No Oppo Supporters General AFL and other clubs discussion thread. **Opposition fans not welcome**

[Garf]

Speaking of Tassie, I see there are rumblings about having an A-League team down there in the near future. This will send AFL House into meltdown if, heaven forbid, soccer should win the hearts and minds of the good citizens of the Apple Isle.

 

[Ned Ryerson]

Speaking of Tassie, I see there are rumblings about having an A-League team down there in the near future. This will send AFL House into meltdown if, heaven forbid, soccer should win the hearts and minds of the good citizens of the Apple Isle.

Australian soccer would just be a slow enough sport for the locals to keep up with. I kid, I kid. However, when you are blessed with the few state-wide highways that are 110 km/h for the majority of their span - don't bloody drive 90!

 

[grumbleguts]

Speaking of Tassie, I see there are rumblings about having an A-League team down there in the near future. This will send AFL House into meltdown if, heaven forbid, soccer should win the hearts and minds of the good citizens of the Apple Isle.

If that happens, we don't want it to have anything to do with AFL anyway.

 

[Gralin]

Speaking of Tassie, I see there are rumblings about having an A-League team down there in the near future. This will send AFL House into meltdown if, heaven forbid, soccer should win the hearts and minds of the good citizens of the Apple Isle.

Probably the only way they get looked at for an AFL team

 

[Ned Ryerson]

Probably the only way they get looked at for an AFL team

Still don't think the AFL would do it. Despite having more popular support - I think a Tassie team wouldn't be as good from a corporate perspective than either GWS or Gold Coast. Money talks, sadly. No area deserves a team more - but I can't see it happening.

 

[Mitchell54]

A team in Tassie would take revenue and fans away from Hawthorn wouldn't it?

 

[B&GBlood]

A team in Tassie would take revenue and fans away from Hawthorn wouldn't it?

Team in Tassie 2018 then.

 

[Mitchell54]

Team in Tassie 2018 then.

Hawthorn would still be in Tassie in 2018 though aren't we. We didn't go to Tassie for no reason

 

[Mitchell Madness]

Still don't think the AFL would do it. Despite having more popular support - I think a Tassie team wouldn't be as good from a corporate perspective than either GWS or Gold Coast. Money talks, sadly. No area deserves a team more - but I can't see it happening.

That's pretty much the case
The AFL is about increasing its own revenue
A tassie team would be self sufficient, given the two major stadiums down there are clean stadiums, and have close to a 0 break even

As for tassie in the a-league, it's a different kettle of fish as FIFA have a big role to play

 

[Prudster]

That's pretty much the case
The AFL is about increasing its own revenue
A tassie team would be self sufficient, given the two major stadiums down there are clean stadiums, and have close to a 0 break even

As for tassie in the a-league, it's a different kettle of fish as FIFA have a big role to play

Would it? Most clubs aren't self sufficient and Tassie would be a long, long way behind even the smaller clubs.

 

[A Cut Above]

Sydney are screwed.

How do you have a serious conversation about taking a hit for the team when Heeney's team will simply point to the tall bloke and ask why he gets $1.6m while everyone else takes pay cuts.

Sydney will get him a sweet ambassador deal which should keep the wolves at bay

I was convinced Goodes' ambassador payment was going to Franklin as a hidden component of his contract, but yeah it would not surprise me if Heeney benefits from the (still undisclosed $$$ amount) rort instead. The AFL would be loathe to let such an exciting young prospect depart NSW.

So should we thank Norf for making such a ridiculous $1m+ a year offer for Heeney as a key reason we were able to poach Tom Mitchell? I wonder!

 

[Ned Ryerson]

Would it? Most clubs aren't self sufficient and Tassie would be a long, long way behind even the smaller clubs.

Correct - the money just isn't in the state. They'd struggle financially. As it stands our games at York Park don't sell out - even if it was a true blue local team I don't think the turnout would drastically increase. Ticket revenue would be minimal, memberships would be okay but with a lack of ticketed options most members wouldn't be contributing much. Corporate sponsorship would be tough, particularly as a Tassie team probably wouldn't draw big ratings.

In terms of deserving a team - it's no doubt that an Aussie Rules stronghold like Tassie, and even the NT, deserved a team before GWS and Gold Coast. I just don't see it being viable.

 

[B&GBlood]

Hawthorn would still be in Tassie in 2018 though aren't we. We didn't go to Tassie for no reason

You do appreciate I was stating the position from which the AFL could impede us, not reality. There isn't the money on the south island. I will be surprised if the A-league can keep it afloat. The demographic may suite I really do not know.

 

[The Lemon]

Can't Tasmanians have an A-League and AFL team?

 

[bradburygold]

Can't Tasmanians have an A-League and AFL team?

Commercially no wont happen

Tassies economy is basically shrinking, so its getting less likely every year

 

[Mitchell Madness]

Would it? Most clubs aren't self sufficient and Tassie would be a long, long way behind even the smaller clubs.

You would be surprised at how much a clean stadium brings in for the few clubs that have access to one

The national broadcast offsets exposure issues for sponsors (most club sponsors aren't even Australian any more)

 

[Cynic]

I can't imagine any AFL star wanting to live in Tassie. It's a nice place to live but it's not really where any young bloke on six digits is going to want to be.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

I can't imagine any AFL star wanting to live in Tassie. It's a nice place to live but it's not really where any young bloke on six digits is going to want to be.

They are micromanaged during the season to the point where they don't have the opportunity to go out, and most travel during their spare time
Perhaps you are right that the young players might not enjoy it, but I'd imagine players at 26/27 and starting a family wouldn't be too annoyed to go down there

 

[Prudster]

You would be surprised at how much a clean stadium brings in for the few clubs that have access to one

The national broadcast offsets exposure issues for sponsors (most club sponsors aren't even Australian any more)

Even if a Tassie team could get a clean stadium, they would need to eventually upgrade one or both stadiums. Do you think the Tassie Government is going to spend that money for very little return? If the Tassie members aren't regularly selling out the stadium, there is no way they will compete with clubs playing at significantly bigger stadiums. If the Tassie members do sell it out, there isn't going to be much room for tourists, which takes a lot of the benefit out of it for the Government. And as we're seeing with the new WA stadium, when someone else is paying for it the stadium deal gets significantly worse for the clubs involved.

If the national broadcast offsets exposure issues, how come the bigger clubs' sponsorship revenue dwarfs that of the smaller clubs? A Tassie team might get shown in their home market, but that market is so small it's almost irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. You can almost guarantee they aren't getting precedence of key time slots over the bigger clubs. Just because club sponsors aren't Australian doesn't mean the basic principles of sponsorship don't still apply. A Tassie club will reach a smaller audience, and will generally therefore attract less sponsorship money.

And the most important factor is what is the future for this club? Tasmania is falling behind as a state, meaning in the future (compared to other clubs) there will be less people to draw fans from, and those fans will have less money to spend on the club, the Government will have less money to upgrade stadiums, there will be less reasons for players to want to live in Tasmania, etc.

Compare a Tassie team to teams that are currently in existence. How will they ever be bigger than clubs like Melbourne, or Saint Kilda, who are both reliant on the AFL to stay solvent. If either of those clubs didn't exist right now, there would be very little reason to create them, and the same applies for a Tassie team outside of sentimental reasons.

 

[Prudster]

They are micromanaged during the season to the point where they don't have the opportunity to go out, and most travel during their spare time
Perhaps you are right that the young players might not enjoy it, but I'd imagine players at 26/27 and starting a family wouldn't be too annoyed to go down there

You are underselling just how big of an issue this would be

 

[Changa10]

A team in Tassie would take revenue and fans away from Hawthorn wouldn't it?

Perhaps eventually, but I'd imagine the majority of Tasmanian Members would remain so, in at least some capacity. Of course, there are some that join to get reserved seats who aren't Hawthorn supporters, so there would be some run-off, but I don't suspect it would be huge for a number of years.

If a Tassie Team got up and succeeded, then of course the younger generation would more than likely turn to the 'local team' at some point. This would take a fair time though, and I would suspect there would be an increase in Melbourne Members once all homes games went back to Melbourne too, wouldn't there?

 

[Ned Ryerson]

Perhaps eventually, but I'd imagine the majority of Tasmanian Members would remain so, in at least some capacity. Of course, there are some that join to get reserved seats who aren't Hawthorn supporters, so there would be some run-off, but I don't suspect it would be huge for a number of years.

If a Tassie Team got up and succeeded, then of course the younger generation would more than likely turn to the 'local team' at some point. This would take a fair time though, and I would suspect there would be an increase in Melbourne Members once all homes games went back to Melbourne too, wouldn't there?

They mightn't remain members. There were numerous Gold Coast based Lions members who ditched their membership and joined up with the Suns and jumped ship. Parochialism is a big factor. If you go down to Launceston the team is promoted as the 'Tassie Hawks' on signs around UTAS Stadium. I dare say we would lose a fair proportion of those fans - particularly if the side got a decent chunk of games in Launceston each year. If the team was predominantly Hobart based - maybe not. That would always be a difficulty in basing a team in Tassie as the North/South divide in such a tiny state is weirdly fierce at times.

I doubt there would be a huge uptick in members because you got more games here either. I dare say the drop in numbers of Tassie members joining up to their local side would outweigh the Melbourne members joining up for more games. Could be wrong - just my feeling on it.

 

[Ned Ryerson]

I can't imagine any AFL star wanting to live in Tassie. It's a nice place to live but it's not really where any young bloke on six digits is going to want to be.

You could say the same thing about Adelaide - but people stay there. I have been to Adelaide and Hobart - and there isn't a great deal of difference between the two places really. My NRL side, the Raiders, recently suffered from attracting players because it is hard to attract people to Canberra. So they deliberately avoid younger players who want the spotlight and are keen to get out on the town etc. They have recruited players from NZ, country NSW and Qld who appreciate more the quieter Canberra life. This resulted in getting a squad together that got further than any other of our sides since 1994. A Tassie team would learn how to attract and retain the kinds of players who like the Tassie lifestyle. Look at someone like Ben McEvoy - he is more interested in his farm than getting on the cans (or other substances...). Players like that would relish a place like Tassie - as might other country players who prefer the non-city life.

Again - I know my feelings on the Gold Coast are well known - but I would live in Hobart over the Gold Coast any day of the week.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Hobart dies every night at 6pm.

 

[Ned Ryerson]

Hobart dies every night at 6pm.

So does Brisbane. And the sun goes down an hour before that.