Eddie McGuire has detailed his plan to get a hybrid AFL team to Tasmania.
First revealed on Nine’s Footy ClassifiedMcGuire proposed a solution to allow North Melbourne to play more ‘home’ matches in Tasmania, in a compromise to ensure both the Roos and Tassie succeed.
It is clear that the 18 club presidents are divided ahead of their vote to grant a 19th license to a Tasmanian team in August, while the AFL has issued an ultimatum on the Apple Isle to build a stadium.
While North Melbourne is strong off the field, their on-field performance left a lot to be desired with their only win in the opening 13 rounds.
McGuire believes the club can develop its fan base and increase membership through a move to Tasmania.
“This is not moving from North Melbourne to Tasmania, or Tassie missing a team.”
Eddie McGuire reveals his BIG proposal for a team from Melbourne to form a ‘super club’ with Tassie – and the man he’d be looking for to coach it. #9FootyClassified † @Channel9 pic.twitter.com/sgrK39hAlS
— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) June 15, 2022
He was asked by SENs Dwayne Russell on the reaction he got to his idea.
“(I’ve had communications) from some very high-profile people from North Melbourne who think it’s worth looking into,” the former Collingwood president said in a statement. Dwayne’s world of SEN†
It comes after North Melbourne officials steadfastly stated they would not move, while AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan told reporters last week that moving an existing team was not on the agenda.
McGuire’s proposal meant that North Melbourne split their season between Tasmania and Melbourne, with 11 home games each, while also adding a number of other incentives for the club.
“This is about ideas, I think the idea of a standalone team is going to get in trouble,” he said.
“I put down what the Tasmanian government had to do last year and they have three quarters of the way there, but it’s like going to an auction. If the house is going for a million dollars and you only offer $750,000, you won’t get it.
“The AFL is getting good rewards for the following TV rights, but they’ve also been through some tough times. You know as well as I do, we don’t have enough players and there are a million (other) things to look at.
“I look at it and I say, ‘Okay, we’ve got North Melbourne going through a rough patch at the moment, you’ve got Tasmania hitting a bit of a wall now, if you just have Tasmania it’s going to be a huge impact, while we’re still trying to GWS and Gold Coast, do we need 19 teams? The TV (broadcasters) don’t want it, (so) how can we get the best result out of this? Here’s an opportunity.”
“Tasmania wants its own team – they will not accept this.”
The panel challenges Eddie on his idea of combining a team from Melbourne with Tasmania. #9FootyClassified † @Channel9 pic.twitter.com/lD47lr7q5w
— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) June 15, 2022
Colin Carter’s report also mentioned the idea of a Victorian team moving half to Tasmania as an alternative solution.
“I think every time they’ve done an expansion team, the AFL has honed it because they always say this is what it’s going to cost and they’ve under-capitalized on it,” McGuire continued.
“What this idea is, you absolutely go in and you say ‘this is what it’s going to be and North Melbourne’, for example if they were the team that wanted to do this they deserve the thanks of every other team they won’t get slaughtered in design concessions and all these other things and that’s why they get it and it’s set in stone.
“This is as much about letting the kangaroos survive as it is bringing in a best-case scenario for Tassie.
“Now it’s not mandatory, (we) don’t have to do it, but someone else comes up with an idea because right now a standalone Tasmania team, starting from scratch, have to build a team and a stadium and all these other things things will take ten years to hit the ground running and be all right.
“I look at two negatives and try to turn it into something positive.”
McGuire added that the proposal for a self-contained Tasmanian side seems less likely.
“All I see right now is frustration, frustration and frustration, and I think since the president’s meeting recently, Tassie is further away than what they were two years ago (in their hopes of getting a team),” he said. he. stated.
North Melbourne will play four home games in Tasmania in 2022.
