Tasmania | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Tasmania

Sintiger

Tiger Legend
Aug 11, 2010
18,201
17,597
Camberwell
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.
The reason is that today as a Tiger supporter I can see my team play 15-16 times a year in Melbourne and that would reduce to 11.

Secondly from an emotional perspective, our heartland right now is Richmond and we are the Richmond Tigers with a massive connection to our history and our suburb. We are powerful enough, we don't need to sell a part of our soul as a club just to be even more powerful.
 
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hutstar

Tiger Superstar
Dec 17, 2002
2,433
981
Florida
The AFL chooses keeping a bunch of legacy VFL sides afloat, INSTEAD of having a Tasmanian team.
Yep absolutely it's a choice, but only just. Could the AFL really fold a Melbourne team with the justification of 'we need that money to keep our new Tassie team afloat?' Not sure that's a viable choice.
 

Panthera Tigris

Tiger Champion
Apr 27, 2010
3,705
1,729
Yep absolutely it's a choice, but only just. Could the AFL really fold a Melbourne team with the justification of 'we need that money to keep our new Tassie team afloat?' Not sure that's a viable choice.
Perhaps not. But when we think about it that’s how Fitzroy’s demise essentially turned out. The AFL would never admit that. But given Port Adelaide’s financial support over the years, it’s not entirely different.
 
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AngryAnt

Tiger Legend
Nov 25, 2004
27,017
14,792
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.

Reckon there wouldn't be huge interest
 

hutstar

Tiger Superstar
Dec 17, 2002
2,433
981
Florida
Perhaps not. But when we think about it that’s how Fitzroy’s demise essentially turned out. The AFL would never admit that. But given Port Adelaide’s financial support over the years, it’s not entirely different.
Yep, it's a fair take. It would be harder to pull off now though, and with that, I think you're right in saying they should just be open about the goal of nationalization and telling clubs that can't make it to merge. You've convinced me. Wouldn't start with Tassie though, Canberra is a stronger market by every measure, though again they'd need a stadium.
 

Leysy Days

Tiger Legend
Feb 26, 2004
21,331
7,933
Canberra stronger market than Tas? With more chance of being viable both financially and on-field? No way.
 

TT33

Yellow & Black Member
Feb 17, 2004
6,815
5,802
Melbourne
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.

I think a team like that would get smashed every week, even by the Roos. Interest would wane very quickly.
 

Tiger Rob

Tiger Superstar
Jul 30, 2009
1,641
593
Hobart
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.
People here already know the game so you don't need a Clarkson coaching them. As per Sheedy at GWS. Half promoting the game in NSW. I could imagine Jack Riewoldt thriving in an assistant coach capacity.
The problem with Bellerive Tora, is Hobarts public transport is shizenhausen and parking isn’t brilliant. Full house and you won’t get home for a couple of days. Good venue, wrong spot.
 
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Redford

Tiger Legend
Dec 18, 2002
34,360
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Tel Aviv
The problem with Bellerive Tora, is Hobarts public transport is shizenhausen and parking isn’t brilliant. Full house and you won’t get home for a couple of days. Good venue, wrong spot.
No transport, little parking, no surrounding hospitality etc. Surrounded closely by residential housing like an old VFL suburban ground. Only holds 19,000 of which much of that is standing only and not under cover. Ground STILL slopes to the Derwent River after all these years.

How much has the Tasmanian government committed to upgrading a stadium or building a new one ? Metricon cost $144m to re develop with the Queensland government contributing $72m, the Gold Coast City Council $23m and the Federal Government $36m. Giants Stadium got $50m from the NSW Government for its upgrade and has just recently tipped in $15m for an upgrade of the Giants’ training facilities.

The Tasmanian Government has committed over a number of years I believe, $50m to developing training headquarters for a new team and intra state facilities for growing the game at a junior level around various regions. New fields etc.

But what, for a potential AFL team, have they put on the table for a new stadium …..or even just a re development?

Bellerive is ok for a few boutique games for the lowly followed Norf, but isn’t anywhere near good enough for a home ground for an AFL team needing to draw 20,000 people each game which is what I believe the now infamous Carter report said was easily achievable.

What’s the Tasmanian Government committed at all, on any front, where stadia is concerned ?
 
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Panthera Tigris

Tiger Champion
Apr 27, 2010
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No transport, little parking, no surrounding hospitality etc. Surrounded closely by residential housing like an old VFL suburban ground. Only holds 19,000 of which much of that is standing only and not under cover. Ground STILL slopes to the Derwent River after all these years.

How much has the Tasmanian government committed to upgrading a stadium or building a new one ? Metricon cost $144m to re develop with the Queensland government contributing $72m, the Gold Coast City Council $23m and the Federal Government $36m. Giants Stadium got $50m from the NSW Government and has just recently tipped in $15m for an upgrade of the Giants’ training facilities.

The Tasmanian Government has committed over a number of years I believe, $50m to developing training headquarters for a new team and intra state facilities for growing the game at a junior level around various regions. New fields etc.

But what, for a potential AFL team, have they put on the table for a new stadium …..or even just a re development?

Bellerive is ok for a few boutique games for the lowly followed Norf, but isn’t anywhere near good enough for a home ground for an AFL team needing to draw 20,000 people each game which is what I believe the now infamous Carter report said was easily achievable.

What’s the Tasmanian Government committed at all, on any front, where stadia is concerned ?
Such a shame there wasn’t longer term vision either developing Glenorchy’s KGV Oval over the years (as was planned and half heartedly began in the early 1980s) or the proposed Showgrounds stadium, just around the corner from KGV, touted during the early 1990s Tasmanian AFL bid.

Those proposals were more in the modest, functional mould of Giants and Metricon Stadiums. If we had either of those in existence today (instead of Bellerive) it would take a lower key upgrade now to be ready to go.

Glenorchy being on the rail corridor (the rail line runs past the back fence of KGV oval), that has long been touted to have potential for Hobart’s light rail line, together with loads of parking at the Derwent Entertainment Centre (AKA - MyState Bank Arena where the Jackjumpers play) and the Elwick Racecourse. Arterial roads surrounding it. Bus terminus nearby. These two proposals had all the ingredients.
 
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Redford

Tiger Legend
Dec 18, 2002
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Such a shame there wasn’t longer term vision either developing Glenorchy’s KGV Oval over the years (as was planned and half heartedly began in the early 1980s) or the proposed Showgrounds stadium, just around the corner from KGV, touted during the early 1990s Tasmanian AFL bid.

Those proposals were more in the modest, functional mould of Giants and Metricon Stadiums. If we had either of those in existence today (instead of Bellerive) it would take a lower key upgrade now to be ready to go.

Glenorchy being on the rail corridor (the rail line runs past the back fence of KGV oval), that has long been touted to have potential for Hobart’s light rail line, together with loads of parking at the Derwent Entertainment Centre (AKA - MyState Bank Arena where the Jackjumpers play) and the Elwick Racecourse. Arterial roads surrounding it. Bus terminus nearby. These two proposals had all the ingredients.
Agree. In hindsight KGV or the Showgrounds in particular would have had greater capacity for genuine and sustainable development. Bigger footprint to work with. I remember when both were being thrown around as development possibilities there was a fair bit of socio economic discrimination. Nobody wanted to develop anything in Glenorchy. Bellerive had the river views, beach, quaintness.

Speaking of rail lines, by jingoes how important does a Launceston to Hobart high speed express train service look now ? They’ve been talking about that for 50 plus years.

If you could travel from Launceston to Hobart by train in an hour, Tasmania would have had a team 20 years ago.
 
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Leysy Days

Tiger Legend
Feb 26, 2004
21,331
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32 years ago today since Tasmanian rolled the Big V in front of 18,000 plus (way more would have gone of could have).

Oh what Tasmanian football was before the AFL took it for granted and continually *smile* in its face.

 
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Redford

Tiger Legend
Dec 18, 2002
34,360
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Tel Aviv
32 years ago today since Tasmanian rolled the Big V in front of 18,000 plus (way more would have gone of could have).

Oh what Tasmanian football was before the AFL took it for granted and continually *smile* in its face.

I was at that game. Great day. Bigger crowds at Clarence v Glenorchy GF’s though. 23k-25k for those.

That game was held on a work day if I remember right.
 
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tigertim

something funny is written here
Mar 6, 2004
29,893
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The Tassie team stacked up quite well:

TASMANIA
B:
M Mansfield, B Stephens, S MacPherson
HB: T Spearman, J McCarthy, M Gale
C: D Pritchard (c), S Clayton, G Wright
HF: D Barwick, B Gale, P Hudson
F: C Alexander, S Fell, A Lynch
R: J Manson, S Atkins, T Nichols
I/C: S Wade, D Noonan, S Byers, D Davies
 
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Panthera Tigris

Tiger Champion
Apr 27, 2010
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Victoria B, Leysy. Let's not forget the Victoria A team was busy flogging WA in Perth.
Neither was Tasmania full strength. Several clubs refused to release players. Melbourne and Essendon among them. So Tassie was without the Febeys and Lovett from Melbourne and a few others. Definitely not the strongest side TAS could have put on the paddock.
 
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