Prospect Hawks still pressing ahead for TSL team in 2018

THE president of the Prospect Hawks says the club wants to field a senior TSL team in 2018 and is calling on AFL Tasmania to continue to show faith in the project.

THE president of the Prospect Hawks says the club wants to field a senior TSL team in 2018 and is calling on AFL Tasmania to continue to show faith in the project.

The controversial Hawks experiment has until July 30 to present a business case to AFL Tasmania to outline its ­intended future in terms of getting a senior TSL side up and running.

Hawks president Victor Marshall hoped AFL Tasmania would see the project’s potential.

“We do [want to field a senior side],” Marshall said.

“We have until 2018 to put a team in, that’s under our current licence.

“Our club runs right from juniors to the NTFA, to the TSL. We have about 330 kids in our junior program, which I think is the largest in northern Tasmania.

“There’s a future there.”

The Hawks, rebadged after the demise of the Western Storm, met AFL Tasmania last week to discuss their future after withdrawing from the seniors and fielding only a ­Development League team for 2016 because of an exodus of Storm senior players.

MORE: PROSPECT HAWKS HEADING FOR TSL EXIT

AFL Tasmania chief executive Rob Auld said: “What we have done is ask them to come back to us with some ­options by the end of this month and then Carl [Saunder TSL general manager] and his team will take that recommendation on board and make a decision post that.”

The original plan had the Hawks rebuilding this season and next with a view to joining the TSL seniors in 2018.

However, Prospect’s Development League team has not been competitive, losing every game by an average of 118 points, and it looks unlikely the Hawks will be able to sustain a team, or teams, in the state league.

Marshall said the results did not tell the whole story about the club this year.

“In that Development League we have just been ­focusing on developing kids, our oldest player in that team is about 19 and the youngest 15, so it’s an average age of about 17 in that team,” he said.

“And they are coming up against teams like Lauderdale, who have 30-year-olds in theirs.”

Another doubt about the ­viability of the Hawks is the unsuitable ground conditions at Prospect Park, with Saturday’s game against Clarence moved to Windsor Park and next week’s match against the Hobart City Demons to be played at Campbell Town.