AFL lets Tassie burn while playing in the Sun, says Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett

HAWTHORN president Jeff Kennett has accused the AFL of letting Tasmanian football burn while sinking millions into expansion clubs and propping up Melbourne-based teams.

Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett says the AFL needs to dramatically increase its funding to Tasmanian football. Picture: ADAM HEAD

HAWTHORN president Jeff Kennett has accused the AFL of letting Tasmanian football burn while sinking millions into expansion clubs and propping up Melbourne-based teams.

Tasmanian football has been plunged into crisis this week following Rob Auld’s resignation as AFL Tasmania chief executive and Burnie following Devonport out of the TSL.

MORE: DOCKERS ‘UNLIKELY’ TO RETURN TO STATEWIDE FOOTY

MORE: ROB AULD QUITS AS AFL TAS CHIEF

“I am worrying about the declining health of football in Tasmania and I lay that at the feet of previous administrators and the AFL quite firmly,” Mr Kennett said.

“The reality is we as the AFL are spending $100 million-plus on supporting expansion of the code in the north and clubs that are not financially self-sustaining in Melbourne and very little of the AFL’s financial resources get put into Tasmania.”

Tasmania receives about $2.5 to $3 million AFL funding annually, with $1 million of that going towards the TSL.

MORE: AFL TAS LET THE BALL SLIP ON NORTH-WEST

COMMENT: ARE YOU SERIOUS GIL?

Hawthorn and North Melbourne have multimillion-dollar deals with the Tasmanian Government to play games in Launceston and Bellerive respectively. Tasmanian football receives no income from these AFL games, but Mr Kennett said giving a cut or percentage from these matches to local competitions was not the answer.

“I don’t think that would be enough to be quite honest because neither North Melbourne or Hawthorn attract 80,000 people,” he said.

“What should be there is a recognition by the AFL that Tasmania is the most AFL supporting community per capita and just as they are trying to grow the competition against other codes in other places around the country while still supporting local AFL clubs, they have a similar obligation to Tasmania and its community in maintaining the code and the competition.”

MORE: ‘NOT EVERYTHING’S RUNNING BEAUTIFULLY’

MORE: ‘NOTHING TO SEE HERE’, SAYS AFL CHIEF

He said the AFL should give new AFL Tasmania CEO Trisha Squires resources to review the local competition and see what can be done to grow it.

AFL Tasmania has declared Burnie players 18 or under at January 1 this year, including Mariners, are now part of Launceston’s zone, while Devonport players of the same age are part of North Launceston.

AFL Tasmania will establish a fund to assist these affected players with appropriate support where required.