Footy great says time to end Gold Coast experiment and open door for Tasmanian team

The contrast between the sold out game between two visiting teams in Launceston and the meagre turnout on the Gold Coast to watch their own team could not have been greater – and that’s enough to sway one footy great. LATEST >>

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ENOUGH is enough, it is time to shut down the Gold Coast Suns and give the license to Tasmania says media heavyweight and former North Melbourne star David King.

On the back of the sold out game in Launceston between Hawthorn and Essendon and the continued failures of the Suns – on and off field – King said he had been swayed to support Tasmania’s entry.

But not as the 19th team, but at the expense of the Suns.

“You don’t relocate, you shut it down and you start a Tassie team and you give them their own franchise and let it grow from within and get all the people attached,” King said on FoxFooty.

“We are not getting that up north.”

David King. Picture: Hamish Blair

The electric atmosphere at the Hawks-Bombers game has again highlighted the state’s push for its own team and – at the very least – a much better fixture for games in the state involving the current cotenants, Hawthorn and North Melbourne, if the contract is renewed.

King said Sunday’s Tasmanian blockbuster showed the state had something the Gold Coast has never had – heritage and culture with the code.

“When you see what’s happening in Tassie and the fans flocking to the football, if they had their own team would they be like that every week?” he said.

“Would they be rusted on? You can feel it coming through the TV.

“Imagine if they had their own team? I don’t get that with the Gold Coast.”

Only 7117 turned up to watch the Suns on Metricon Stadium on Saturday, while the expansion club has the lowest membership in the league.

On field, it is yet to make finals and struggles to retain the talented players handed to the club via the draft.

Tasmanian AFL Taskforce chairman Brett Godfrey said the state was not chasing the Suns licence, but put the onus back on the AFL.

“I do believe come 2025 if the league can’t afford expansion by that time that will be 13-14 years since the last time and it will show the game’s administration itself is failing,” Godfrey told SEN radio.

“I really think it is incumbent on those who really feel for this game to see that Tasmania gets included in the next five or six years.”

Bomber Jake Stringer celebrates in front of the big Launceston crowd. Picture Getty

There is no doubting the sport has grown in the rugby heartland, but King said this return was not enough for the hundreds of millions spent on establishing the Suns.

“But if the only benefit is doubling your Auskick numbers and that sort of stuff and we don’t see anything tangible on field, there comes a point where you’ve got to say: ‘Is this really worth it?’, King said.

“I’m not a big fan of pushing for the 19th team, but I tell you what, the 18th are in a bit of trouble.

“A team in Tassie is for me now is starting to make sense and it makes sense that it’s almost at the expense of the Suns if they can’t get their act together.

“And that’s the cold hard reality, you just can’t keep tipping money into a broken venture. At some point you’ve got to say: ‘This is not working.’

“It’s gone from a headache to a migraine for the AFL and something has to give.”

Ironically, the Suns play North Melbourne in Hobart this week, with the Roos inviting outspoken Suns chairman Tony Cochrane to the match, but are yet to get a response.

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