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Tasmania relocation favoured over 19th AFL team

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An independent report has found there is a strong case for a Tasmanian AFL/AFLW team, but says relocating an existing team or setting up a “joint venture” with a Victorian club would be more sustainable than adding a 19th franchise.

Former Geelong president Colin Carter released his findings on Friday which found a strong presence was needed in Tasmania.

The report outlined three options: a stand-alone team, a relocated team or a “joint venture”, where a team would split games between Tasmania and Melbourne.

“The case can be made for a 19th licence,” AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said on Friday, though adding the best form of that team was less clear-cut.

“But re-location of an existing team if a club is prepared to take that path or a joint venture between Tasmanian stakeholders and a Victorian team that secures strong support in two markets from the outset, would arguably produce a more sustainable outcome and therefore should be considered before a 19th licence.”

Carter, who undertook a fact-finding trip to the Apple Isle in May, had examined the business plan for a Tasmanian side which was presented by the state government to the AFL last year.

That business plan had found a process that culminated in a side entering the AFL in 2025 stacked up financially.

But Carter’s report said a stand-alone Tasmanian team would rank in the lower-middle section of the AFL’s “wealth ladder” while a relocated Victorian team would sit in the middle ranking and be in a “formidable” position due to having support in both Melbourne and the Apple Isle.

The report was generally positive and adamant having a presence in Tasmania was “the right thing to do”, sentiments endorsed by McLachlan who emphasised any team needed to be “strong and sustainable.”

There is no set time frame for a decision on any of the three options or for existing clubs to make big calls on their futures.

McLachlan stressed clubs wouldn’t be pressured to make such big decisions amid the enhanced financial stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, while he categorically ruled out relocating the Gold Coast Suns.

“The Suns are not moving from the Gold Coast and that’s definitive,” he said.

The report has also been presented to the Tasmanian government.

Tasmanian premier Peter Gutwein previously said the state government needed to see the review so it can progress talks to roll-over contracts with Hawthorn and North Melbourne to hold games in Tasmania beyond this year.

The deal with the two Melbourne-based sides expires at the end of the season.

AAP

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