Historic plans for ‘Tasmanian Kangaroos’ in AFLW bid

“TASMANIA” is set to appear on an AFL ladder for the first time if North Melbourne gets an AFLW licence for 2019.

Tasmanian female footballers, such as Sandy Eaton, Jessica Wuetschner and Deb Allen seen here with coach Trent Bartlee, might not have to head interstate from 2019 to play in the AFLW.

“TASMANIA” is set to appear on an AFL ladder for the first time if North Melbourne gets an AFLW licence.

North Melbourne chief executive Carl Dilena presented the club’s case for a side in 2019 to the AFL yesterday afternoon, with the name “Tasmanian Kangaroos” central to the submission, along with a host of other Tasmanian content.

Mr Dilena made his bid as an exclusive Mercury ReachTEL poll showed nearly twice as many Tasmanians supported the one team, one state model as were opposed. The Mercury reported in May the push for a “Tasmanian Kangaroos” name for the joint licence bid.

Mr Dilena said the club appreciated what it would mean to Tasmanians to see the state’s name on an AFL ladder for the first time.

“We certainly understand the significance of that,” he said.

“We’ve got to respect both parts, we’ve got to respect our existing club and history and also embrace Tasmania at the same time.”

The Kangaroos have already pledged half the squad would be made up of Tasmanians, with home games to be shared between Melbourne, Hobart and Launceston and a training base in the state.

He said the submission included concept designs for a “Tasmanian Kangaroos” jumper for games in the state.

The women’s game has grown significantly in the state in the past 24 months, from seven teams statewide to 62. Mr Dilena said the Tasmanian concept would not rely heavily on a big financial contribution from the State Government.

“What I’ve been talking about is a joint venture model,” he said.

“It is more of an expensive model when you’ve got two states involved.

“The way I look at it is predominantly funded by North Melbourne with support from the AFL and Government or relevant stakeholders in Tasmania just to round out the whole piece. We haven’t gone into detail on that but that’s what would make sense.”

The ReachTEL polling showed 49.2 per cent of Tasmanians were in favour of one AFL team for the whole state, with 26.1 per cent against and 24.7 per cent unsure.

Interestingly, the marginal seat of Bass — where Hawthorn plays four games a season in Launceston — had the highest positive return for one team at 52.1 per cent.

The Hawks’ and the Roos’ deals end after the 2021 season.

AFL Tasmania chief executive Rob Auld said the polling showed the need for a plan for the game at the highest level in the state.

“The response to the survey demonstrates a strong appetite for clarity on the AFL team model in Tasmania into the future,” Mr Auld said.

“There does remain, however, a strong push for a stand-alone team in the competition or some variation which has Tasmania heavily integrated into the team.”

Hawthorn has also put in an application with a Tasmanian component but it is believed that only includes to play some home games in Launceston and has not disclosed publicly if it will include Tasmanians as part of its playing squad.

The Kangaroos have a provisional licence from the original submission process, something the Hawks do not.

“Ours is a lot more holistic in terms of academies and development of talent pathways and half the squad coming from Tasmania, those sorts of concepts,” Mr Dilena said.

“They are very different pitches in that sense, I don’t think they are mutually exclusive but I think the bigger issue for the AFL is more about the clubs that have provisional licences.

“There is a bias towards the clubs that applied last time (for inaugural licences) and Hawthorn wasn’t one of those.”

Premier and Sports Minister Will Hodgman said the Government remained supportive of an AFLW licence.

“We have had discussions with both HFC and NFC about this and have provided letters of support for their bids,” Mr Hodgman said.

“It is now up to the AFL to decide who it grants licences too.”

The AFL will announce its decision on the AFLW expansion next month.