'We should have a team': New calls for Tassie AFL side

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein plans to talk with AFL boss Gillon McLachlan later this week about a report analysing the island state’s case for a team.

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein has doubled down on his call for the AFL to make a review of the state’s footy future public, saying he plans to speak with league boss Gillon McLachlan this week. 

The AFL commission will receive a report by Colin Carter assessing the business case for a 19th licence being granted to a Tasmanian team at a two-day meeting on Wednesday and Thursday.

“We should have a team and I believe we will get a team,” Gutwein said.

“There’s obviously a lot of speculation about the Carter report at the moment. Until I’ve got a copy in my hands and I understand what Mr Carter has to say I’m not going to speculate.

“I would hope based on the very strong position that we outlined in our business case, the very positive feedback Mr Carter received when he was in the state earlier this year, that the report will be positive.”

The commission is not expected to make a decision on a 19th licence or take it to club presidents for a vote until the end of the season

Gutwein said he would speak with McLachlan later this week and expects to soon receive the report.

“I hope that that report would be made publicly available as soon as possible,” he said.

“We currently have contracts in place with Hawthorn and North Melbourne and I’d like to see that report… before we finalise those contracts for next year.”

Gutwein recently said the state government was in talks with the Hawks and Kangaroos about short-term contracts to continue playing home games in Tasmania.

Carter, who undertook a fact-finding tour of the Apple Isle in May, was tasked with reviewing the business plan for a Tasmanian side which was presented by the state government to the AFL last year.

It found a plan that culminated in a side entering the AFL in 2025 stacked up financially.

The report said an initial investment of $45 million, split between the AFL and federal and state governments, would be required to cover the initial set-up of the club.

The state government would then need to underwrite the team by $11 million a year, it suggested.

McLachlan has previously said the decision to not provide a timeline was because the league needed a clearer picture about the financial impact of COVID-19.