No AFL team for Tasmania, league boss Gillon McLachlan announces

[76woodenspooners]

Not sure what Tassie has to do ...

Easy.

Tassie need to get tough and say “We don’t really care what sport we follow, but we expect that whatever sport we do follow will take us seriously”.

Start actively supporting pathway programs for kids to play soccer / NRL
Start converting ovals into rectangular grounds
Start actively lobbying the A-League/NRL for a team

If Tassie ends up being an NRL state like NSW / Queensland, hey, all power to them.

 

[FRUMPY]

Why are people surprised or disappointed? We have too many teams as it is and talent is stretched too far. There was never going to be another club added in the near future, let alone one from Tassie. AFL is too busy propping up GWS and GC.

The competition wont be more than 18 clubs for the next 10 years at a minimum

 

[Runk]

The VFL team is a reasonable result. Despite all the gnashing of teeth, Tasmania is a small market and as such it needs to have wild parochial support to show that it can flourish despite the small market.

The VFL team isn't ideal but it at least gives Tassie something to unite behind to show they can support a team at the highest level. Stop attending Hawthorn games and pack out the stadium for every Tassie VFL game. Show that a Tasmanian team will be well followed, even at VFL level. Develop facilities in conjunction with the government and get a reasonable sized boutique stadium. Make that Tasmanian team the most widely followed state league team in the country and then you'll turn heads.

Like a BBL team perhaps??

 

[76woodenspooners]

Why are people surprised or disappointed? We have too many teams as it is and talent is stretched too far. There was never going to be another club added in the near future, let alone one from Tassie. AFL is too busy propping up GWS and GC.

The competition wont be more than 18 clubs for the next 10 years at a minimum

Move an existing team to Tassie?

Last weekend’s GC versus Collingwood match attracted a crowd of 13500.

Does GC even want a team? I get that the GC chamber of commerce like the business that the travelling away supporters bring, but you can’t justify having a team just on that. A team should have some of their own supporters.

 

[Carringbush2010]

The permanent resident population of Gold Coast City in 2017 was 592,330 (a rise of 15,412 or 2.67%) from 2016. (Source: ABS) and has been on the rise since 2014.

Tasmania's population in 2017 was 519,166 (a rise of 666 or 0.13%) from 2016 and has grown by just over 9,100 people since 2011.

Maybe more population, however how many fair dinkum footy fans are born and bred in gc vs Tas? That's the real relevance, it's a fair argument that a Tas AFL side would garner more passionate or "likely to keep attending and watching on the tele" supporters than a team in a non football state like gc.

Correct me if I'm wrong but for mine footy for the bulk of the fan base north of the Murray is just a passing interest, supporters like you and I are the exception to the rule.

Where as in Tas if they had a team to follow you're going to get a guaranteed supporter base, yes granted there's only half a million (just like gc) state wide but at least you're going to garner rusted on supporters rather than meh if we lose types - like gc now.

 

[Carringbush2010]

The afl wants to buy the eagles and dockers and take control of wa footy - they just cant understand why we wont bend on this.

:rollseyes.gif:

Wrong thread Kranky.

 

[madmug]

So i'm guessing the AFL have put the proviso in place that they need to show they can run a local league properly before they get given the keys to running a national level team.

What do you mean 'they'? The TSL is not like WAFL/SANFL, its run by the local AFL office. Its an AFL managed league. It has been for years & certainly when the problems for teams started to occur. AFL employees are paid to monitor & run the league. Clearly they were too busy playing golf. We just had 2 years with Robert Auld after Scott Wade. What did they achieve? This current mess thats what.

 

[madmug]

I believe that's what happened with the ACT sides. Too expensive. Too much of a time commitment for the players. Most have full time day jobs. And they were getting a pasting from the Swans every week for their efforts.

Hard ask to expect suburban clubs find extra time and money to play in a competition they have less chance of winning.

Exactly, so whats the point of going back into the semi professional VFL. All that travel & expense. The same problem last time. What for?

 

[projectv]

Considering the lousy crowds that show up to GC and GWS games, it really makes no sense why they'd launch a third team that wouldn't get enough support to stay afloat.

 

[madmug]

Easy.

Tassie need to get tough and say “We don’t really care what sport we follow, but we expect that whatever sport we do follow will take us seriously”.

Start actively supporting pathway programs for kids to play soccer / NRL
Start converting ovals into rectangular grounds
Start actively lobbying the A-League/NRL for a team

If Tassie ends up being an NRL state like NSW / Queensland, hey, all power to them.

You can't change the footy culture of 150 years in an instant. Its taken the AFL near 20 years to destroy football here. That shows it takes time to cause cultural change. It appears people here have finally started voting with their feet. I hope the politicians soon follow & fk Gil & the AFL's carpetbagger mentality off.

 

[Smartest Brain]

Considering the lousy crowds that show up to GC and GWS games, it really makes no sense why they'd launch a third team that wouldn't get enough support to stay afloat.

Yeah except the Tasmanian govt is already floating some VFL teams and they would no doubt put some more in for a real team. It is way more important to Tasmania to have this team so more will be given to support it.

You underestimate how passionate tasmanians are for football.

 

[Carringbush2010]

The Gold Coast area has a larger population (592,330 by 2017) than the whole state of Tasmania (519,166 by 2017), is growing steadily each year (around 2-3% growth each year over the past decade), is a more attractive winter tourist destination, and is in a strategic area for the growth of the game. It's pretty easy to see the logic behind putting a team there ahead of Tasmania, and backing that you have the right infrastructure and financing in place for it to succeed better than other teams in other sporting codes have.

I get the sentiment of the AFL on this, however gc and bris has proven it's swimming against the tide. Passionate guaranteed supporters north of the Murray are a rarity - bris is a classic example, now they're near the bottom of the ladder it's tumbleweed at the Gabba.

There was a caller on SEN yesterday that said the Collingwood fan base outnumbered gc by 10 fold, that might be an exaggeration however it is clear that unless all of the teams in the northern states are consistently contending the attendances and tv remotes are going the wrong way.

On the other side of the coin if you have a dedicated Tas team you're going to get a guaranteed fan base that will rust on, form would be irrelevant.

The rugby league state experiment has proven to be a failure so far apart from Sydney only because they've always been in contention and have a small percentage of the old South fan.

Allow me to be blunt, I can't see this experiment ever being a success and would argue that gc is on it's last legs.

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

People need to let to go of the 'team in every state' romanticism and accept the reality.

Tasmania is a small state with less people than the Gold Coast and growing at a snail's pace. Not to mention that, unlike other states, the majority of the state's population live outside the capital city as well which means that selecting Hobart as the home means shutting out people from Launceston. And Hobart is tiny.

Gold Coast and western Sydney were always the most logical places for expansion. Even a third WA team has far more merit than Tasmania.

How many native born players have played in the AFL that have grown up playing their juniors in Western Sydney or on the Gold Coast?

An entire state that was once a fertile source of football talent has now gone. In the grand scheme of things it wouldn't take too much to rekindle it I wouldn't think.

Build it and they will come.

 

[76woodenspooners]

You underestimate how passionate tasmanians are for football.

Passionate enough to switch allegences from their current team to a local team?

Speaking from experience, I wasn’t the least bit tempted to switch to GWS when they came to town.

Just like the GWS / GCS teams, any Tassie team would need to be a 20 year (generational) plan

 

[Chuckie357]

Tasmania should sell the ownership rights of the island to NSW. Bound to get a team in then!

 

[Smartest Brain]

Passionate enough to switch allegences from their current team to a local team?

Yes. Provided it is a real Tasmanian team. If it is a merged club there may be more resistance earlier.

Speaking from experience, I wasn’t the least bit tempted to switch to GWS when they came to town.

Just like the GWS / GCS teams, any Tassie team would need to be a 20 year (generational) plan

I think they should fold a melbourne team. Maybe make it so the worst performing Melbourne team next year loses their license or something like that.

 

[Magus]

Passionate enough to switch allegences from their current team to a local team?

Speaking from experience, I wasn’t the least bit tempted to switch to GWS when they came to town.

Just like the GWS / GCS teams, any Tassie team would need to be a 20 year (generational) plan

How many of the locals have been expected to support Hawthorn or North simply because they play a handful of games there?
Why is it such a stretch to expect them to support a Tasmanian branded side over what they've been given as a substitute?

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

Passionate enough to switch allegences from their current team to a local team?

Speaking from experience, I wasn’t the least bit tempted to switch to GWS when they came to town.

Just like the GWS / GCS teams, any Tassie team would need to be a 20 year (generational) plan

What do you think happened when the West Coast Eagles started? Then they swapped again from the Eagles to Freo when Freo came along.

 

[Kappa]

Tasmanians barely attend AFL matches in Tasmania, barely support their local league, then cry foul when things aren't handed to them on a silver platter.

 

[Slartibartfast]

AFL have run Tasmanian footy into the ground, I believe it was purposeful.
Tasmania has been a footy state for decades, first games played in 1850s and was first state outside of Vioctoria and this is the reason it should have been supported fully.
The amount of money that has been thrown at NSW and Queensland because they were a better business prospect is silly.
They could have made Tasmania work but chose the easier option of a big population centre in lieu of a ready made supporter base.
How long will we see empty stadiums at the Gold Coast ? How many millions has and will it take to prop it up until it is viable??

To turn their backs on Tasmania footy clubs and fans was a horrible act. They had supported Aussie rules since the 1860s , there was a love and passion for the game here and they have gone out of there way to extinguish that so they can do what they perceive as the best business option.
Pathetic Gill. You have s**t on all Tasmanians.

 

[Xtreme]

Gilligan is a village idiot

Tasmania should have had a team years ago.

 

[Roylion]

Maybe more population, however how many fair dinkum footy fans are born and bred in gc vs Tas? That's the real relevance, it's a fair argument that a Tas AFL side would garner more passionate or "likely to keep attending and watching on the tele" supporters than a team in a non football state like gc.

The real relevance is expanding the game's following in markets that themselves that are already large or are growing rapidly. It's obvious that the AFL is taking a long term view in establishing second clubs in Western Sydney and south-eastern Queensland. As they should.

Correct me if I'm wrong but for mine footy for the bulk of the fan base north of the Murray is just a passing interest, supporters like you and I are the exception to the rule.

In ths short term...yes. However the AFL is looking past the short term.

Where as in Tas if they had a team to follow you're going to get a guaranteed supporter base, yes granted there's only half a million (just like gc) state wide but at least you're going to garner rusted on supporters rather than meh if we lose types - like gc now.

But the opportunity for future growth is limited in Tasmania compared to Western Sydney and south-eastern Queensland.

2050 projected populations (Australia is projected to have 37.6 million)

• Tasmania - 650,000 The Tasmanian Government has set a target to grow the population to 650,000 people by 2050 to drive economic growth)
  
• Sydney - 7.7 million
  
• Gold Coast - 1.1 million (south east Queensland 6 million imcuding Gold Coast and Brisbane's 4.2 million)

Even the ACT will overtake Tasmania's population by 2038. Why not a team in Canberra?

 

[NoobPie]

Football will be lost in Tasmania. The AFL know the s**t hits the fan big time when both Lynch and May defect from the Gold Coast at the end of the year.

Massive nos sequitur

Why are people so incapable of basic logic.....it seems so....basic?

 

[Farm Boy]

Why are people surprised or disappointed? We have too many teams as it is and talent is stretched too far. There was never going to be another club added in the near future, let alone one from Tassie. AFL is too busy propping up GWS and GC.

The competition wont be more than 18 clubs for the next 10 years at a minimum

NSW and QLD aren't Aussie rules states.

Tasmania is an Aussie rules state. It is as simple as that IMO. You can have a billion people in NSW, but if it isn't interested in football then the population is irrelevant. What we are seeing with GWS and GC is that NSW and QLD aren't much interested in Aussie Rules. Tasmania on the other hand, they have always been interested in Aussie Rules. If they had a side nearly everyone in the State would get behind it. That is the difference. But Gil just sees numbers. The buck stops at Gil McLaughlin though as he runs the AFL and the AFL run the game of Aussie rules. Its Gil's game to do as he wants with it unfortunately.

 

[Andre]

I'm simply not sure tassie could support an AFL side from a business perspective.

Tasmania has around 500k, which is marginally less then Victoria divided by 10. However a more valid comparison, IMO, is a Tasmanian side would get most of Tasmanian's as supporters, versus smaller Vic. sides like St. Kilda, Bulldogs, North or Melbourne getting much less then 10% of Victoria (with the big 5 of Collingwood, Richmond, Essendon, Hawks and Carlton that would take 80%). So I can't see them any less supported then those smaller Victorian sides.

AFL clubs revenue (outside pokies), largely comes from:
1. The base money all AFL clubs get
2. National level sponsors - A Tasmanian side is going to be no less attractive for national sponsorship then a minnow Victorian club.
3. Local sponsors - here a Tasmanian club is going to be more attractive, grabbing a lions share of local Tasmanian sponsorship (including the Tassie government), where as a small Victorian club has to hope for the small slops the Big 5 Vic clubs have left them.

A Tasmanian side would never be a powerhouse financially, but that's an artificial barrier. They could be as good as one of the smaller Victorian clubs. So assuming remaining an 18 team competition is the way to go (so the talent pool isn't diluted further), the question is whether it's a more Australian (rather then lingering VFL) Football League with a Tasmanian side and one less Victorian side or no Tasmanian side? Put me down for Tasmania should have a side.