AFL heavyweight Eddie McGuire has voiced concern about Tasmania's entry to the competition in 2028.
The former long-time Collingwood president believes that the Devils may not play in the 23,000-seat Macquarie Point Stadium until as late as 2032, and believes the current state of the economy and AFL landscape makes him worried about the introduction of a new club.
“A serious discussion is starting to happen about Tasmania,” McGuire said on Footy Classified.
“(Chief Executive) Brendon Gale is doing such a good job, and last week was such a wonderful occasion for Tasmania in the VFL, but the highest-ranking people that you can talk to who are right in the middle of all this over the years.
“There is a real worry at the moment that the Tasmania stadium will be pushed out to 2032…If the world economy goes the way the world economy is going, there is a worry about whether the people will lose the appetite to build this stadium, but they say there is no way known the Tassie AFL team should come in more than one year off bounce of the ball in the new stadium.”
With a sizeable gap between the best teams in the competition and those struggling that are struggling to escape the lower rungs of the ladder, McGuire stressed the importance of looking after the existing clubs when considering Tasmania's introduction.
Stressing his overall support for the Devils, McGuire suggested that all parties' interests be considered in decisions around the Devils.
“What we need is an independent AFL commission who come in and makes the right decision based on looking after the teams that are there,” McGuire said.
“My worry about Tassie, let's (say) the stadium gets built. We want Tassie to be great. No team has come into the AFL competition (and) got it right. And the first thing we hear, just as things are looking good in the VFL, is ‘oh no, the stadium, the linchpin, has been pushed back.
“My worry (about) the competition is we're stretching it too far, I'm worried about the money coming in, and I'm just worried about the fixture and the standard of the game.
“Tasmania's team is right on schedule, Tasmania's infrastructure has gone right out of business, and the AFL competition, keeping in mind what they need to be when you go for the television rights, is out of whack. It has never been a two-tiered competition (like what) we are seeing.”
It’s always been a two tier system……
Non-victorian clubs face restrictions at the board level… in the “constitutions” forced upon them.
A fixed fixture favours the few – quite dramatically… both competitively on the field and in revenue raising
Appalling “victorianisation” of the umpiring program, rather than learning from state leagues that do a far better job.
The so called “equalisation policy” that does the complete opposite.
There’s no reason Tassie cannot have an existing field as it’ home ground…. there’s nothing wrong with them having a home ground advantage…. and that’s the real issue, isn’t it?