AFL expansion: 20th franchise on the horizon for AFL
Tasmania will create a 19-team competition – but not for long. As the AFL aims for an even number of clubs, where could they look for 20th side, or could an existing team bite the dust?
Gillon McLachlan predicts the AFL will look towards a 20th franchise in the coming years given its preference for an even number of teams as the outgoing chief executive formally announced Tasmania would enter the national competition as early as 2028.
As Richmond veteran Jack Riewoldt and former Brisbane Lions star Alastair Lynch declared Wednesday’s announcement as the “greatest day in the history of Tasmanian football”, McLachlan said the decision to grant a new licence was the culmination of decades of hard work and determination from countless locals to finally have their own team.
The admission of a Tasmanian club, which McLachlan hopes can join the AFL in 2028, will take the national competition to 19 clubs – the highest number in its history.
While he will depart the AFL at the end of this season, he believes his successor Andrew Dillon could one day be looking at trying to even up the numbers.
“Those discussions will come … 20 (teams) or 18 (teams),” McLachlan said. “The history of the AFL is that we have had five or six years where we have had an uneven number of teams.
“We have gone from 12 (in 1986) to now 19. There has been a history of growth and there has been some contraction. It will all play out.
“What I am certain of is at some point there will be an even amount of teams. The most likely is (it) will go to 20 teams. What I am saying is that at some point this will end up with an even (number) of teams, and I am addressing the 19th team issue (now).”
In the past there has been speculation that Western Australia, Northern Territory, Canberra or north Queensland could one day host a 20th franchise.
The AFL expects the new team to play its first season in the competition in 2028, but McLachlan said there were still some things to play, which includes the completion date of a 23,000-seat waterfront stadium at Macquarie Point.
“That is targeted and proposed (for 2028). “Clearly, there is a stadium to be designed and built,” McLachlan said, suggesting the team could start in the AFL one year before the stadium officially opens.
ON WHAT MCLACHLAN CALLED “A PROUD AND HISTORIC DAY”, HE ALSO DETAILED:
• A roof was an essential part of the plans for the stadium, which the AFL has gone into partnership with both the Federal and state governments.
• He wants Tasmanians to determine the new team’s name and moniker, though he favours the Tassie Devils, saying he believed the copyright issues with Warner Bros could easily be resolved.
• A state league team in the VFL could be up and running by 2025, though a dateline for the club’s AFLW team is still be discussed
• The search for a president is the most immediate challenge and could be resolved in a matter of weeks, with the other senior positions to take considerably longer.
• The prospect of bringing Gather Round to Tasmania in the early years of the new team’s existence.
• His praise for the 18 existing clubs for voting unanimously to admit Tasmania.
McLachlan, who made the huge announcement alongside Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff and deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, said the team would “unite” the state.
“Today we are here to ensure a foundation football state, filled with believers, supporters and gravel rash grit, get the opportunity to unite their state and unite behind a single cause,” he said.
“It is a moment where I think the fans feel complete and that every Australian can see themselves in the national competition – and that’s a big deal.
“When this team comes online in hopefully 2028, it will be coming to a stadium that is hopefully world-class, it will be ready to compete, financially and it is going to be an exciting place to be.”
Premier Rockliff said: “This is a game changer for Tasmania, investing so we can grow our economy and fund those essential services.”
Tassie legend’s bold call for afl’s newest team
– Glenn McFarlane
Australian Football Hall of Fame legend Royce Hart says he wants to live long enough to see the new Tasmanian AFL team win a premiership.
The former Richmond champion and one of Tasmania’s greatest footballers could not have been more delighted with Wednesday’s announcement that his home state was going to get its own stand-alone AFL team after so many false starts and false dawns.
The 75-year-old, who lives in Hobart, is confident the team – which AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said could join the national competition as early as 2028 – could make a bigger early impact on and off the field than Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney did in their first few seasons.
“I’m so happy,” Hart said. “They’ve been talking about having a team here since I came back from Melbourne. I remember going to meetings with people saying ‘we are going to get a team into the national competition’. I reckon I heard that 10 times, but now it’s finally happening.
“I think it’s the biggest event that has ever happened in Tassie. I hope I will live long enough to be around when they win a premiership. That’s what I want and I reckon it can happen.”
Hart praised the AFL for finally agreeing to bring a Tasmanian team into the competition, saying: “They have done something good for the game in this state … and I hope the do-gooders stay out of the road and let them put a roof on the ground (at the proposed Macquarie Point multipurpose stadium). I can’t wait to see it.”
Hart was involved in a serious car accident in 2021, but says he has bounced back well. “I broke 10 ribs, but I’m all repaired now,” he said.
“I just want to be around long enough to see this new team win a flag.”
McLachlan and AFL executives, including Andrew Dillon, the man who will replace him, flew to Hobart on Wednesday to announce Tasmania had won the 19th licence
McLachlan signed the paperwork with Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff at midday and helped to launch the new team – which is expected to be called the Devils, despite some commercial issues with the name – two hours later at North Hobart Oval.
He called it “an important and historic day” for football, saying the national competition felt more complete with Tasmania being a part of it.
He even hinted the AFL could expand to 20 teams in the future, and said he was confident the league had learnt from its past mistakes in launching new teams more than a decade ago.
The Tasmanian club could compete in a state league VFL competition by 2025, while it will also have an AFLW team at a yet-to-be-determined time.
Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles was in attendance at North Hobart Oval, with the federal government’s $240 million investment in the Macquarie Point Stadium development crucial to the decision by the AFL and its 18 clubs to unanimously recommend the new Tasmanian team.
Also in attendance were proud native Tasmanians, Richmond star Jack Riewoldt, former Brisbane star Alastair Lynch and North Melbourne AFLW player Nicole Bresnehan.
Hart wasn’t there, but he plans to follow this Tasmanian team as much as he does the Tigers.
He was elevated to legend status a decade ago, having left Tasmania as a teenager in 1966 to sign with Richmond on the promise of a suit and six shirts.
He went on to play in four Tigers’ premiership, was centre half-forward in the AFL team of the 20th century and is revered as one of Richmond’s favourites sons.
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