Devil’s in the detail over Tassie securing an AFL team

Could the AFL have a team based in Tasmania by the end of next decade? And is it considering relocating one of North Melbourne or Gold Coast rather than starting a new team, asks Dwayne Russell.

Could the AFL possibly be considering the idea of relocating one of its current 18 AFL teams to Hobart? Either rebranding the Gold Coast Suns as the Tasmanian Devils, or making North Melbourne an offer that is too good to refuse?

One thing we now know for certain, is that the AFL will eventually have a Tasmanian team. The preference being to call it the Devils and wear the iconic green state jumper with the famous map on the front.

We could see it as early as 2022 if it’s a rebranded current licence, but by 2026 at the latest if it’s a 19th licence.

There is enough evidence and influential people saying it now for us to consider that as locked in.

A Tasmanian team now plays in the AFL’s second tier national competition, the NAB League, and the senior Tassie Devils have been announced as joining the VFL in 2021 as part of the pathway that includes the restructuring of Tasmania’s local football competitions.

Crowds fill the grandstands at a North Melbourne match at Blundstone Arena. Picture: Mathew Farrell

The other recent, extremely vital step in the long process, happened without any mainland fanfare this week, when the AFL Tasmania “Project Team” was revealed.

Former Virgin Australia chief and co-founder Brett Godfrey and former Woolworths CEO Grant O’Brien were among the group of Tasmania-based heavy-hitters who had their first formal meeting days ago.

But the intriguing part is the recent deafening silence from the old “Tassie AFL team” lobbyists who helped get the process to this point.

Previously vocal, Tasmania raised former AFL superstars like Matthew Richardson, Nick Riewoldt, Alastair Lynch, Rodney Eade and Brendon Gale, who have been advisers to Tasmanian government and AFL and Tasmanian football heavyweights for the past handful of years, have barely mentioned the issue since the March round of AFL public announcements.

And every time I ask one of the them whether the plan is simply for Tasmania to be granted a licence as the 19th AFL team, I get poker faces.

Which makes me wonder if the creation of a 19th team for 2026 is actually the second option — a back-up plan if the relocation option hits a brick wall.

What we do know is that in March, AFL boss Gillon McLachlan sparked a series of “it’s not if, but when” articles, when he said “I think the building blocks are in place” for Tasmania to have its own AFL team.

Gil also said “they deserve it” and that it “wouldn’t be based on economics”.

Ben Brown of the Kangaroos celebrates a goal during a match at Blundstone Arena in Hobart. Picture: Michael Dodge/Getty Images

We also know that the North Melbourne deal to play four home games in Hobart, and the Hawthorn deal to play four home games in Launceston, both end after the 2021 season.

And the Tasmanian state government, which commits $7 million a year to those deals, will not be renewing them. Instead, it will redirect that money toward funding Tassie’s own team. A team that will most likely play six home games in Hobart and five home games in Launceston.

Tasmanian Treasurer Peter Gutwein was quoted in March as saying “our preference is to get a licence as a 19th AFL team in a 19 or 20-team competition, but we will leave those decisions to the AFL”.

“Preference” being the diplomatic and provocative word, which appears to indicate that there might be a way in which Tasmania could have its own team in an 18-team competition.

Western Bulldog president Peter Gordon also put the possibility of a 20-team competition back on the agenda in March, by suggesting that a new South Australian or Western Australian team could join an expanded AFL alongside Tassie in 2026.

“I think Adelaide and Perth will have sufficient scale, population and passion to come under consideration for a third club in the future” Gordon said.

A move that would also allow for a fair fixture, with every team to play each other once, with 10 games per round.

But it’s currently a difficult enough task winning a flag in an 18-team competition, let alone a 20-team competition. And the talent pool already gets thin at the low end with 18 teams.

Which is why many like the idea of keeping the competition at 18 teams — but with the Tassie Devils as one of the 18.

Originally published as Devil’s in the detail over Tassie securing an AFL team