AFL 2022: Latest news on push for a Tasmanian team

As a decision on Tasmania’s bid for an AFL team draws close, the architect of the report into its viability has lamented a series of AFL scandals that have bumped it out of the news cycle.

The architect of the report that put Tasmania on the brink of an AFL licence says the decision will come down to 30 people and Colin Carter is “confident” they will make the right call.

The 18 clubs had until Friday to lodge their responses to Tasmania’s licence bid, shown to them by the AFL executive in Melbourne two weeks ago.

The Carter Report put Tasmania back on the AFL map when it was released in August last year after Carter, a former AFL Commissioner and Geelong president, found a strong case for the state’s inclusion.

The AFL has now seen Tasmania’s comprehensive licence bid document, presented to the presidents, and now have the clubs’ responses.

All that remains is the decision, with AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan expected to make the “reveal” in the next few weeks.

“I am reasonably confident…until you know what the numbers are you can’t be sure, but I’d be pretty confident the majority of clubs are for it,” Carter said.

“The question might come down to whether Gill needs to have 18 of the presidents in the camp rather than 15 or 16, and I don’t know the answer to that.

“I’m pretty confident that a majority of the football community would be supportive.”

Colin Carter was the author of the AFL’s report into the viability of a team in Tasmania. Picture: Chris Kidd

Carter spent two years investigation for his report, so a Tasmanian team would bring him satisfaction.

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“A lot of people did work on it [the report] — the AFL Taskforce, and the AFL has done a lot of work on it since then,” Carter said.

“My report was aimed at the people who are going to be making the decision on this.

“That basically comes down to 30 people probably — the presidents, and the CEOs in the clubs would have a say, and then you’ve got the AFL Commission and senior executives of the AFL.

“I never thought this was an issue about persuading a couple of million people.

“I’m pretty pleased with the response my report got from a lot of the people who will matter in this decision.”

It has been hard to judge where the chips might fall.

“As always, footy is consumed with other issues,” Carter said.

“It’s a shame that this issue of Tasmania hasn’t been touched in the media over here for the past couple of weeks.

“It has been dominated by the issues of racism at one of the clubs and now the issues at Essendon.

“I think that’s a bit sad, so it’s hard to gauge at the moment.”

An artists impression of the potential new Tasmanian stadium.

With 91,468 people joining the Tasmania Believe campaign that supports the AFL team dream, Carter is also a supporter.

“I grew up in Western Australia so I have a slightly different view of what footy across the nation means,” he said.

“In Victoria the view tends to be very Victoria-centric.

“Western Australia for a long time suffered because they weren’t given a Sheffield Shield side and Tasmania was the same.

“So this issue for me has always been whether the basic numbers can support a viable team in Tasmania.

“The equity case and fairness case was always there, and so the question became whether it was going to be a big drain on the competition.

“The main thing I achieved was to show people that while it wouldn’t be one of the big teams it’s not outside the zone of what people have come to normally expect the AFL to do when it deals with smaller teams.”

The Carter Report did not conclude the need for a new stadium, and Carter was taken aback by the AFL’s ultimatum “no stadium, no team”.

“I always felt it wasn’t the AFL’s job to demand that, but if coming out of all this Tasmanians get a nice stadium, that’s terrific,” Carter said.

Big Vic club throws weight behind Tassie team

—Jon Ralph

Geelong has officially thrown its weight behind a 19th team in Tasmania as the AFL extended its deadline for clubs to make assessments of the official bid.

Adelaide’s chairman John Olsen confirmed to the AFL last week the club had made a unanimous board decision to back a 19th side on the grounds of fairness and a “compelling” AFL pitch.

Clubs had until Friday to decide individually whether they would back the bid or ask for more information, but three boards are still to meet next week and some others have not finalised a position.

It means the league will wait until next week, with Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett on Friday asking the league for clarity on its next steps on a new franchise.

Geelong is behind a Tasmanian team.

Geelong chief executive Steve Hocking told the Herald Sun on Friday the Cats board had fully backed the proposal for a 19th team.

The league must broker a stadium deal but Geelong has strongly endorsed the AFL’s position that it should give Tasmania a team.

“We are supportive of Tasmania and have been from early on. It is a traditional football state that would add to our national competition,” Hocking said.

Gold Coast is believed to have been broadly supportive of the bid if the league can prove Queensland will not be diminished in terms of AFL investment in the state.

The Suns believe the league has shown with its financial package and new TV rights deal that it can afford a Tasmanian team and continue to support the existing 18 clubs.

The clubs are not sure whether the league will tally their support and then return to the AFL Commission to provide some kind of official approval for the 19th licence.

Hawthorn president Kennett, who has expressed his concerns with the capacity to afford a Tasmanian bid, told the Herald Sun there should be another meeting of presidents.

He would not confirm any decision made by the Hawthorn board.

“You can ask but I can’t give you an answer. We are still waiting for the president’s meeting. The one thing you can be sure of with the AFL, is that we will always come together….”

First domino falls in Tassie licence deal breaker

Adelaide has become the first club to officially approve Tasmania’s 19th AFL licence in a key development for the state’s bid.

Adelaide chairman John Olsen confirmed to News Corp on Friday his board had reviewed the AFL’s information package and as a collective group decided the case for the team stood up.

He said the AFL’s financial package helped convince Adelaide it was a “compelling” case for the state to have its own team.

The AFL told clubs it wants all 18 to make a call by October 7 — next Friday — so the league can get an indication of where the support lies.

If there is a strong consensus from the 18 clubs the AFL’s commission could even approve a licence conditional on the stadium deal.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan continues to work with the Tasmanian government on a plan for a Macquarie Point stadium on the edge of the Hobart CBD which will be the centrepiece of the bid.

The Tasmania government is hopeful it might be able to deliver a closed-roof stadium for $400m-$500m after initial costings of $750m.

Adelaide’s strong support on the grounds of fairness and the financial bid is a strong endorsement of the case for a 19th team.

“There is a principle involved here. This has been a traditional football state and we have expanded elsewhere and we have left them behind,” Olsen told News Corp.

“Our board met today and unanimously decided to support a request for a 19th licence. We believe it’s a compelling case for the state. Tasmania is a traditional football state. Over their 30-plus years of waiting for a 19th licence the AFL has made bold decisions to invest heavily in the eastern seaboard.

“It is important to protect the code in the state. This is an effective way of doing that. The rest of the industry in financial terms is not significantly negatively impacted by the admission of a 19th licence.

“The other point to make from a Tasmanian perspective is that when you have a licence and a club located in the state you get community programs that AFL clubs run. Clubs have a social compact. They make real contributions beyond the football field to the broader community.”

Olsen said it was up to the AFL to reveal the details of the deal, which will see the Tasmanian government investing $12 million a year over 12 seasons as well as funding the elite training facility.

But he said the league had addressed many of the concerns raised by club presidents in previous meetings.

“Depending on the response from individual clubs, if there is a significant majority supporting the case then the AFL may take the next step. They will be decisions the AFL commission will have to consider.”

McLachlan, who will remain with the AFL until the Tasmanian situation is resolved, has made clear to the clubs he believes a 19th team should be in the competition.

“The final piece is the stadium, and those discussions are ongoing, and we are confident we can resolve that issue to the satisfaction of all parties,” McLachlan said.

“(The AFL) and Tasmania agree a new stadium is important to the success of a new club and the Tasmanian economy. The federal government has made no commitment at this time and we haven’t asked them to make a commitment.

“We won’t seek their support until we have worked on the stadium’s design and feasibility. We have agreed to work together with the state government to solve the issue.”

Originally published as AFL 2022: Latest news on push for a Tasmanian team