AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan to head steering committee that will analyse the state of the game across Tasmania

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan vowed to personally get Tasmanian football back on track and will return to the state in three weeks to unveil the first fix. Find out how he plans to make it happen.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan and AFL Tasmania CEO Trisha Squires at North Hobart Oval. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan vowed to personally get Tasmanian football back on track and will return to the state in three weeks to unveil the first fix.

The league boss will head a steering committee formed to analyse the problems permeating the game across the state, including dwindling player numbers particularly in senior ranks, a broken development pathway, financial sustainability and low numbers of Tasmanians being drafted.

MORE: PREMIER TURNS UP HEAT ON AFL

Mr McLachlan said he was full of respect for the traditional football state.

“I will ensure the right structures, resources and investment will arrive to ensure all Tasmanians have every opportunity to play footy,” Mr McLachlan said.

“We won’t let Tasmanian football go without.”

EDITORIAL: AFL MUST NOW COME THROUGH

Mr McLachlan’s “fix it” team includes former St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt, Carlton’s Tasmanian coach Brendon Bolton, AFL head of game development Rob Auld, AFL state league manager Simon Laughton, and AFL Tasmania’s new CEO Trisha Squires, consulting with the AFL’s strategy team and the State Government.

“This group will liaise with all clubs and all relevant football people in Tasmania, and the project will include recommendations on State League sustainability and options to improve the talent pathway,” Mr McLachlan said.

“Investments and structures to support, strengthen and improve football in 2018 and beyond, future governance and funding of AFL Tasmania are part of the steering committee mandate.”

The steering committee will investigate a range of issues, such as:

STEP 1: An immediate funding boost of $200,000 for junior players in academy squads.

STEP 2: Fix the talent pathways, particularly ages 12-15.

STEP 3: Consider reinstating the Tassie Mariners as a full-time member of the Victorian-based under-18 TAC Cup competition — which seems likely.

STEP 4: Investigate the advantage and cost of a Tasmanian team in the NEAFL or VFL competition — just an idea at this stage.

STEP 5: Consider restructuring the top-tier Tasmanian State League into two conferences, one in the South and one in the North, to address travel concerns — seems quite possible.

STEP 6: Consider increased funding for the Tasmanian State League — highly likely.

Mr McLachlan said his trip was an important first step.

“I will be back on April 14 to provide specific announcements about talent pathways,” Mr McLachlan said.

“We have set a deadline of June 30 to have specific recommendations for the 2019 TSL season. Our vision for Tasmanian football is clear. We want Tasmanian talent competing at every level of the game.

“We want more kids, boys and girls, playing our game and we want a robust, sustainable community football structure that Tasmanians can support in their towns and regions.

“Today is a strong start to progress in one of our founding footy states and we need the help of the Tasmanian football community to create the solutions.”

Ms Squires has spoken to every TSL club president but is yet to establish all of their concerns. “I need to keep consulting with them — if there are things that come up in the committee that they would know the answer to, I can consult back to them,” she said.

But the AFL was last night slammed over its “ongoing neglect” of football in Tasmania by the state’s newest senator, Steve Martin, in his first speech.

Senator Martin vowed to use “all the moral and political weight” of his office to work towards a full-time Tasmanian club in the AFL.

“Almost 30 years after the creation of a so-called national league, Tasmania remains without a team, or even a genuine pathway. This is a disgrace,” he told the Senate.

Senator Martin said the state’s football fans were “a market taken for granted”.

“In the cold financial calculus of the AFL, they have nothing to gain by fulfilling our dreams of a Tassie team.”

— with ROB HARRIS

BOSS’S FAITH IN EXPERT TEAM

TWO of Tasmania’s favourite sons and some of the AFL’s top brass makes Gillon McLachlan confident his hand-picked team is the right one to fix Tasmanian footy.

Proud Tasmanians Nick Riewoldt and Brendon Bolton were selected to help address growing concerns with the game in the state.

Bolton, coach of Carlton, and Riewoldt, recently retired St Kilda captain and 336-game Saints legend, are on the steering committee to review the health of the game in their home state.

They are joined by the man who recently left the job of running football in Tasmania, former AFL Tasmania CEO Rob Auld, now the AFL’s head of game development, the person who replaced him, Trisha Squires, and AFL state league manager Simon Laughton.

“Brendon Bolton has extensive knowledge, and Nick has a playing perspective and a talent perspective and he has uniquely Tasmanian AFL experience,” Mr McLachlan said.

“I actually think it’s a pretty good list. You’d be challenged to go through it and find what gap is missing in terms of providing the right solutions.”

The AFL chief said the committee would meet as often as needed as it worked towards its self-imposed deadline of June 30.

“A huge amount of momentum has been built up over the past week,” Mr McLachlan said.

“Trish and Rob and others have been talking to so many people across the board and there’s an appetite to help shape the recommendations to go forward.

“As you can see we’ve set a pretty aggressive deadline because we need to make some decisions.

“It’s tight but achievable.”

EARLIER: THERE is light at the end of the tunnel for football in Tasmania, says AFL CEO Gill McLachlan.

The league boss flew into Hobart early to kick off a new steering committee that will analyse the state of the game across Tasmania, and then met with Premier Will Hodgman.

MORE: GILL’S GO-TO GUIDE OF TASSIE

McLachlan then held a press conference at North Hobart Oval — home of Australia’s second-most successful club — to outline the fix for the crisis in Tasmanian football.

The committee consists of McLachlan as the chairman, and includes Tasmania’s former St Kilda player Nick Riewoldt, Carlton’s Tasmanian coach Brendon Bolton, AFL head of game development Rob Auld, AFL state league manager Simon Laughton, and AFL Tasmania’s new CEO Trisha Squires, consultant with the AFL’s strategy team and the State Government.

“This group will liaise with all clubs and all relevant football people in Tasmania and the project will include recommendations in Tasmania on State League sustainability and options to improve the talent pathway,” McLachlan said.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan and AFL Tasmania CEO Trisha Squires at North Hobart Oval. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

“Investments and structures to support, strengthen and improve football in 2018 and beyond, future governance and funding of AFL Tasmania are part of the steering committee’s mandate.”

The committee will work fast to find solutions to the growing crisis in Tasmanian football, including the loss of teams and players and financial sustainability battles.

Key steps in fixing the state’s footy crisis include:

A funding boost of $200,000 for junior players involved in academy squads;

Fix the talent pathways;

Consider reinstating the Tassie Mariners as a full-time member of the Victorian-based under-18 TAC Cup competition — which seems likely;

Investigate the value and cost of a Tasmanian team in the NEAFL or VFL competition — just an idea at this stage;

Consider restructuring the top-tier Tasmanian State league into two conferences, one in the south and one in the north, to address travel concerns — seems quite possible;

Consider increased funding for the TSL.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan fielding questions from reporters at today’s press conference at North Hobart Oval. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

McLachlan would not be specific in relation to Tasmania having its own team in the AFL.

“I’d love Tasmania to have an AFL team,” McLachlan said.

“I think Tasmania deserves their own team, but I’m really real about the chances of having one.

“I have given my preferred view about having a single team down here, but in the context of what we have announced today, that will help form the decision post-2021 about what the right model is.

“Whether it’s a single team for Tasmania or a new licence, they are the two options really.

“Developing the talent levels, and having clear structures across the state, are important first steps in forming the decision post 2021.”

McLachlan will be back in Tasmania on April 14 to announce the solution and structures for talent pathways, and said the entire fix for Tasmanian football would be decided by June 30.