Gillon McLachlan can’t see Tasmania having its own AFL team in the short-to-medium term

GILLON McLachlan will visit Tasmania in a fortnight in an effort to placate angry locals, but he can’t see the state having its own stand-alone team in the short-to-medium term.

Gillon McLachlan and the AFL are not planning to have a team in Tassie any time soon. Picture: Getty Images

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan will visit Tasmania in a fortnight in an effort to placate angry locals, but he can’t see the state having its own stand-alone team in the short-to-medium term.

Having been under fire for several months, McLachlan defended his decision not to make the trip during the course of an election campaign, but said the AFL was committed to supporting football in one of its most traditional states.

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“I wanted to wait until the election (was over),” McLachlan said. “We have the (AFL) season launch next week and board meetings, so I reckon I will be over there after the next week or so.”

He will meet with Tasmanian premier Will Hodgman as well as leading football identities.

McLachlan acknowledged Tasmania had its “own demographic and structural challenges”, but was confident the AFL could play a part in helping to overcome some of those into the future.

“We have acknowledged the challenges and have been trying to remedy them,” he said.

Gillon McLachlan and the AFL are not planning to have a team in Tassie any time soon. Picture: Getty Images

“There is an emotive element in the minds of Tasmanians, there is an unresolved ambition to have their own team in the AFL. ”He said the AFL retained its view that Tasmania would be better served by “a one-club strategy”, but said that won’t change for some time with North Melbourne and Hawthorn locked into long-term contracts to play matches in Hobart and Launceston respectively.

“Our view is very firm, we think there should be one team representing all Tasmanians but acknowledging the challenges in that with the Kangaroos in the south and Hawthorn in the north,” he said.

McLachlan stood by the decision to appoint former AFL Tasmanian CEO Rob Auld as the league’s head of development, saying that he would continue to look at the state of the game there in his new role.

“I understand it is an emotional response, but he has a clear oversight of Tasmania in his portfolio and has been promoted to run all the states,” he said.

“He put the whole (Tasmania) structure together and he had a clear successor that he thinks is ready to take over (Trisha Squires) ... he has a close eye on Tasmania.

“We did a review of Tasmania football about two and a half years ago. We implemented all the recommendations in that; we increased our investment in Tasmania significantly and we are starting to see the benefits of that.

“Auskick grew by about 25 per cent last year, there was growth in community football up four per cent, and so that is our focus at the moment — getting youth and community football working in Tasmania.

“We are investing, we have a structure and a plan.”