According to ANZ chief economist Saul Eslake a "Melbourne-North Melbourne merger is the most likely scenario that would fast-track Tasmania's inclusion into the AFL." AFL merger scenario

No wonder Australian banks are stuffed!

According to ANZ chief economist Saul Eslake a "Melbourne-North Melbourne merger is the most likely scenario that would fast-track Tasmania's inclusion into the AFL." AFL merger scenario

No wonder Australian banks are stuffed!

That dirty M word again!

if in 10mths time <edit> if we are bottom 3 and still sponserless don't rule it out!

According to ANZ chief economist Saul Eslake a "Melbourne-North Melbourne merger is the most likely scenario that would fast-track Tasmania's inclusion into the AFL." AFL merger scenario

No wonder Australian banks are stuffed!

the reason why no team will be in tassie is because AFL players wont live there, and the AFL dont want to insult tassie by saying it, do u think a first round pick from Victoria will live in tassie for 12 years, i would not think so, great state but a young lad from the mainland is not going to want to spend a decade in tassie,the crows struggle with it, so down there will be 10 times worse.

the reason why no team will be in tassie is because AFL players wont live there, and the AFL dont want to insult tassie by saying it, do u think a first round pick from Victoria will live in tassie for 12 years, i would not think so, great state but a young lad from the mainland is not going to want to spend a decade in tassie,the crows struggle with it, so down there will be 10 times worse.

Hope you are right But personally i wouldn't put anything past the AFL these days. Why would a young kid want to be moved to western sydney. Money Talks....

the reason why no team will be in tassie is because AFL players wont live there, and the AFL dont want to insult tassie by saying it, do u think a first round pick from Victoria will live in tassie for 12 years, i would not think so, great state but a young lad from the mainland is not going to want to spend a decade in tassie,the crows struggle with it, so down there will be 10 times worse.

careful, same could have been said about brisbane or sydney when they 1st started.

Hence concession sides now receive when they start. So long as they are paying the bills players will want to play there it may not be their 1st choice but many don't get their choice these days anyway. Also they would have unrestricted access to the "local talent". I would rather see a side in tassie any day ahead of west syd.

Hope you are right But personally i wouldn't put anything past the AFL these days. Why would a young kid want to be moved to western sydney. Money Talks....

i young kid is going to want to go to sydney or brisbane before tassie, think about it tassie is a place you take your missus for a week of romance, it would be different if youre born there, but if youre not could you spend 10 years there, young kids will want to go home after 2seasons and theAFL now it.

According to ANZ chief economist Saul Eslake a "Melbourne-North Melbourne merger is the most likely scenario that would fast-track Tasmania's inclusion into the AFL." AFL merger scenario

No wonder Australian banks are stuffed!

Ha Ha! what a smart guy! I reakon that everyone in Australia could have come to the same conclusion without doing any reserch at all!

Doesn't mean that its going to happen though! For a start North Melbourne are in alot better shape than they have been in the past, and while I would say that they are not quite out of the woods yet, they are a hell of a long way past meger talks to survive for the next 5 years.

Unfortuantley we are in the worst situation. A lot rides on this sponsership deal. As soon as we get one, a lot of pressure will be taken off, then we can focus on the rebuild. once this year is over then the rebuild will be complete and we will be playing good football, the crowds will come back, sponsership will be banging on our door, we will have a strong team for a good 6 years at least.

It's simply a matter of surviving the next 2 years.

Its going to be a question of who is going to have to rebuild next? North, W.Bulldogs, Demons? I dont know if any of us would be able to survive yet another rebuild.

i young kid is going to want to go to sydney or brisbane before tassie, think about it tassie is a place you take your missus for a week of romance, it would be different if youre born there, but if youre not could you spend 10 years there, young kids will want to go home after 2seasons and theAFL now it.

Point Taken & i Agree but i also put Western Sydney in the same Category (Romance not Included!!) Who would want to live out there by choice. Will be interesting to see how this all unfolds over the next few years.

I wonder if Saul saw the financial market crash as well. Hey Saul, focus on getting my lost super back and the billions that was wiped off our stock market on the financial downturn you and your mates didn't see coming. Stop wasting your time making statements that have been made 100 times before.

the reason why no team will be in tassie is because AFL players wont live there, and the AFL dont want to insult tassie by saying it, do u think a first round pick from Victoria will live in tassie for 12 years, i would not think so, great state but a young lad from the mainland is not going to want to spend a decade in tassie,the crows struggle with it, so down there will be 10 times worse.

Don't quite think thats the reason why the AFL are holding back. (Although you raise a fantastic point about having to live in Tassie)

The AFL is a business, first and for most. Why would a business such as the AFL try and enter into a market that they already dominate?

Footy is MASSIVE in Tassie, make no mistake. With Hawthorn playing as many games as they do their now, and the success of their VFL side, I cant see a move to Tassie any time soon.

Why do you think they were pushing so hard for another Sydney team and GC? They are dominated by league. The AFL wants that slice of the pie.

The Article on the merger

February 18, 2009 09:04am

A MELBOURNE-North Melbourne merger is the most likely scenario that would fast-track Tasmania's inclusion into the AFL.

ANZ chief economist Saul Eslake believes. this was a distinct possibility and far from fantasy thinking.

Eslake, also a member of Tasmania's AFL submission steering committee, said with the State Government resigned to the 17th and 18th license heading to the Gold Coast and Western Sydney respectively, this was the best case scenario.

"I'm not sure about Western Sydney but Tasmania appears to be settling for an acceptance that if an existing Victorian team falls over or two Victorian teams merge -- both of which are possible in this economic climate or given the ongoing problems of Melbourne and North Melbourne and so forth -- then a Tasmanian team could be slotted in pretty quickly if that occurs," Eslake said yesterday.

Melbourne reduced its debt last year under a "debt demolition" campaign from $5 million to $2 million but still incurred operating losses for the year of $549,000.

The Demons, only four days away from their opening NAB Cup game against Hawthorn in Launceston on Saturday afternoon, still have no naming-rights sponsor and are surviving off a $2 million hand-out package from the AFL and the Melbourne Cricket Club.

North Melbourne has struggled financially for years, receives annual AFL funding, and took the gamble of knocking back a $100 million AFL relocation grant to move to the Gold Coast after the 2007 season to commit its future in Melbourne.

"We might need to be open to the possibility if a Victorian team runs into trouble that might be the best option for it [relocating to Tasmania], although it is hard to imagine Melbourne doing it," Eslake said.

"But if Richmond did, for example, or, as some people describe as a feasible scenario Melbourne and North Melbourne merging and creating a vacancy -- and it could happen as a result of economic circumstances, difficulty obtaining sponsorship or things like that -- then the AFL would have to say Tasmania is well-placed to pick that up."

While Melbourne still sits without a naming rights sponsor, Tasmania's audacious bid has already attracted 60 per cent of sponsorship required to support a team without a license.

It has signed a naming-rights sponsor confectionery company Mars and second-tier sponsors TOTE Tasmania and MyState Financial.

Thanks True Believer. That link may need some fine tuning Alpha.... .

Don't quite think thats the reason why the AFL are holding back. (Although you raise a fantastic point about having to live in Tassie)

The AFL is a business, first and for most. Why would a business such as the AFL try and enter into a market that they already dominate?

Footy is MASSIVE in Tassie, make no mistake. With Hawthorn playing as many games as they do their now, and the success of their VFL side, I cant see a move to Tassie any time soon.

Why do you think they were pushing so hard for another Sydney team and GC? They are dominated by league. The AFL wants that slice of the pie.

Spot on RK, exactly what I would say.

I doubt many players from Melb are too keen to live in Adelaide, but you do what you have to do for the privilege of playing footy for a living.

Lots of potential supporters are looking for a team to put their heart, soul & money into in West Sydney - in Tassie this is already being invested in current teams.

The AFL will gain very little by moving into Tas ($wise) at this stage.

Why the hell are we reading about Saul Eslake's views on football?

i thought you took your sister to tasmania for a romantic weekend?

who gives a [censored]. shitney is a shithole.

I've always found Hobart to be quite a vibrant place, and big enough to have the vibe of a bigger town.

I don't think it would be all that different to a player getting drafted to Adelaide or Geelong, and it's only an hour flight from Melbourne.

Many of these kids have grown up in a country towns, and I think Hobart would be a big enough jump for many of them. They still get to live the dream.

An issue I'm not clear on is where the team would be based. Launceston is closer, but Hobart has the greater population.

Either way a sizable part of the state would be disappointed.

It's been said over and over again: the AFL's priority is Western Sydney and Gold Coast because it wants residents there to make the switch from NRL to AFL, thus widening the support base and prospective talent pool for AFL football. It's a long run aim. Tasmania would, in the short run, provide a viable option thanks to the already existent support and sponsorship and stadium. But in the long run, a Tasmanian team would just be another team. A Gold Coast or Western Sydney team, in the long run, would be much more beneficial to the AFL.

Why the hell are we reading about Saul Eslake's views on football?

Exactly.

Saul Eslake is spruiking his interests in making space for a team from Tassie.

Mergers are dangerous paths for the AFL. The 1996 fiasco blew up badly in its face.

I am not sure about the sense of merging MFC and NMFC anyway. Both clubs are cash strapped, low profitability, low attendance, low membership, poor facilities and with little vested regional or community interest. No obvious synergies beside just concentrating all these problems and more within a mish mash club that wont mean anything to anyone.

I think the AFL prefers a relocation to a merger and there are not any takers ATM.

Also I think the GFC (not the ones with the blue and white hoops) has also put a big handbrake on expansion plans. Its financially very tough out there.

Why would they assume Melbourne - North Melbourne? Has no one else noticed that the proposed colours for the Gold Coast team include red and blue?

I think a Melbourne team moving to the GC is more logical and realistic than a Melb North merger. Although I wouldn't rule either out by a long shot.

^%$# all this talk of merger! GRRR!

While Melbourne still sits without a naming rights sponsor, Tasmania's audacious bid has already attracted 60 per cent of sponsorship required to support a team without a license.

It has signed a naming-rights sponsor confectionery company Mars and second-tier sponsors TOTE Tasmania and MyState Financial.

wonder if Mars fancies an interim team to sponsor ?

wonder if Mars fancies an interim team to sponsor ?

I'm not convinced Mars ever intended to shell out the money for a sponsorship - this is just a shrewd way of getting heaps of free feel-good publicity.

A calculated gamble, as tassie are unlikely to get a license and in the even that they do the sponsorship deal would still be an equitable one for them.

Its win-win.

in my opinion, if tassie DOES join the AFL, alot of the players in other clubs origionally from tassie, (russell robertson for example) may leave their existing clubs to join tasmania! melbourne won't have a real problem because it seems that robbo is into singing more than his footy... prove me wrong robertson!

Green? Garland?