The Australian Football League's long-term future in Tasmania "looks headed for a significant directional shift should the competition accept the conclusion drawn by its own review" recently completed by former Western Bulldogs CEO Simon Garlick, according to Caroline Wilson of THE AGE.
Despite the state having committed to a new five-year, 20-game deal with Hawthorn from '17 "and being on the verge of a new five-year agreement with the Kangaroos, the AFL Commission last month tabled the Garlick report and its preference for a one-team model."
It "also recommends that one AFL club -- which looks certain to be North Melbourne -- gains the rights to young talent across the state and establish a multicultural football academy with the virtual doubling of staff at AFL Tasmania which has been under-resourced in terms of game development and community support." AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan's response to the review "remains pivotal to the game's future in a traditional football state where emerging talent numbers have dwindled over recent decades and which looks to be crying out for leadership in unifying the three regions."
On the eve of his appointment to the top job McLachlan too "stated his preference for a one-team model." That he reportedly "remains determined in his view" that one AFL club "should play out of Tasmania and now has support for that view on paper should set the stage for an intriguing test of his leadership." Because the report "does hedge its bets in suggesting two teams currently serve the state well" (THE AGE, 3/9).
