AFL Tasmania crisis: Jeff Kennett says Hawthorn would consider a permanent move to Tasmania

Jeff Kennett has made the stunning claim that Hawthorn wouldn’t rule out a permanent move to Tasmania.

The Hawks and Demons playing at UTAS Stadium in Launceston at year. Picture: AAP/Michael Dodge

Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett has made the extraordinary claim that he “wouldn’t rule out” a more permanent base for the Hawks in Tasmania.

While Kennett said the Hawks were not actively seeking a move or chasing a greater foothold in Tasmania, he said the club was keeping an open mind about the future of football in Tasmania.

Hawthorn is currently locked into a $100 million training/administrative base being built at Dingley in Melbourne’s southeast.

“We are not ruling anything out, and I hope North Melbourne doesn’t, and I hope the AFL doesn’t,” Kennett told the Herald Sun.

“We are not actively looking at moving; we are building Dingley. All I am saying is that in terms of the discussions, I am not ruling anything out if that helps getting to a landing spot that satisfies everyone.”

Jeff Kennett enjoys a win with Alastair Clarkson in Launceston.

Kennett’s comments come in the light of the Herald Sun’s exclusive report that Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein has formally written to AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan demanding a timeline on a stand-alone Tasmanian AFL side.

Until then, the state won’t engage in conversations with Hawthorn and North Melbourne, the two Melbourne-based clubs looking to negotiate lucrative new deals with Tasmania to play four games each per season in Launceston and Hobart respectively.

Both of those current deals run out at the end of this season, with fears there could be no AFL games in Tasmania from 2022.

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When asked if he would consider playing more Hawthorn “home” games in Tasmania, Kennett said: “Who knows? All I am saying is that in terms of the discussions, I am not ruling anything out.”

Kennett created a stir when asked on Adelaide radio station 5AA if the Hawks could ever move to Tasmania. He said: “I would consider anything.”

“We are the Tassie Hawks. That’s how we brand ourselves. We know the community well, we do our community camps there

“I wouldn’t rule it out.

Former Hawks skipper enjoys a win in Tasmania with Tom Mitchell and Ben Stratton.

“It would be difficult, but I wouldn’t rule it out in the interest of the three joint parties, and the three joint parties are the AFL, the clubs and then of course Tasmania. Whether North are prepared to do that or not, I can’t answer.”

He moved to clarify his comments later by saying they were said “in the spirit of things, not that I was contemplating it.”

He said a stand-alone Tasmania team would have to come from a merged or relocated AFL club, saying the COVID financial squeeze meant the AFL had no funds to underwrite a 19th franchise.

“No one in this environment is going to expand the league when two thirds of it is fundamentally insolvent,” Kennett said.

“It has got to be either a merger in order to have a separate Tasmanian team or it has got to be an existing team that moves down there.”

The Hawks are in the process of building a $100 million new home administration and training headquarters at Dingley – including more than $30 million of their own money – which would complicate any prospect of more home games in Tasmania.

Hawthorn’s seal to play four home-and-away games per season in Launceston runs out at the end of the season. Any negotiation with the Tasmanian Government is on hold until the AFL responds formally to Premier Gutwein’s ultimatum in the coming days.

The match ball in the centre of UTAS Stadium before a Hawthorn and Melbourne game.

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Tasmanian premier Peter Gutwein has sent a formal letter to the AFL threatening to end multimillion-dollar contract negotiations with Hawthorn and North Melbourne beyond 2021.

The letter, which was sent to league headquarters in recent days, demands the AFL to lock into a timetable for the introduction of a stand-alone Tasmanian team.

Until then, the state has declared it will not engage in conversations with the two Melbourne-based clubs who are entering the final year of lucrative deals to play four home games each in Tasmania.

Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett said he feared a stand-alone Tasmanian AFL side could be a financial “disaster” for the state and the code unless it received substantial, long-term funding from the state government.

Kennett told the Herald Sun on Thursday night that while the Hawks wanted to renew its two-decade long association with Tasmania, the club was already looking at potential exit strategies in case a new deal was off the table.

“From Hawthorn’s point of view, we have been there for 20 years, we have invested a great deal of time and effort into Tasmania and we would like to stay,” Kennett said.

“However, we have to think about our own obligations to our members.

Hawks president Jeff Kennett has serious concerns over a stand-alone Tasmania team. Picture: AAP/Julian Smith

“We would be irresponsible as club administrations if we weren’t considering all options now.”

North Melbourne chief executive Ben Amarfio said the Kangaroos remained committed to trying to strike a deal to extend their association with Tasmania.

But unless a resolution or a compromise is found — and soon — the league faces the prospect of no AFL matches in Tasmania in 2022 and beyond.

A spokesman for the Tasmanian Government confirmed Gutwein had a phone conversation with McLachlan after the letter had been sent and expected an answer back from the AFL in the coming days.

“The Premier has recently written to the AFL in relation to Tasmania’s continued bid for an AFL licence,” the spokesman said.

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein. Picture: Chris Kidd

“We understand that there was an AFL Commission meeting this week which included discussion on a potential Tasmanian AFL licence.

“The Premier has had a telephone conversation with Mr McLachlan subsequent to this meeting and been advised that he will receive a response to his letter in coming days.”

Kennett understood the frank nature of Gutwein’s ultimatum and said the Hawks would accept the AFL’s decision.

But he feared that unless the Tasmanian Government was able to substantially underwrite the finances of a potential 19th AFL franchise in Tasmania for a number of years, it could prove “disastrous”.

“I appreciate the Premier putting it in those (frank) terms. He is entitled to do that as he is the Premier of a Sovereign State,” he said.

“But I would hate Tasmania to throw out Hawthorn and North Melbourne and end up with a team that is so financially bereft that it can’t compete.

“It would be a disaster for Tassie, it would be a disaster for the AFL and we know the AFL has had a tough year (in 2020).

North Melbourne playing a fixture in Hobart. Picture: Scott Barbour/Getty via AFL Photos

“They have no liquid funds per se and this year we have already border closures, so we have no idea what this year will bring.”

Kennett said if the AFL did give Tasmania the go-ahead for a stand-alone, the Hawks had committed to providing whatever assistance it could.

Amarfio said: “We are aware that Premier Gutwein has written to the AFL and we are sure the AFL will respond in due course.”

“What I will say however is that we want to continue our association with Tasmania because we have a strong connection through our thousands of members and supporters and our valued partner Spirit of Tasmania.

“Tasmania is a staunch Aussie rules football state and we want it to remain that way. We have been investing and playing in Tassie on a regular basis for almost a decade and we are committed to doing everything we can to help football flourish there.”

The Tasmanian Task Force recommended the state have its own stand-alone AFL team by 2025, but any thoughts of that was put on hold owing to the league’s devastating financial squeeze caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gutwein set the scene for the standoff last month when he suggested he was willing to push the contract negotiations back until the AFL provided a clearer picture on the future of football in the state.

But his letter has escalated that with an answer from the AFL set to soon determine a pathway for football in the state.

The AFL said last night it had no comment on the matter, but said it would continue to hold discussions with the Tasmanian Government.

Originally published as AFL Tasmania crisis: Jeff Kennett says Hawthorn would consider a permanent move to Tasmania