute mile before Bannister made short work of it. You gotta believe.

A Tasmanian AFL team would NEVER stand on its own and post a surplus.

They moralise about "deserving" a football team, but the cold hard numbers just aren't there.

The only way it happens is if the AFL decide to carry it, but personally I reckon it would be Gold Coast MK II.
 
Jun 9, 2001
37,642
145,026
Fogarty Street
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
St Johnstone
A Tasmanian AFL team would NEVER stand on its own and post a surplus.

They moralise about "deserving" a football team, but the cold hard numbers just aren't there.

The only way it happens is if the AFL decide to carry it, but personally I reckon it would be Gold Coast MK II.

There's probably latent support and population growth that would theoretically support a reinstated Fitzroy as more viable than either of those options.
 
Federal Sport Minister Richard Colbeck has thrown his support behind Tasmania’s bid to join the AFL

Anyone inside the inner circle know what's North's official post-Tasmania stance is after we get pushed out? 11 home games at Marvel? I can only seem to find older articles online.

Are there regional areas that have big growth potential? I'd hate to be the "travelling Kangaroos" again, but I'm not sure we have a choice.
 
Considering Melbourne is one of the world' fastest growing cities, that's probably a good place to start.

The ideal scenario is that we can play all our games at Marvel, of course. But the AFL now owns Marvel, which I think a lot of us assumed it would allow us to get a better deal in regards to minimum attendances to break even. The reality is that all of the small three (North, Bulldogs, Saints) are still selling games elsewhere. That doesn't suggest to me that us playing all our games in Melbourne is possible.
 

FlyHigh18

Arden St Parking Inspector
May 8, 2017
2,555
6,758
AFL Club
North Melbourne
A Tasmanian AFL team would NEVER stand on its own and post a surplus.

They moralise about "deserving" a football team, but the cold hard numbers just aren't there.

The only way it happens is if the AFL decide to carry it, but personally I reckon it would be Gold Coast MK II.

I wonder how many AFL clubs can currently stand on their own.
 
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