Tassie football in crisis (again)

[Holden Hillbilly]

No teams from Devonport or Burnie this year.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-06/burnie-football-club-quits-tasmanian-state-league/9399578

 

[Anja_Nees]

Serves them right for killing the thylacine.

 

[SgtSchulz]

AFL is a disgrace the way they have treated Tasmania. Happy to use it to prop up Victorian minnows but not willing to allow them to have their own team.

 

[Gavin Excell]

Interesting after the news of AFL bailing out Gold Coast

 

[Sttew]

Hard to believe that in a "city" of 30,000 (Burnie) they can't muster a team. Same applies to Devonport, also a city of about 30,000. What the hell is competing with AFL up there? How much is the AFL investing in the game in Tasmania?

 

[SgtSchulz]

Hard to believe that in a "city" of 30,000 (Burnie) they can't muster a team. Same applies to Devonport, also a city of about 30,000. What the hell is competing with AFL up there? How much is the AFL leeching the game in Tasmania?

Ftfy

 

[Papa G]

But keep paying those FIFO clubs the big bucks........ seriously, the politicians and the people running Tasmanian football (appointed by HQ in Melbourne I presume) need to be hauled over the coals. Why do Tasmanian's follow Victorian suburban teams in droves yet they treat you like provincial yokels? Sad state of affairs.

 

[MaddAdam]

The lack of grass roots investment/success in Tassie is pretty damning, but there's also the reality that outside of Hobart, the place is economically bereft.

In a perfect world Tassie would have a team, but it isn't a perfect world, and given Tasmanians already watch the AFL, they aren't going to get one any time soon.

 

[MaddAdam]

But keep paying those FIFO clubs the big bucks........ seriously, the politicians and the people running Tasmanian football (appointed by HQ in Melbourne I presume) need to be hauled over the coals. Why do Tasmanian's follow Victorian suburban teams in droves yet they treat you like provincial yokels? Sad state of affairs.

It cuts both ways, I realize BigFooty deals largely in simple black and white affairs but things are always far more nuanced at this level.

Having North play at Bellerive was a key driver in getting the stadium upgraded for example. That's what government got for its investment, as well as all the well documented direct ROI. The upgrade means Hobart has a genuine world class stadium again etc etc.

 

[NoobPie]

Hard to believe that in a "city" of 30,000 (Burnie) they can't muster a team. Same applies to Devonport, also a city of about 30,000. What the hell is competing with AFL up there? How much is the AFL investing in the game in Tasmania?

Ice apparently, and "emigration".

Devonport have dropped to the north west league where there is at least one other club (east devonport) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Australian_rules_football_clubs_in_Tasmania

I'm sure it is the same with Burnie (i.e. there are other clubs servicing Burnie)

 

[tigertigertiger]

give them there own team starting next year

 

[Hamingja]

Something must have been really off at Burnie for it to fall over and not be able to absorb players from devonport after they pulled out. Coaches, senior players, something.

 

[NoobPie]

give them there own team starting next year

Who? Burnie?

 

[NoobPie]

Have a look at these charts if you want to understand why Tasmanian football clubs may be struggling to field teams



There are just 46.6K males in Tasmania between the ages of 20 and 34. In 1990 there were 54K

 

[PHX]

Hard to believe that in a "city" of 30,000 (Burnie) they can't muster a team. Same applies to Devonport, also a city of about 30,000. What the hell is competing with AFL up there? How much is the AFL investing in the game in Tasmania?

Local leagues are priority in the North-west.

Not many players want to spend 5 hours on a bus travelling from Burnie to Hobart for a game when similar cash is on offer playing in the NWFL or the NWFA and travel is generally no more than an hour to an away game.

AFL Tas really gives no incentives to play in the TSL and put up with worse conditions. The only genuine incentive is for young kids looking to be drafted.

 

[adammania9]

I'd have played

 

[SizeMatters]

Have a look at these charts if you want to understand why Tasmanian football clubs may be struggling to field teams

View attachment 456918

There are just 46.6K males in Tasmania between the ages of 20 and 34. In 1990 there were 54K

View attachment 456922

Yeah and probably a quarter of those 47k are on meth...

edit: just realised you have mentioned it. Huge problem in Tasmania from reports.

 

[BobbyMorri]

Is there any real surprise that the AFL crony Robert Auld was "promoted" to the AFL head office just yesterday.

AFL neglect and nepotism all rolled into one. A job for an unqualified friend who has left jumped(or before he was lynched) ship as soon as his inept management started blowing up all around him.

 

[Gavin Excell]

Have a look at these charts if you want to understand why Tasmanian football clubs may be struggling to field teams

View attachment 456918

There are just 46.6K males in Tasmania between the ages of 20 and 34. In 1990 there were 54K

View attachment 456922

Thats an intetesting graph.

Unrelated but do Tas women complain about how hard it is meeting suitable young men?

 

[Mappa]

Both Devonport and Burnie have pulled out of the State League, not out of footy altogether. Let's clear that up for a start. They will be in the northern league, and that's a good thing.

My setup for Tassie would be:

a) Back to three strong leagues. NWFU/L, the NTFA / L, and the SFL.
b) Each year the leagues will play a round robin comp, with the winner to decide the best league (alternate the venues)
c) A State Team is selected from the three leagues, and they play a Victorian Team before either a Hawthorn or North Melbourne night match

Despite Tassie being a small place, travelling from Burnie to Hobart makes no sense whatsoever (and vice-versa). It's over three hours there and back. There is no support for the away team, and there is no genuine rivalry. Get a strong local comp going and it might get back to what it used to be in years gone by. A State League services no-one's interest that is interested in footy.

Look at the successful local leagues in Victoria (for interest), and that's what we have to compare it to. The Northern Footy League is a beauty, as is the Eastern, as is the Geelong League and so on. They thrive because there are local rivalries. You don't see Leopold playing in the Essendon League, or Montmorency playing in the Hampden League.

 

[Freomaniac]

I blame Andrew Demitriou for all this

 

[Snake_Baker]

AFL is a disgrace the way they have treated Tasmania.

What does any of this have to do with the AFL?

 

[NoobPie]

Thats an intetesting graph.

Unrelated but do Tas women complain about how hard it is meeting suitable young men?

I think they exhibit similar tendencies to hit the mainland in their 20s and 30s

 

[Kingpin]

What does any of this have to do with the AFL?

Because they took over Tasmanian football in 1999 under the Ed Biggs Report.
Since then they've been pulling all the strings, putting an endless procession of useless adminstrators in place and enforcing constant changes.
How on earth the corrupt Scott Wade was allowed to remain head of AFL Tasmania for over 16 years and nothing was done about it by head office still amazes everyone in Tasmanian football even now

 

[Snake_Baker]

Because they took over Tasmanian football in 1999 under the Ed Biggs Report.
Since then they've been pulling all the strings, putting an endless procession of useless adminstrators in place and enforcing constant changes.
How on earth the corrupt Scott Wade was allowed to remain head of AFL Tasmania for over 16 years and nothing was done about it by head office still amazes everyone in Tasmanian football even now

From what I can gather, the competitions were in free fall anyway.

Can you provide any sources mate?

The wiki page is hopeless and all I can find on the net is a page on who attended.