The state league has got the backing of the Tasmanian Premier as a club president hits out at “dinosaurs”

The future of the Tasmanian State League is being hotly debated at present, but it has received the support from the top.

TASMANIAN Premier Peter Gutwein has thrown his unequivocal support behind the continuation of the TSL beyond its current licence.

The state league is guaranteed for next year but its life beyond that will be decided by AFL Tasmania as part of its Tasmanian Football Futures Project looking at the code at all levels below AFL across the state.

However, speaking at a business breakfast for the Tigers Football Club, Mr Gutwein said any future plans must include a premier competition.

“I’ve always been very strongly of the view you have to have a premier league, you have to,” Mr Gutwein said.

“It is that simple.”

Premier Peter Gutwein. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

He said he had experienced the difference between regional and premier competitions first hand as a player after moving from then NTFA club East Launceston to play with Swan Districts in the WAFL.

“Having had the benefit of watching both the NTFA grand final on Saturday and the TSL grand final yesterday, there is a difference in the skill level and the fitness,” he said.

“To ensure that pathway is there you’ve got to provide for those that want to play at the elite level, you simply have to.

“However we restructure when we do, in my mind there has to be a premier competition moving forward.”

Tigers president Paul Gadomski took aim at the “dinosaurs” advocating for a return to regional competitions and those who denigrate the TSL for the lack of teams from the North West Coast.

He also made a call directly to Head of AFL Tasmania Damian Gill, in attendance at the breakfast, to guarantee the league’s presence.

“TSL clubs run as small businesses and you cannot run a business without certainty,” Gadomski said.

“Certainty is what the players want so give it to them. It is time for AFL Tasmania to return the funding model pre-Covid and adequately support the competition.

“It is time for change in regional football to restructure to support the pinnacle of Tasmanian Football the TSL for men and women and support it.”

Gill said the future of the code and its structure would be determined by the project, due to be released in December.

“We are determined through the Tasmanian Football Futures Project to find the right model for a sustainable and strong local football landscape, which is why we’ve undertaken this extensive consultation process with stakeholders from across Tasmanian football, which is coming to its conclusion,” Gill said.

“We can’t be reactionary, and we can’t look at any competition in isolation.

“We need a competition model that caters for players, coaches, umpires and volunteers of all aspirations, whether you want to have fun with mates or at a premier level and are striving to participate at the highest level you possibly can.

“We also want a model that provides the opportunity for leagues and clubs to be financially viable moving forward.

“It is important that data serves as our compass in guiding sound decision making for a sustainable, aligned and competitive competition model across our state.”

Mr Gutwein also said he hoped to announce later this week the official rolling over of the Hawthorn and North Melbourne contracts for one more year following the AFL’s announcement it has set a timeline on a decision on a Tasmanian AFL for early next year.

“I have never been more confident that we will get the support that we need next year and that we will have our own AFL licence,” Mr Gutwein said.

“It is not a matter of if, it is now when and just a matter of sorting out the time frame.”

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Originally published as The state league has got the backing of the Tasmanian Premier as a club president hits out at “dinosaurs”