Ouch!

agreed, on TV that was horrible with the jumpers...

whilst that's somewhat laughable to think in those terms, the contract being speculated for a 21 year old is 'deserving' of type of thing. For Peter Bell, it's one thing taking Hogan when he was homesick and Freo were an ordinary team struggling at the bottom third of the ladder, it's another to get Jackson from us with both teams essentially top 4 clubs. They will need to part with some serious trade currency to land that deal. Also if the rumours are try and they are holding out on un-contracted players to try and lure Jackson on a mega deal and also apparently land Lachie Neale back at the club, is ballsy, but it could backfire somewhat spectacularly. I love Jackson as a player and want him to stay at the dees, however if 1.5 mil a year for 7 years is on the table, we won't come near that, nor should we even attempt to.

.... or economics and list management.

Don't think we'll panic and make too many changes. Our defence has been pretty solid most of the year, we've been hit with injuries in game where we have had to make do, and that's hurt us. However connection into forward 50 has been horrible. We just bomb it in on Brown's head. I have to admit that is where we are missing TMac, I think he holds our structure up forward, without him, the positioning looks horrible. However I will say ANB (who I have loved watching in the last 12 months or so) has absolutely been a momentum killer in the last few weeks. We were 20 odd points up in the 2nd quarter, with momentum and had another centre clearance where I think Trac spotted up ANB 40m out directly in front. They bring up on the TV that he ANB has kicked 1-7 from set shots this year, and all he did was add to his behind tally. Trac up forward has been similar, set shots are woeful and neither is kicking with confidence. I watched the VFL team, and Rivers was solid behind the ball but his disposal was just ok... which I think is why he was sent back to the VFL. I thought Bedford competed hard all day. Andy Moniz-Wakefield looked good too, and Van Rooyen can't be too far away from a call up to the VFL, but I don't think we'd bring either in against Brisbane. In: May, Bedford, Weid Out: Gawn, ANB, Turner

I'm not getting that read out of the media with May, but he does have history, admittedly being hit by team mates :D. I don't think people are piling on him as a troublemaker, but they are saying he'll have to earn the trust back of his team mates, the club and supporters, and that is a fair enough call is it not? Similarly Smith has flagged he has mental health issues and absolutely needs the support of his club and others. The white bag with Smith, and the fight with May/Melksham, cannot be condoned, but equally they should receive support from those around them.

You are kidding yourself if you think this is just the domain of sportspeople and NOT professionals. The difference is that there is the public media profile that goes with being a sportsperson that most cannot competently manage.

I totally get that, my point was more the condescending ill formed comments about every team in Tas apparently has failed thru history, the majority of people leave Tas in their 20s. I have no doubt however that the models being used for the business case are acutely aware of economical implications of a team in Tassie, as would those trying to put a case together for the NT.

The biggest issue with the NT entering that I can see is that they play AFL in the off season to the rest of the country. Whilst a stadium could be built, the local competition is still out of step isn't it?

OMG, could you be any more condescending? Historically? what teams are you actually talking about here? The only team on the national scene that 'hasn't survived' I can think of in the last 30 years is the Tassie Devils basketball team. Tasmania economically is one of if not the strongest performing state in the country for quite some time... Tasmania named Australia's strongest state economy for seventh quarter in a row (9news.com.au) Most people leave in their 20s for opportunity?

It is a good point that whilst Nth is solvent now, I wonder how much they are relying on the Tas Gov sponsorship..

Yeah we did get a bit off topic ... what is the actual topic here? I guess saying that soccer and basketball aren't popular in Australia is what I was trying to say, they are certainly popular, but they have a failure to transition the pathways from junior to adult I believe. It's not like they don't have active junior participants... I agree with your comments otherwise :D

Thanks Daisy, but you are referring more to the nickname of 'The Bloods' attributed to the football club itself. I'm referring to the culture of 'The Blood's that is attributed largely to Stewart Maxfield's time at the swans in the early 2000s with Roos being there. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2014/sep/18/how-sydney-swans-built-the-bloods-culture We might be talking two different things?

Every Saturday morning I see soccer fields packed with juniors who play. Basketball stadiums for junior players are packed. What hasn't been managed is a way to harness the pathways for these players. Basketball is growing a lot faster than you think, the number of players now in the NBA, the expansion of the NBL....

I think Pre COVID is a great source for what CAN be. COVID is still around, but I didn't say look at things now, I said look at 2019 for what it could be again, once more.... give it some time to build back up. Remember Tassie's entry isn't happening next year, they are talking at least 4-5 years away to prepare. 1. Do you put that caveat on every club in the AFL currently including GWS and GC? 2. 19 Clubs will suck, and I hope *IF* 19 clubs are a thing, it's a transition to 20 clubs. 3. I contend that they come out the current pathways we have at the moment, they could also come from reducing lists to say 35-38 players. Reducing the list size by 2 for all clubs free's up 36 players. I'm sure those players ultimately would prefer playing AFL than VFL/WAFL/SANFL given an opportunity. 4. I think the AFL admitted they got the way GWS and GC wrong, I don't have an answer, but I suspect that there will be some concessions, but not like it was with those two clubs.

Just on this point. If anyone heard Alex Neale-Bullen on SEN recently, they asked him how he felt about the (then) 16-0 run that Melbourne was on. His reply was awesome, he said, we don't look at it that way, from the team's perspective we lost to Carlton in the preseason, so we are still just 9-0. when we get to the end of the season, it will be really interesting to see where both clubs are at.... if they are still top 3 and we are on top, it will be a cracker of a game!

even if that divide becomes too much, the southern population of Tasmania still exceeds the population of Geelong.

SWYL, can't agree with this sorry How many years will it take to fix the backyard though? Tassie's got a momentum issue that has to be addressed in the next meeting of the presidents, if they haven't gotten their 'cr@p' in order thats on them. This is basically the one and only time this bid will be put forward. I'm not sure on the argument of the talent pool being diluted, I see that a little bit of a cop out. 18 AFL teams started in 2012, Australia's population was a 22.9 million people. As of 2 days ago, the population of Australia is 26,057,364 people. You are saying that we can't find 40 talented players amongst those 3 million people? Add Tasmania and you will build talent pathways that have withered for too long cos the AFL has ignored the state. The impact the JackJumpers have had on basketball participation in the short time they have been here has been nothing short of stunning. This is also a commitment to both men and women's teams. Tassie will absolutely become a footy heartland and produce AFL quality players in very little time. Finally, you can't look at crowd numbers for 2022. Look at what they were in 2019, and what they will likely be in a couple of years when things are post COVID. Look at viewer numbers watching the game on TV.... that is what will drive the next media agreement.

I agree, but the system can sometimes break, especially if someone makes mistakes or the wrong people are in charge at the wrong time. I would argue that you can't afford to miss out on the climb too often. Melbourne arguably did miss out and it almost cost us dearly. That didn't mean we were immune to this very same type of conversation. The main difference I see is that the Tassie bid wasn't in full swing when we sucked. If it had been there could have been serious concerns.

We drink Boags in the south of the state and I've seen them drink Cascade in Launceston. It will happen. Geelong's population is 250k. Tasmania has a population of over 500k, with more than half the state based around Hobart. You cannot base the team in the Nth where the population is 66k. It's basic maths really. The biggest problem is actually political than personal, the electorates of Bass and Braddon are typically marginal seats, meaning that they get a LOT of attention and funding from election promises. Personally I think the politicians and local govt members are the mouthy gits that make the noise more than the people themselves. I used to live in Launceston.... I survived crossing down to Hobart without drama! 😉

Has to be built sometime though. Do you think that culture could be built on a relocated Nth Melbourne though? Yes I do think that they will travel, but the team can't and won't be located in Launceston. They've already identified building a new stadium on the Derwent Waterfront. People will start travelling purely because the talent pathways will become a lot more clear for juniors and people travel now for the Jackjumpers and the Hobart Hurricanes.

I think a lot of us feel like that Eelesie. I reckon I would buy membership to both teams as well.

We won't travel in enough numbers to fill quarter or half a stadium, but thats population, that said I don't think that current games between Melbourne clubs would see that criteria either. Attendance at games is an issue, but it will come back, those thinking it would immediately return after COVID were probably a little optimistic. Interest in the game (supported by our membership number increase) isn't waning, it's still growing, Tassie can and should add to that growth. I know it's a much smaller scale but the Jackjumpers in the NBL this year have had full houses almost every week. Been a good discussion thanks! 👍 August meeting with the AFL presidents will be interesting.

I'm not sure I quite get what you mean here.... playing interstate teams in Tasmania and we'd be at empty venues? why? or are you saying we'd be playing interstate in empty venues because Tasmanian members won't travel? Can you clarify what you mean? (oh and I don't agree with either premise) members travel interstate all the time to watch their team play,... why would it be different with Tassie? Travel time is similar from Melb - Geelong than Melb - Hobart. You blokes hate travelling to Geelong to watch the Dees, I can guarantee a Hobart waterfront stadium and the pub scene is much nicer ;) The side will receive all of the funding currently being funnelled into the Hawks and Roos, which other club has the state govt backing that this would have. Every club has AFL funding. I believe that the business case put forward by Tasmania is not going to require the ongoing support that the GWS and GC teams were derived from. It will be designed to stand on it's own feet. Look at the Green Bay Packers if you want to see how the model might look.

Yep, I think I said that whilst the Bloods itself had history beyond the swans and back to South Melb. It was Roos and their leadership team that are synonymous with the 'Bloods Culture'

SWYL, I actually agree with you here, I am not 100% convinced that we want 19 teams either. That said 20 teams gives us the best chance of an even draw, which is appealing, but the messiness of progressing as 19 teams and then towards 20 teams isn't something I want to see either.