Tasmania wins AFL womens team

UPDATE: TASMANIA has been given a new licence in an expanded AFL women’s league in a joint bid with North Melbourne.

Tasmanian Jessica Wuetschner plays for the Brisbane Lions. Picture: Getty

THE Tasmanian Kangaroos and Geelong have been added to the AFL women’s league from 2019, the AFL announced today.

North Melbourne was awarded an AFLW licence and will form the team in partnership with Tasmania.

Half of the team is hoped to be home-grown Tasmanian talent.

Geelong and North Melbourne will join the existing eight teams, expanding the league to a 10-team competition in its third season.

The Kangas and Cats pipped strong bids from West Coast, Richmond, St Kilda and Gold Coast for expansion licences.

Gillon McLachlan with Simone Wilkie announces that North Melbourne and Geelong will join the NAB AFL Women's competition in 2019. #AFLW pic.twitter.com/89GvuCTrV5

— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) September 27, 2017

A special message from our North stars after hearing the news we've been granted an AFL Women's licence #BeAShinboner pic.twitter.com/L7m3xH7nNo

— North Melbourne (@NMFCOfficial) September 27, 2017

Those clubs must now wait until 2020 to join the AFLW, with the AFL electing to stagger the entry into the exciting new women’s league.

MORE: AFL reveals AFLW expansion teams

AFL heavyweights, led by boss Gill McLachlan, will be in Hobart tomorrow morning to reveal the finer details of the Tasmanian Kangaroos at Blundstone Arena.

The North Melbourne-Tasmania team will be a hybrid team, called the Tasmanian Kangaroos, would play four games each in Tasmania and Melbourne, with the four Tasmanian games played in Hobart and Launceston.

North Melbourne presented its case for an AFLW team in the expanded 2019 competition in late July.

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. North Melbourne chief executive Carl Dilena said the Tasmanian concept would not rely heavily on a big financial contribution from the State Government.

MORE: North Melbourne confident of AFLW bid

AFL Tasmania chief executive Rob Auld all but guaranteed the state’s entry into an expanded AFLW competition by 2019 in April .

“I’m conservative by nature but without getting ahead of ourselves, I have as good a confidence levels as I could have. Without being the person who puts the pen to paper, Tasmania will have involvement in 2019,” Mr Auld said at the time.

“It is just how that is going to look is the thing we need to shake down.”