Tassie AFL team push quietly presses ahead in the shadow of Ashes Test announcement
In the shadow of the news Tasmania will be hosting its first ever Ashes Test, a small but significant step has been taken in the state’s push for its own AFL team. LATEST >>
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TASMANIA might be basking in the news that it will host its first Ashes Test next month, but work continues in the background to land the state’s own AFL team.
A small but significant step was taken on Friday when AFL and Tasmanian AFL Taskforce representatives met as a working group for the first time.
The group will be chaired by the AFL’s chief financial officer and executive general manager clubs and broadcasting Travis Auld, and included Taskforce chair Brett Godfrey, Grant O’Brien and James Henderson and the AFL’s general manager Sam Graham and other AFL executives.
Mr Godfrey said it was a productive meeting that “set the foundation for the work that we will be doing together”.
“We agreed a process to work through the pillars of work critical to the decision around a Tasmanian AFL and AFLW licence,” Mr Godfrey said.
“It was more about the process rather than the detail but it was a positive discussion that showed a clear synergy in direction and outputs.
“There is a lot to work through in the first part of 2022 which will firm up timelines leading towards the final decision later in the year.”
Among the criteria to be reviewed rising from Colin Carter’s report into a Tasmanian team is believed to be stadiums, funding and player retention.
To gain entry as the league’s 19th team, Tasmania would first have to have the backing of the AFL Commission.
The Commission’s recommendation of expansion could only then be overturned if two-thirds (12) of the existing clubs voted against Tasmania’s entry.
AFL games to deliver $50m economic windfall
A BLOCKBUSTER clash between Tasmanian rivals North Melbourne and Hawthorn in Hobart next year will be a sell-out match, says the state’s tourism boss, who estimates the eight matches in 2022 will be worth north of $50m to the state’s economy.
Tourism Industry Council Tasmania CEO Luke Martin was disappointed there were no big-name Melbourne teams to replicate the Essendon “experience” at UTAS Stadium when Tasmania was one of the few places safe to host an AFL match late this season.
Aside from that, Martin said the eight games – split four each between North Melbourne in Hobart and Hawthorn in Launceston – was a win for the state.
He was a particular fan of the first Tasmanian Derby between the Kangaroos and Hawks to be played in the south, in July.
“It’s a great opportunity for Hawks members to buy a membership and get five bites of the cherry, that will be great for Hawthorn and it will bring a lot of people to Hobart,” Mr Martin said.
“If it’s not a record crowd I can certainly see it being a sell-out. The Hawthorn supporters from Melbourne, who are the bread and butter of our football tourist trade, probably haven’t been down for two seasons so they will be excited to get down and watch a game.”
North Melbourne’s Anzac Day eve clash with 2021 preliminary finalist Geelong will also be a highlight, as well as its date with another preliminary finalist – Port Adelaide – in May.
“The mix of opponents in Hobart – Geelong, Port Adelaide, Adelaide and Hawthorn – will be fantastic for our Tasmanian supporters, as well as those planning to travel to our home away from home,” said North Melbourne’s acting chief executive Chris Simmonds.
“We’re especially excited about our first encounter for premiership points against the Hawks in Hobart in round 19.
“We’ve faced Hawthorn eight times in Launceston since 2006 but this is a first for Blundstone Arena.
“We’ve got a long and storied rivalry with the Hawks so to be able to play them in Hobart – as well as the MCG in round one – gets our club up and about and I’m sure both clubs’ fans will already be circling this one in the calendar.”
Hawthorn’s Anzac Day battle with 2021 finalist Sydney Swans will also have its attraction for fans.
“It could be Tasmania’s last chance to see Lance Franklin play for Sydney,” Mr Martin said.
The AFL scheduling was a “massive coup for footy fans”, said Sport and Recreation Minister Jane Howlett.
“It was a monumental year for AFL in Tasmania in 2021, with a record 14 games over the course of the season, including two historic elimination finals and several sell-out matches,” she said.
“It proved to AFL House that if you give us the big matches, Tasmanians will turn out in force.”
Tassie to host top-class AFL clashes in 2022
TASMANIA’S full AFL fixture will see three of this year’s top four play in the state next season.
As revealed by the Mercury earlier, North Melbourne will play Geelong in Hobart on Sunday April 24.
But Hobart will also see fellow preliminary finalist Port Adelaide take on the Roos on May 14, while Hawthorn will host grand finalist the Western Bulldogs in the final round of the year.
Another finalist, the Sydney Swans, will travel south to take on Hawthorn in Launceston on the Anzac Day holiday Monday in a lead-in to the traditional blockbuster Essendon-Collingwood clash at the MCG.
Blundstone Arena will also play host to North Melbourne games against Adelaide (round 15) and, as also previously revealed by the Mercury, Hawthorn, in what will be the first Tasmanian Derby in Hobart.
The Hawks will take on Chris Fagan and his Brisbane Lions on round 10 and the state’s arch nemesis in its bid to land a Tasmanian team, the Gold Coast Suns, in round 21.
AFL IN TASMANIA 2022
R6 North Melbourne v Geelong at BA, April 24, 1.10pm.
R6 Hawthorn v Sydney at UTas, April 25, 12.30pm
R9 North Melbourne v Port Adelaide at BA, May 14, 2.10pm
R10 Hawthorn v Brisbane at UTas, weekend of May 20-22*
R15 North Melbourne v Adelaide at BA, weekend of June 24-26*
R19 North Melbourne v Hawthorn at BA, weekend of July 22-24*
R21 Hawthorn v Gold Coast Suns at UTas, weekend of August 5-7*
R23 Hawthorn v Western Bulldogs at UTas, weekend of August 19-21*
*Dates and times only allocated for the first nine rounds.
Roos-Hawks derby grudge match heads south
THE Tasmanian Derby is back on for 2022, but for the first time the state’s two AFL co-tenants will battle it out in the capital city.
And the state is set for smorgasbord of AFL action across the Anzac Day long weekend with two finalists heading south.
The Mercury can reveal perennial preliminary finalists Geelong will take on North Melbourne for the second consecutive year at Blundstone Arena on Sunday, April 24, from 1.10pm.
The next day, the Sydney Swans will return to the site of their heartbreaking one-point elimination final loss to the Greater Western Sydney Giants on the Anzac Day holiday to face recent nemesis Hawthorn.
That match is set for a 12.30pm start on what can only be concluded is the same day as the traditional Essendon-Collingwood Anzac Day spectacle.
The AFL will release the fixture on Thursday but with times and days only for the first six rounds.
It is understood North Melbourne will host Hawthorn for the first time in round 19, the weekend of July 22-24.
The Hawks and Kangaroos have met eight times in Launceston — including this season where North Melbourne recorded its first win under Tasmanian coach David Noble — but this will be Hawthorn’s debut at Blundstone Arena.
However, it won’t be the Hawks first game in Hobart.
The Hawks would have fond memories of their only game in Hobart for premiership points – but they would need to cast their minds back a long way to remember the game.
It will be 31 years since their last game in Hobart, when the Hawks absolutely smashed Fitzroy at North Hobart Oval.
On their way to premiership glory that year, the Hawks kicked 36.15 (231) to defeat the struggling Lions by 157 points – which was Noble’s AFL debut on his former home ground.
It was a day out for the Hawks goalkickers, with Ben Allan (seven), Darren Jarman (seven), Jason Dunstall (six) and Paul Hudson (four) all feasting on Fitzroy.
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