Eddie McGuire’s scathing assessment of Tasmania over AFL furore
Eddie McGuire has torched an Australian state after a football furore erupted when a Hawthorn star was forced to retract a comment.
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Eddie McGuire says James Sicily was just delivering a brutal truth when he took a surprising shot at Tasmania.
The Hawthorn captain was on Wednesday forced to apologise for saying he “couldn’t imagine” living in Tasmania.
The 28-year-old had been asked on radio about how players would feel about moving to Hobart with the league reportedly days away from announcing Tasmania will have its own team to enter the AFL as the competition’s 19th franchise.
It’s expected the federal government will on Saturday confirm funding for a new Hobart stadium, which is viewed as the last hurdle before Tasmania is granted an AFL license.
On Wednesday, Sicily was asked on radio about the state’s ability to lure players to live and play footy there.
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“I think so, particularly as a young guy, because there’s not much happening down there, it could be difficult,” Sicily told RSN.
“I couldn’t imagine myself living there. It would be hard.”
Foxsports.com.au reports the comments saw the Hawks skipper come in for criticism, given his club earns millions each year from the state via a sponsorship deal, and has played several games each season in Launceston for many years.
The loudest came from cricketer and former Australian T20 captain Matthew Wade.
He took to Instagram posting: “Tassie people have been fighting years for the chance to get an AFL team. Comments like this do not help us working towards our chance at showing just how good our little state is and will be with our own team.
“@jsicily6 Whenever you want the door is open to come down and I can show you around our boring island if you like!”
🔥Matthew Wade fires back at James Sicily! pic.twitter.com/FHVNB11ysO
— Brent Costelloe (@brentcostelloe) April 26, 2023
Former Australian Test captain Tim Paine also reacted negatively, responding to a Fox Footy tweet about Sicily’s comments with a facepalm emoji.
However, the situation took a turn on Wednesday night with McGuire saying Sicily’s comments expose a very real problem the Tasmanian team will face.
He said the Gold Coast Suns already struggle to retain players to keep them in Queensland when many young payers want to return to live in Victoria. He suggested Tasmania would find it even more difficult.
McGuire said Sicily is “just telling the truth for a change”.
“Tim Lane and Jack Riewoldt and all these guys who have a great love for Tasmania can sell it as much as they like, but they all live in Melbourne,” McGuire said.
“I don’t know if there’s any kids that are awake hoping that they’re going to be playing in Tasmania on a refurbished Launceston Oval. That’s not having a go at Tasmanian football.”
McGuire said he has always supported Tasmania getting its own team, but says there are serious concerns about the framework in place for the state to build pathways to develop local talent into AFL-level players.
On Wednesday night Sicily shared an apology on social media and explained further what he meant.
— James Sicily (@J_Sicily) April 26, 2023
“I want to apologise to anyone I have offended or upset about my comments on Tasmania today,” he wrote.
“The comments I made on RSN were flippant, and do not reflect my views of Tasmania.
“What I said related to my personal situation, that throughout my career, my attachment to Melbourne would have made it hard to live in Tassie full time.
“That’s not to say there are not many AFL footballers who would enjoy living there.
“I love coming down to Tassie to stay and play, I visit Tassie yearly outside of football to enjoy its golf courses and food. I’m proud of our long term relationship with the state and I continue to support Tasmania getting its own team. (thumbs up emoji)”
Originally published as Eddie McGuire’s scathing assessment of Tasmania over AFL furore
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