Tasmania set to apply for a provisional AFL licence (aiming to enter competition by 2025)

[Kwality]

Are they viable?

Do you ask that question of any other AFL club, why not?

 

[Rob]

The VFL was the premier comp...players from other states aspired to make it in the VFL...nobody of any note left Tassie to play in other states...not sure why people still don't understand this

In the context of people 'switching teams' I don't think there is any doubt that Tassie's following of the AFL now is much, much greater than WA or SA's following of the VFL when their respective clubs entered.

 

[The_Wookie]

Do you ask that question of any other AFL club, why not?

well for a start, those other clubs are already in. they arent trying to join.

 

[BringBackTorps]

The jungle drums are beating, when the AFL's own media is being very positive re the addition of a 19th team in Tasmania. The AFL itself is raising expectations.
"Find out why a Tassie AFL team finally makes sense"!

LISTEN: Find out why a Tassie AFL team finally makes sense - AFL.com.au

Former Virgin Australia CEO and the head of the Tasmanian Government's AFL team taskforce, Brett Godfrey, speaks to Damian Barrett

www.afl.com.au

 

[Tasmanian saint]

well for a start, those other clubs are already in. they arent trying to join.

I’ve got no problem with Tasmania having to prove there team would be financially viable even though the same standards were obviously not applied to gws and the suns but this crap about showing the afl what else we could bring to the game how about what we have already brought for the last 100 years with very little return!

 

[Tasmanian saint]

In the context of people 'switching teams' I don't think there is any doubt that Tassie's following of the AFL now is much, much greater than WA or SA's following of the VFL when their respective clubs entered.

Don’t think anyone disagrees that the percentage is higher now but the point is there was still a very large number of west coast and crow supporters who followed vfl teams Pryor to there entry to afl the crap this general giant goes on about not having support because they already have clubs is ridiculous it may take a little while with the older generation but there would be huge support buy junior players and young people in the state having a local club and you look at crowds we are get for the fifo teams down here are as good as gws it shows people want to watch afl weather they fully support the team or not !

 

[Engimal v3]

Only just realised this was moved off of the main board.

 

[madmug]

Only just realised this was moved off of the main board.

Well the topic probably doesn't interest some people as much a topics like 'name one player you absolutely cannot stand the sight of'.

Important topics like that.

 

[BringBackTorps]

1. The Age Tim Lane 31.8.19

Interesting comments from very experienced Tasmanian journalist T. Lane, & BFC C.Fagan, also a Tasmanian.
Fagan is from western Tas., where, because there is so much rain (which caused the ground to be a constant mudheap) the Queenstown AF oval has been HARD GRAVEL for c. 80yrs- very tough footballers in Tas.

Fagan said a VERY important, & true comment

"If you did a study per head of population, I think Tasmanians would be more interested in AFL football than anywhere else in the country".
(Per capita, however, based purely on the no. of AF club & school comp. players, NT is higher)

The fame that Tasmanians have as AF fanatics is reflected in these 2 amazing TFL GF crowds in Hobart
.1970- 24,413
.1979- 24,968

Hobart holds the AF (actually, any team sport) Australian capital city sporting team record crowd, pro rata of population. This record will never be broken- in the 1970's, Hobart's pop. was c.155,000.
(Other huge, pro rata crowds were the SANFL GF's of 1920 & 1976- 44,345 AO, & 66, 987 Football Park respectively. MANY country towns, however, have had staggering, "superior" pro rata AF GF crowds)

Expansion into the heartland: What an AFL team would mean for Tasmania

Chris Fagan, a proud Tasmanian who now coaches the Brisbane Lions, spoke with Tim Lane about a Tasmanian team in the AFL.

www.theage.com.au

2.Journalist Dwayne Russel, speaking on Sportsday Program 22.8, has predicted Tasmania will have its own, 19th team by 2023 (ambitious); & HFC & NMFC will vacate at end of 2021 season.

Tasmania set to enter the AFL in 2023, says Dwayne Russell

www.msn.com

3. Hobart's 2019 population, according to Wikipedia below, is 240,342. A UTAS demographer said it may be 270,000 by 2028, if the current growth rate continues, 300,000 unlikely. Hobart is enjoying an economic boom at the moment, which has caused a housing vacancy crisis & strongly rising rents. The island is benefitting greatly from tourism. As of June 2018, the population of Hobart & the SE was 271,214- grew by 1.5% in the preceding year. Launceston only grew by 0.8%.

Will Hobart's population reach 300k by 2028?

Hobart has long been seen as Australia's sleepy southern city, but lately it's been experiencing growing pains. Curious Hobart investigates whether the population is on track to hit 300,000 within a decade.

www.abc.net.au

4. Contrary to popular belief, Hobart does not receive much rainfall, only c. 22 inches per year- low, cf. Aust. capital city averages. It is, obviously, much colder during the AFL season, average daytime high temps. c. 14 degrees- OK with a jacket. (Launceston c. 15 average high) All games would be played during the day.

Hobart - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Blackhawk42]

United We Stand has jumped past 20 000 now. Has really started ticking over the last few days.

 

[madmug]

United We Stand has jumped past 20 000 now. Has really started ticking over the last few days.

I'm not so sure the figure means much to the AFL.

The AFL public questionnaire of a couple of years ago showed a 78% support for a Tasmanian team in the AFL.

So do the AFL really give a stuff about the supporters anyway?

 

[Tasmanian saint]

Yeah I agree think this pledge thing is a bit of a waste of time they would have been better of having people pay a small deposit on a pre purchased membership 10 or 20 dollars or something like what they did for basketball would be something meaningful to take to afl then !

 

[The_Wookie]

I'm not so sure the figure means much to the AFL.

The AFL public questionnaire of a couple of years ago showed a 78% support for a Tasmanian team in the AFL.

So do the AFL really give a stuff about the supporters anyway?

Online petitions rarely mean much to anyone. Literally no commitment or dedication required to tick a box.

What will help is everything else going on behind the scenes this time.

 

[Engimal v3]

I actually messaged the Examiner and asked why they only posted the link to the pledge behind a paywalled article, rather than on any of their social media accounts. They read my message and never replied haha

 

[Professor Knowall]

Online petitions rarely mean much to anyone. Literally no commitment or dedication required to tick a box.

What will help is everything else going on behind the scenes this time.

While this is basically true, I think in this case the on-line 'pledge' campaign is very much part of the plan to both broaden the community support and simultaneously add another element to the 'behind the scenes' moves.

This campaign appears to be far better organised than any other previous Tasmanian bid, with high profile business and ex-AFL players, political support and also across the board media support - even from the AFL website itself. I can't help but think the AFL executive now sees the overall benefits - as the "keeper of the code", for a standalone Tasmanian club and is giving some sort of tacit behind the scenes support to this bid.

bTW - The latest number is 20,458. https://unitedwestand.com.au

 

[Rob]

Don’t think anyone disagrees that the percentage is higher now but the point is there was still a very large number of west coast and crow supporters who followed vfl teams

Very loose attachment though. Most people supported their WAFL club first and any VFL club support was way way behind - and mostly based on where their favourite WAFL players went. As a result, the VFL was not even close to WAFL support at the time. It was a very different situation to Tasmania in 2019.

You may well be right that it could take a generation for Tasmanians to get on board, but I don't think a Tassie team would have that luxury. If it's going to work, Tasmanians would need to jump on board straight away. Tasmania simply isn't big enough for a club based there to get anything less than a big majority of support in the state.

 

[madmug]

Very loose attachment though. Most people supported their WAFL club first and any VFL club support was way way behind - and mostly based on where their favourite WAFL players went. As a result, the VFL was not even close to WAFL support at the time. It was a very different situation to Tasmania in 2019.

You may well be right that it could take a generation for Tasmanians to get on board, but I don't think a Tassie team would have that luxury. If it's going to work, Tasmanians would need to jump on board straight away. Tasmania simply isn't big enough for a club based there to get anything less than a big majority of support in the state.

I think you'll find that Tassie has some 9000 hawks members & 5000 NM members. These people want to see AFL footy, The numbers of these members are well below the numbers that do go to the AFL games here.

At the least I think the majority of footy people will become members. The MAY still be Hawks, Bombers, Pies, Blues supporters from way back when, but they will buy a Tassie membership to watch 'the footy'.

 

[Mr Taswegian]

I think you'll find that Tassie has some 9000 hawks members & 5000 NM members. These people want to see AFL footy, The numbers of these members are well below the numbers that do go to the AFL games here.

At the least I think the majority of footy people will become members. The MAY still be Hawks, Bombers, Pies, Blues supporters from way back when, but they will buy a Tassie membership to watch 'the footy'.

North has 6 to 7 thousand members, I believe,I know tonnes of Tassie AFL supporters who have indicated they will attend the Tassie games even though they support other teams

 

[madmug]

North has 6 to 7 thousand members, I believe,I know tonnes of Tassie AFL supporters who have indicated they will attend the Tassie games even though they support other teams

Ok.

I too am sure they will. Its about selling memberships. People do want to see the footy & most will become Tassie supporters straight away.

 

[BobbyMorri]

United We Stand has jumped past 20 000 now. Has really started ticking over the last few days.

I hope they don't do an audit on the numbers. Would be interesting to see why it keeps climbing at a steady rate after so long.

 

[Blackhawk42]

I hope they don't do an audit on the numbers. Would be interesting to see why it keeps climbing at a steady rate after so long.

Didn't it get advertised in the Herald Sun a week ago and has climbed quicker since then??

 

[Mr Taswegian]

Didn't it get advertised in the Herald Sun a week ago and has climbed quicker since then??

It has been climbing at a similar rate from the beginning,it has now reached nearly 24000.

 

[Tasmanian saint]

I hope they don't do an audit on the numbers. Would be interesting to see why it keeps climbing at a steady rate after so long.

Ha A bit like gws having 30,000 members you recon know one knows weather they really actually exist !

 

[General Giant]

Ha A bit like gws having 30,000 members you recon know one knows weather they really actually exist !

Same thing could be said about the Saints.

 

[Tasmanian saint]

S

Same thing could be said about the Saints.

st kilda are averaging home crowds you would expect with there current membership number in the 45,000 range . Gws with 30,000 members you would expect to be averaging a lot more then 12,000 to home games you’re membership number compared to what you’re getting through the gate is massively out of kilter makes you wonder if the afl are fudging the figures a bit