Fixture Hawks after Tasmania? Sponsorship extended to 2027!

[kazzooka]

Brendan Gales has again stated that Hawthorn leaving Tasmania after 2027 is a non-negotiable…

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He insists that the Devils need Tassie to themselves in order to succeed. It’s hard to argue with that.

How will we be compensated abandoning our fanbase and home ground? Just to make a rival club successful? They only exist because of 25 years of work we did.

 

[The Golden Glenferrie]

Time to leave

 

[Walshawk]

How will we be compensated abandoning our fanbase and home ground? Just to make a rival club successful? They only exist because of 25 years of work we did.

It won’t be our decision. The contract will simply be ended. Why would there be any compensation?

 

[cryptor]

I’m sure all the Tasmanian Hawks supporters who had already decided they weren’t switching or willing to be members of both clubs will be full of enthusiasm to sign up now the Devils are kicking the Hawks out of the state.

I feel like the best thing they could have done would have been to partner with Hawthorn in a transition period over 5 years or so. Do joint community programs, build up a friendly rivalry, work with the AFL on fixtures that get more people down to see them.

Wanting to banish us from playing in the state just wreaks of insecurity.

 

[hr_23]

As long as we play the Devils in Lonnie then that's fine with me

 

[Buttonsticher]

Are they booting norf as well

 

[hr_23]

Are they booting norf as well

Norf already gone
Richmond are playing a game at Belrieve this year

 

[peetoo]

Norf already gone
Richmond are playing a game at Belrieve this year

No doubt the ceo will cosy up to Richmond

 

[Philhawk]

That donkey Gale has always had it in for us.

I’m hopeful the government sees through this and still negotiates at least 2 games for us a year down there.

 

[hr_23]

That donkey Gale has always had it in for us.

I’m hopeful the government sees through this and still negotiates at least 2 games for us a year down there.

why would the government pay us when they are paying off a 1billion dollar stadium??
maybe if Launceston city council wanted to pay us to play at YP that is a different story

 

[thehardway]

why would the government pay us when they are paying off a 1billion dollar stadium??
maybe if Launceston city council wanted to pay us to play at YP that is a different story

The Tassie Government has also committed to underwriting the Devils so I think it will be politically very difficult to justify forking out more money for the Hawks. As you said maybe the Launceston Council and local sponsors could step in but very unlikely. The AFL could schedule an away game and a home game at Launceston as a compromise and schedule the other returning home games at the G.

 

[Big Hotdog]

THis will only empower the north/south divide.

How many home games are the devils playing at UTAS?

 

[hr_23]

THis will only empower the north/south divide.

How many home games are the devils playing at UTAS?

7-4 split when Mac Point is online apparently
unkown before then maybe 6-5 Bellrieve YP

 

[kazzooka]

why would the government pay us when they are paying off a 1billion dollar stadium??
maybe if Launceston city council wanted to pay us to play at YP that is a different story

Because unlike the stadium, paying for Hawthorn to play in Launceston generates money for Tasmania. Why does the South Australian government pay for Brisbane, Essendon, Carlton, Collingwood, Fremantle, Geelong, GWS, Gold Coast, Hawthorn, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Richmond, Sydney, Stkilda, Western Bulldogs and West Coast to play home games in Adelaide when they already have the Crows and Power?

How much tourism will they get for GWS or Fremantle vs Tasmania (either venue) compared to vs Hawthorn at York Park.

Perhaps that's offset by playing Home games against Victorian teams, but you don't know if they'll show up. If I'm a Richmond supporter playing an away game against Tasmania on a country sized ground, i'm probably not going to make the trip to Tasmania and there'd be few seats available for travelling sides too on these small venues. Maybe after the new stadium is built people will want to go to see it, knowing it's big enough and won't be out in the cold and wind watching a terrible quality game.

 

[peetoo]

why would the government pay us when they are paying off a 1billion dollar stadium??
maybe if Launceston city council wanted to pay us to play at YP that is a different story

Depends whether an extra game at Hobart helps to make it profitable agains what it costs Tassie govt to have hawks play a home game

Hawks home game at York park allows a devils home game to be moved to hobart

The CEO was less anti hawks in his discussion on the agenda last night

Ps Riewoldt Nick is even more painful this year to listen to

 

[speedpeck23]

It won’t be our decision. The contract will simply be ended. Why would there be any compensation?

Would be interesting to hear legal opinions on that. HFC and AFL although inter-dependent would be separate functioning business entities. I doubt that Hawthorn would try it on but given our 25 year history we have built up significant brand identity which would obviously be compromised if we were forced out of Tassie.

Personally I think it's great for the AFL to have the Hawks a bit of a thorn (no pun intended !!) in the side of the Devils.
Creates a true rivalry and capitalizes on the North-South divide. Doesn't short change the footy fans in Launceston....they'll get 6 or 7 AFL games about equal to Hobart.

 

[tommyk72]

I imagine it all hinges on how the contract we’ve already entered into is worded. Sometimes there are soft commitments made from either or both sides. We may never find out and that’s also fine.

 

[bigmaxi]

Tasmania is one of our homes and we currently have a lot of support there. Been playing there for 25 years, which is longer than we played at Waverley or Princes Park.

It's a national game and we need to be a national club. We can't just be Hawthorn and camberwell, or melbourne. We need to be a national brand.

The extra income and a win loss ratio of 80/20 is pretty handy too. Happy to play a QLD team or two there every year

 

[peetoo]

It would be funny if devils CEO being anti hawthorn meant more MCG for hawthorn and less for Richmond

And before we talk about national let’s think about Melbourne and Victoria outside our south east stronhold

As noted Waverley park is now demons and we haven’t played there for 25 years

 

[The Golden Glenferrie]

It would be funny if devils CEO being anti hawthorn meant more MCG for hawthorn and less for Richmond

We can only hope and pray.

Sadly, it'll mean more Marvel games

 

[peetoo]

We can only hope and pray.

Sadly, it'll mean more Marvel games

I’m ok with that. Roughys farewell and Buddys 100 were great nights

 

[The Golden Glenferrie]

I’m ok with that. Roughys farewell and Buddys 100 were great nights

Any game in Melbourne is a friend of mine!

 

[CobberRodgers]

Northern clubs:
OMG footy wouldn’t exist without you up here, thanks for saving us, here have an academy and your pick of whatever you want, plus some ambassador money, thanks again!

Hawks:
I don’t care what you’ve done for Tasmania, get out.

 

[play2win]

Tassie team can’t play at home every week, I would have thought a hawks game being played in Tassie when the devils are playing interstate would be complimentary to Tassies interests.

 

[Hawkk]

We can only hope and pray.

Sadly, it'll mean more Marvel games

MCG games (in 2025 and 2026)

2025

Collingwood - 14 (10 home, 4 away)
Richmond - 13 (10 home, 3 away)
Melbourne - 12 (9 home, 3 away)
Hawthorn - 10 games (6 home, 4 away)
Carlton - 10 games (6 home, 4 away)
Essendon - 8 games (4 home, 4 away)

2026

Collingwood - 14 (10 home, 4 away)
Richmond - 13 (10 home, 3 away)
Melbourne - 12 (9 home, 3 away)
Hawthorn - 11 games (6 home, 5 away)
Carlton - 8 games (5 home, 3 away)
Essendon - 8 games (4 home, 4 away)

Basically we get 10-12 MCG games every year, Melbourne and Richmond get 12-14, Collingwood get 14 and Essendon and Carlton get 8-10.

We can and should definitely push for the same agreement that Melbourne and Richmond have (pure MCG tenants) which means picking up 2 more home and away games at the MCG.

Either that or we go full hybrid like Carlton and Essendon — but that means giving our members reserve seats at Marvel (where our crowds have averaged 30,000 against low drawing clubs).

Tassie team can’t play at home every week, I would have thought a hawks game being played in Tassie when the devils are playing interstate would be complimentary to Tassies interests.

I can't see how it would be? You'd have a bigger club with far more historic success (and 25-30 years history in the state) playing on the door step. It would effectively split the state in two and make the Devils commercially unviable.

I can totally see why Gale wants us out. Imagine being a new club and competing with a team that had marketable players like Nick Watson (after having Cyril Rioli, Lance Franklin etc)