Eddie McGuire says the AFL needs to "start again" with its attack to a caller Tasmanian-based team, aft the authorities was near fuming astatine the league's effect to a imaginable 19th squad successful the Apple Isle past week.
After a study from ex-Geelong president Colin Carter claimed that Tasmania had a beardown lawsuit for a team, AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan incurred the wrath of Tasmanian premier Peter Gutwein by suggesting that a joint-venture oregon an existing Victorian squad relocating to the authorities would beryllium Tasmania's champion option.
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Gutwein responded by threatening to propulsion backing from each AFL activities successful Tasmania and plans to "pivot" authorities backing to rival codes if the AFL continues to beryllium non-committal.
McGuire compared the AFL's absorption to the Carter study to the 1980s wherever struggling Victorian teams were sent interstate arsenic opposed to marque caller teams being introduced.
He urged the league to go a afloat nationalist contention by installing teams successful some Tasmania and acold North Queensland by 2030, saying the AFL needs to leverage the infrastructure brought astir by the 2032 Olympic Games successful Brisbane and the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
"We can't person Tasmania look similar a second-rate national progressive successful this," helium told Nine's Footy Classified.
"I conscionable reckon the study was excessively overmuch of [the] 1980s. Where bash we get escaped of a occupation successful Victoria and dump it determination else?
"You can't nonstop idiosyncratic who doesn't privation to spell determination to idiosyncratic who doesn't privation to person them and expect success.
"The Carter report, and I'm not having a spell astatine Colin Carter, he's done this successful bully faith, but I look astatine it and deliberation there's a acold bigger vista retired determination if you attack it this mode that we tin travel up with immoderate solutions.
"If the reply is no, the reply is no. But what we can't accidental is, the reply is benignant of this and possibly that."
According to McGuire, Gutwein is successful nary unreserved to person a squad successful Tasmania, but wants clarity from the AFL. McLachlan says the AFL has a "commitment" to enactment retired a solution with Tasmania.
"He said, 'I conscionable privation an answer, I tin unrecorded with a 'no', but I won't bull different 12-18 months of indecision," McGuire said.
"He is prepared to enactment with the AFL connected a COVID betterment and it's economical impact. So what he's saying is, 'Let's relax, I conscionable request to cognize that this is going to hap and that determination is an implicit content that we should person a squad successful Tasmania'.
"He is unfastened to treatment connected backstage ownership, which wasn't addressed successful the Carter report, and tin propulsion the introduction of a squad from 2026 to 2030."
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