Paul and Peter Hudson open up on Tasmania AFL team after stadium vote
The Hudson name is synonymous with Tasmanian football and Paul has declared “nothing would give him more pleasure” seeing his sons play for the Devils instead of his own clubs.
He’s a Hawthorn premiership player, but Paul Hudson has declared “nothing would give me more pleasure” than to watch his sons playing for Tasmania, should they choose to chase an AFL career.
And his iconic father, Hawks legend Peter, is adamant he and several other Tasmania football legends “would never have left” for the VFL had the Devils existed.
Hudson, 55, was part of the Hawks’ 1991 flag-winning side and played 134 games for the club, before playing another 108 with the Bulldogs and three with Richmond.
Speaking after several key independents confirmed in Tasmanian parliament they would voted in favour of the Macquarie Point Stadium - thus paving the way for the Devils to enter the VFL - Hudson said he would be rapt if his sons wore a Tassie guernsey.
The 1998 All Australian has three sons - twins Hamish and Harley, nine; and Harrison, 11.
“Not that they have to play footy, there’s no ‘push’ factor there. But if they’re good enough, nothing would give me more pleasure than to see them play for Tassie rather than Hawthorn or the Bulldogs, to be brutally honest,” Hudson said.
“I wish I had it when I was a kid. As parochial about Hawthorn as we are as a family I’ll be pushing for my boys (to choose Tasmania).
“I’ll be buying my interstate membership and if my life isn’t as complicated as what it is, I’d probably be down there trying to be a part of it.
“I’m so excited for the state, word can’t describe the excitement really.”
Peter is one of four Tasmanians granted ‘Legend’ status in the Australian Football Hall of Fame after kicking 729 goals in 127 games for the Hawks.
But he said he would likely never have made the tough call to chase his football dreams in Melbourne had Tasmania had a top flight team.
“People like Royce (Hart) and myself and many others, Rocket (Rodney Eade), Ian Stewart, Darrel Baldock, we probably would never have considered leaving Tasmania if there’d been a team,” Peter said.
“When we left Tasmania to play in the VFL, we had to make a decision. We were making decisions on what we saw in each of the clubs.
“If we had a Tassie team we wouldn’t have had to make those decisions. It would have been straightforward, you’re either good enough or not.
“I’d say there would have been countless people who never made the move to the VFL, and I know some of them, because it’s too hard.
“A lot of people love living in Tassie and don’t want to leave there if they don’t have to.”
Hudson said he had witnessed the boost the new stadiums in Perth and Adelaide have given their cities firsthand, and backed the Macquarie Point precinct to do likewise.
“All I have based a lot of my thoughts on is the magnificent success of Adelaide and Perth, and we can do the same in Tassie because we’ve got the stadium to do it,” he said.
“It seems to me the ground at Adelaide and Optus in Perth, they’ve become the centrepiece of the cities. You hear people raving about those and I’ve been to both, they’re magnificent stadiums.
“In Adelaide they’ve got the bridge from the CBD to the ground. I’ve heard a lot of talk about how convenient it is to the centre of the city, and our ground in Tassie is going to be even closer than that.
“I’m super pleased it’s happened because I think the opportunities that will be there are enormous with the AFL, the AFLW, junior footy and junior sport.
“I’ve believed from the outset that every bit of football in Tasmania has to benefit from this, and I think it will.
The young people now have got such a great chance to achieve the ultimate and play at the highest level because they now have a facility that can accommodate that.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Paul and Peter Hudson open up on Tasmania AFL team after stadium vote
