Tasmanian State League season may start a week earlier than scheduled

A meeting of AFL Tasmania’s operations team has brought the TSL season closer to a start than fans might think. DETAILS >>

North Hobart V Clarence. Colin Garland celebrates a goal with his North Hobart teammates. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

AFL Tasmania is considering starting the COVID-19-shortened TSL season a week earlier than its originally announced kick off on July 18.

An operations meeting yesterday discussed the possibility of starting on July 11, and even toyed with starting two weeks earlier on July 4 — only two weeks away.

“We are yet to finalise the fixture but we are looking at the potential of bringing the season forward a week,” said AFL Tasmania’s manager of public affairs and infrastructure Damian Gill. “We hope to have a fixture finalised in the next 10 days,”

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North Hobart coach Richard Robinson at North Hobart Oval with players LR Nathan McCulloch (captain), Troy Cunliffe and Callum Kilpatrick. Picture: Zak Simmonds

North Hobart coach Richard Robinson said an earlier start would be welcome.

“It would be better if the contact restriction date was brought forward from June 26 to June 22, that would give us an extra week to prepare for our first game,” he said.

“We will work in with whatever the government stipulates on health restrictions. That’s the important part of this, doing what Public Health says.”