analysis
Tasmania's AFL ultimatum is the right move, but it places the entire sport in Tasmania at risk
SatSaturday 13
FebFebruary 2021 at 12:02am
Severing ties with North Melbourne and Hawthorn would mean a $30 million hole in the winter tourism economy.
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Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein believes his ultimatum to the AFL presents Tasmanians with the ultimate win-win — and he's probably right.
Either the AFL gives Tasmania a date for entry to the league, or the State Government cuts funding to Hawthorn and North Melbourne, leaving multi-million-dollar holes in their balance sheets.
It's a threat from the pen of a Premier in charge of a state that no longer has anything to lose, and a scenario the AFL surely doesn't want to see happen.