Tasmania | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Tasmania

DavidSSS

Tiger Legend
Dec 11, 2017
10,523
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Melbourne
The choice isn't just to shift a Victorian team to Tassie, another option would be to merge 2 Victorian teams. The logical choice would be North Melbourne and Footscray. Together they would make a formidable club. Both have struggled for success and membership. Much better than relocating and keeps both clubs surviving in Victoria.

DS
 

Panthera Tigris

Tiger Champion
Apr 27, 2010
3,705
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The choice isn't just to shift a Victorian team to Tassie, another option would be to merge 2 Victorian teams. The logical choice would be North Melbourne and Footscray. Together they would make a formidable club. Both have struggled for success and membership. Much better than relocating and keeps both clubs surviving in Victoria.

DS
I remember the Fitzroy situation where the ‘Roys and North had come to a compromise that both sets of members could live with voluntarily. The next minute it’s knocked on the head and the ‘Roys are disemboweled and the carcass sent to Brisbane for the Bears to eat.

If you asked Fitzroy people what the lesser of evils would have been, it was that merger with a fellow Victorian club.
 
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hutstar

Tiger Superstar
Dec 17, 2002
2,433
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Florida
It makes perfect sense. Although admittedly you possibly misconstrue what I am trying to say. My view mirrors what Nick Reiwoldt has said previously.

The AFL makes out that football is purely a business decision. Taken individually, many of the teams in the AFL do not stack up in pure business terms anymore than a Tasmanian team, perhaps even worse for some of them. But it's all hidden by the fact that a lot of what sustains the finances of the AFL is as a collective product. So there must be a reason that they keep these legacy VFL sides all around, other than business at an individual level. And it is emotion, to do with tradition and sentimentality to create interest in the overall AFL collective product. It would be a pretty boring comp if just 8 teams (the only 8 to not receive cross subsidisation) were left. Would the AFL collective system survive in that scenario that we cut it back to just those 8 teams?

The crux of what I (and Nick Reiwoldt) am trying to say. The AFL does indeed make an emotional/sentimental decision to keep legacy VFL sides around. But does not want to make the same emotional/sentimental decision for a Tasmanian team. And I was not necessarily arguing against that. In fact, I said it's their prerogative to make that decision. Just wish they were totally honest, rather than deliberately obfuscating the conversation.

As for a response to, "Finally why is it fooling some other sucker to expect the people who want the club to pay for it?" I don't think anyone has said Tasmania shouldn't pay for a side. But what the North Melbourne pushers are saying is "you are not allowed to buy your own car, have our discarded, broken down Datsun 120Y instead, so we don't need to pay rego, insurance and maintenance on it anymore."
OK, gotcha. I agree there's a huge sentimental value to teams and that's why I want to see a Tassie team. It's better for the integrity of a national comp too. But I don't think we carry 8 teams just for emotion. We do it because of TV rights and the overall financial equation making sense. We need 8 games to sell, not just for the sake of volume but also to make sure there's enough product to keep the AFL in the daily news cycle (ie: brand value). There's a balance required though. Not sure we can add another small market team without either A) also adding a big market team (and we don't have that opportunity) or B) removing one small market team.
On the second bit, I think I did misunderstand. I agree they don't need (and shouldn't) move a North to Tassie. But I do think they need to eliminate a team to bring Tassie in.
 
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hutstar

Tiger Superstar
Dec 17, 2002
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The choice isn't just to shift a Victorian team to Tassie, another option would be to merge 2 Victorian teams. The logical choice would be North Melbourne and Footscray. Together they would make a formidable club. Both have struggled for success and membership. Much better than relocating and keeps both clubs surviving in Victoria.

DS
This seems like the sensible option. Can't see it happening, but it should.
 
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deedee

Tiger Matchwinner
Sep 12, 2011
797
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I worry about the women's team, having a map of Tassie on the jumper.
 
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hutstar

Tiger Superstar
Dec 17, 2002
2,433
981
Florida
Who would the 20th team be? The NT?
This is a big challenge. They could possibly take on another small market team like Tassie if they could also add another big team, but from where? It's never going to be NT. It's Canberra or regional Victoria, but neither are really the size required.
 

bugsy

TIGERISING
Jul 31, 2004
486
632
This is a big challenge. They could possibly take on another small market team like Tassie if they could also add another big team, but from where? It's never going to be NT. It's Canberra or regional Victoria, but neither are really the size required.
Create a new Northern Australian team. Call it the Capricornians and base it out of either Darwin and/or Rockhampton. Massive zone covering all places north of the Tropic of Capricorn line.

 

tigerlandishome

Carna Tiges
Jun 4, 2007
747
250
Perth
Deadly serious, why wouldn't we jump at the chance to play every game either in Melbourne or Tassie? Never again go to Perth, Adelaide, Sydney or Queensland and play essentially a never ending cycle of home games.

No real impact on our Melbourne heartland, a handful less games in Melbourne but a nice cheap trips to Tassie to compensate.

Tassie would embrace us with the history with have and we would go to 150,000 members in the blink of an eye.

It would make us an absolute powerhouse like the competition has never seen before, for ever and ever.

Any Melbourne club who didn't ring up the AFL and ask if this was any chance of being real today is negligent.
IF this is true, the AFL, based on previous dealings with RFC, would never allow it.
 

The Big Richo

Tiger Champion
Aug 19, 2010
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The home of Dusty
Who would the 20th team be? The NT?

Possibly, but there's another idea I think could work as well.

Form a 20th team called the Barbarians, made up of players from around Australia not in the AFL system.

Every season, the day after the draft you have a televised announcement of the Barbarians listing their players. Kids passed over in the draft, country football stars, state league players etc......

Each player is on a base wage and the rest of the cap is distributed purely on a bonus basis, for wins, finals, individual performance etc....

The Barbarians have no home ground, so not stadiums required, instead they play 19 away games each season. Club members could buy a ticket to watch the Barbarians for $10. Base them out of the an existing high performance facility for training. The idea would be they would become everyones second team, catch the imagination of the public with the stories involved and provide a showcase for talent otherwise lost to the game.

Gives the competition an even season, 19 rounds, play everyone once with a bye week which contains a state of origin competition based on promotion/relegation each year and a trial game for the following season's Barbarians. Teams 7-10 play of for the final two spots in finals during pre finals bye, then a normal final 8.

Solves competition equality issues, gives the broadcasters 21 weeks of full broadcast schedule plus finals and doesn't have the costs of establishing a full 20th team.

You're welcome Gil, I'll expect a call re the CEO job.
 
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tigersnake

Tear 'em apart
Sep 10, 2003
23,481
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I remember the Fitzroy situation where the ‘Roys and North had come to a compromise that both sets of members could live with voluntarily. The next minute it’s knocked on the head and the ‘Roys are disemboweled and the carcass sent to Brisbane for the Bears to eat.

If you asked Fitzroy people what the lesser of evils would have been, it was that merger with a fellow Victorian club.
Leon Daphne knocked it on the head. We were down at the time of course, and he saw the merger as creating a strong club that could be threat to us. Old hardcore Roy supporters hated us until he left, and some still do.
 

TrialByVideo

HailBGale!
Mar 1, 2015
4,422
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Possibly, but there's another idea I think could work as well.

Form a 20th team called the Barbarians, made up of players from around Australia not in the AFL system.

Every season, the day after the draft you have a televised announcement of the Barbarians listing their players. Kids passed over in the draft, country football stars, state league players etc......

Each player is on a base wage and the rest of the cap is distributed purely on a bonus basis, for wins, finals, individual performance etc....

The Barbarians have no home ground, so not stadiums required, instead they play 19 away games each season. Club members could buy a ticket to watch the Barbarians for $10. Base them out of the an existing high performance facility for training. The idea would be they would become everyones second team, catch the imagination of the public with the stories involved and provide a showcase for talent otherwise lost to the game.

Gives the competition an even season, 19 rounds, play everyone once with a bye week which contains a state of origin competition based on promotion/relegation each year and a trial game for the following season's Barbarians. Teams 7-10 play of for the final two spots in finals during pre finals bye, then a normal final 8.

Solves competition equality issues, gives the broadcasters 21 weeks of full broadcast schedule plus finals and doesn't have the costs of establishing a full 20th team.

You're welcome Gil, I'll expect a call re the CEO job.

Like this?

Gee, Hutchy is really big in more ways than one these days!
 

The Big Richo

Tiger Champion
Aug 19, 2010
3,154
5,024
The home of Dusty
Like this?

Yeah sort of, without all the interactive stuff.

Reckon there would be huge interest in a team where you brought a 27 year old 200 game star country ruckman from Albury in with a star full forward from Warrnambool, a midfielder from Port Melbourne and a couple of livewire small forwards from the NT. And so on.
 

Brodders17

Tiger Legend
Mar 21, 2008
17,661
11,699
Possibly, but there's another idea I think could work as well.

Form a 20th team called the Barbarians, made up of players from around Australia not in the AFL system.

Every season, the day after the draft you have a televised announcement of the Barbarians listing their players. Kids passed over in the draft, country football stars, state league players etc......

Each player is on a base wage and the rest of the cap is distributed purely on a bonus basis, for wins, finals, individual performance etc....

The Barbarians have no home ground, so not stadiums required, instead they play 19 away games each season. Club members could buy a ticket to watch the Barbarians for $10. Base them out of the an existing high performance facility for training. The idea would be they would become everyones second team, catch the imagination of the public with the stories involved and provide a showcase for talent otherwise lost to the game.

Gives the competition an even season, 19 rounds, play everyone once with a bye week which contains a state of origin competition based on promotion/relegation each year and a trial game for the following season's Barbarians. Teams 7-10 play of for the final two spots in finals during pre finals bye, then a normal final 8.

Solves competition equality issues, gives the broadcasters 21 weeks of full broadcast schedule plus finals and doesn't have the costs of establishing a full 20th team.

You're welcome Gil, I'll expect a call re the CEO job.
a team without fans and a bunch of non-AFL standard players? havent we already got North Melbourne?
 
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Baloo

Delisted Free Agent
Nov 8, 2005
44,113
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I remember the Fitzroy situation where the ‘Roys and North had come to a compromise that both sets of members could live with voluntarily. The next minute it’s knocked on the head and the ‘Roys are disemboweled and the carcass sent to Brisbane for the Bears to eat.

If you asked Fitzroy people what the lesser of evils would have been, it was that merger with a fellow Victorian club.

In 1995 the then Tasmanian Government made a bid to relocate Fitzroy to Tassie. Hobart Lions.

The 1996 North Fitzroy merger was very close to being a done thing. Here's a list of all the Fitzroy M&A activity
 

Panthera Tigris

Tiger Champion
Apr 27, 2010
3,705
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OK, gotcha. I agree there's a huge sentimental value to teams and that's why I want to see a Tassie team. It's better for the integrity of a national comp too. But I don't think we carry 8 teams just for emotion. We do it because of TV rights and the overall financial equation making sense. We need 8 games to sell, not just for the sake of volume but also to make sure there's enough product to keep the AFL in the daily news cycle (ie: brand value). There's a balance required though. Not sure we can add another small market team without either A) also adding a big market team (and we don't have that opportunity) or B) removing one small market team.
On the second bit, I think I did misunderstand. I agree they don't need (and shouldn't) move a North to Tassie. But I do think they need to eliminate a team to bring Tassie in.
Well this feeds into the Fitzroy discussion above. Old Fitzroy fans I have heard echoing the sentiment, that the AFL could have kept Fitzroy afloat if it chose to. But just chose to keep other non self sustaining clubs operating through cross subsidisation, rather than Fitzroy. Would Fitzroy have been any less viable that North Melbourne, Doggies, St.Kilda, even Melbourne over the years once the cross subsidisation driven by collective AFL TV revenue came into play? Perhaps yes, perhaps no. But at the time the AFL wanted to create space in the comp to bring in Port Adelaide (another club that has spent periods being cross subsidised by the general revenue pool). Fitzroy simply found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Similarly today, I agree, that I don't think the talent pool is there for more than 18 teams at present, so the AFL probably needs to orchestrate losing/merging a team to bring in a Tasmanian team. But I wish they wouldn't disingenuously argue that a Tasmanian team isn't coming in because it isn't financially viable. The AFL chooses keeping a bunch of legacy VFL sides afloat, INSTEAD of having a Tasmanian team.
 
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Panthera Tigris

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Ian4

BIN MAN!
May 6, 2004
22,180
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Melbourne
Just visiting Hobart from near the Gold coast stayed near Bellerive. Had a sticky beak at Blundstone std. It looked fine. Similar to Metricon in vibe. North are playing there this weekend. TV news is from Melbourne so its saturated with AFL content.1000 times more than north NSW.
Tasmania must have the next licence. Based in hobart I guess.

I support a Team in tassie. Any footy fan worth his grain of salt should. But the AFL expecting them build a brand new F-O stadium at a cost of $750 million is the height of arrogance and just makes me angry.

Moreover, Bellerive oval is fine. Nice bars and restaurants nearby. Not hard to get to for locals. Sure, it could do with an upgrade. Build grandstands over the hill, which should provide a bit more protection from the Derwent winds. Demolish and rebuild the member’s pavilion. But this could be done at a third of the cost at most.

Who would the 20th team be? The NT?

I think the Perth market is big enough for a 3rd team.

But if you were to look towards the north, perhaps a "Top End" team that plays out of Darwin and Cairns might be worth looking at. Cairns is a footy region as people know. Although you couldn’t expect to play in 30 degree weather every week. You would probably need an air-conditioned stadium in Darwin, which would make it too expensive to be realistic.
 
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