Tasmanian premier Peter Gutwein has been near fuming by the AFL's effect to the Colin Carter study regarding a imaginable 19th squad based successful the Apple Isle.
The long-awaited study from the ex-Geelong president recommended that the authorities of Tasmania does merit an AFL and AFLW team, and gave the AFL 3 options: a 19th license, the relocation of an existing Victorian team, oregon a Melbourne-based nine playing astir of its matches successful Tasmania.
After AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan suggested that relocation oregon a associated task was the "best chance" of a squad from Tasmania having success, a furious Gutwein threatened to prohibition the AFL from the authorities altogether adjacent season.
"That contiguous effect from them I don't deliberation is bully enough," Gutwein said.
"I'm precise disappointed with the AFL this morning. This is unacceptable, I've been wide from the outset we request a timeline.
"We volition not finalise those contracts, we volition not rotation them implicit with Hawthorn and North Melbourne until we person a starting constituent from the AFL … successful regards to a caller Tasmanian AFL team.
"Once again they've attempted to footwear the tin down the road. We don't privation to rent our ain team, we privation our ain team.
"There volition beryllium ramifications for that and if it means that we don't [have] AFL contented present adjacent year.
"If it means that we usage the wealth that we'd usually usage to enactment those clubs that enactment our ain Tasmanian sport.
"If we usage that wealth to pull events, different attractions into the authorities successful that play to guarantee that we tin spot the economical benefits."
McLachlan stated that the Carter study suggested a marque caller 19th squad successful Tasmania would beryllium ranked successful the mediate of the bottommost 3rd of the wealthiness ladder among AFL teams, but a imaginable merged squad would beryllium positioned successful the mediate class.
While the struggling Gold Coast Suns person been 1 of the teams astir linked with a Tasmania move, McLachlan said it was "definitive" that the nine would not beryllium moved.
If Tasmania is to summation a license, it requires enactment from 14 of the AFL's 18 nine presidents.
Carter's study aims for a 19th nine to beryllium introduced to the AFL by the 2025 season, but McLachlan stated that determination was nary timeline for the findings of the reappraisal to beryllium implemented.
"The lawsuit tin beryllium made for a 19th license, but relocation of an existing squad – if a nine is prepared to instrumentality that way – oregon a associated task betwixt Tasmania stakeholders and a Victorian squad that secures beardown enactment successful 2 markets from the outset would arguably nutrient a much sustainable result and truthful should beryllium considered earlier a 19th license," helium said.
"We enactment the presumption and the Commission supports the presumption a squad representing Tasmania is the close happening to bash and ensuring it has the champion accidental of occurrence is besides the close happening to do."
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