THE battle to win the hearts, minds and money of Tasmanian football supporters intensified this week when North Melbourne began to fortify its new base in Hobart.
Hawthorn has dominated the AFL scene in the Apple Island in recent years, but that is now likely to change with the Kangaroos entering the first of a three-year deal to play two matches per season at Bellerive Oval.
The Kangaroos held a four-day clinic, this week, that included a stop in Devonport, as they look to secure supporter and financial support.
The Roos have made no secret of the fact they need to develop more revenue streams, and have already made an impression, signing 2000 members in Hobart.
They will pocket about $1.8 million from their two home matches, but insist this deal is not the first step towards relocation, an issue Cats' chief executive Brian Cook told The Age could be faced by several Melbourne clubs before the end of the decade.
Unlike Hawthorn, the Kangaroos do not have official backing from the Tasmanian Government, although they are supported by a $1.5 million deal with the government-owned TT-Line and its Spirit of Tasmania.
Retired midfielder Brady Rawlings grew up in Devonport before having a stellar career with the Kangaroos. Now involved with the club's recruiting and player development, he says the Roos are determined to make an imprint during the preseason camp.
``I'm pumped about it. We're not doing this camp based on me Leg 1living and growing up in Tassie, but I think the state has been crying out for more AFL for years,'' he said.
``It's been great to see what Hawthorn has done, but we can take it to a whole new level and bring it down to the South and, hopefully, they'll jump on board.''
The Kangaroos, sick of being labelled a financially embattled club, need this deal to work. Provided it does, as chief executive Eugene Arocca pointed out last week, it would allow the club to tap into Hobart, Melbourne and eventually Ballarat, provided the Victorian Government supports the construction of a new stadium in the goldfields.
The AFL and the Kangaroos had hoped in late 2010 to secure a deal that would have left the Kangaroos the sole club in Tasmania, splitting games between the North and South.
That plan was scuppered when Hawks' president Jeff Kennett refused to budge and wanted to protect the investment, both financially and emotionally, his club had made.
The Hawks, who have four home matches at Aurora Stadium and will also hold a preseason camp in Tasmania, have a lucrative $15.7 million five-year deal with the Tasmanian Government. They also have more than 8000 Tasmanian members.
Clearly, there is a lot at stake.
As one official from a rival Melbourne club said this week: ``It will be interesting to see how this works long term and whether they can co-exist. Both clubs say they can. There's a lot of money on the line here so anything could happen.''
Although Kennett eventually did endorse the Roos watered-down deal last June, there was never any love lost between himself and the Kangaroos.
The same could be said about the parochial voices and internal squabbling that has traditionally highlighted relations between Hobart and Launceston, each wanting to protect its own patch.
Tony Harrison, the chairman of Cricket Tasmania, which runs Bellerive Oval, and one of the state's leading businessmen, understands first-hand this history and the difficulties it has presented in bringing the AFL to Hobart.
Never one to engage in such hostilities, he said the Hawks and Kangaroos could have a long and fruitful partnership in the state and is glad a derby of sorts has been scheduled for round 12 in Launceston.
``If you have that sort of rivalry you will probably resolve a lot of those issues where you have silly people up at Launceston, including the guy who is the chair of the York Park authority, he is North Melbourne supporter who said he would never come to Hobart Leg 3to watch a match,'' Harrison said this week.
``I think you would get over that. You would have people in Hobart who supported the Kangaroos going up to Aurora Stadium to watch them play Hawthorn and vice versa.
``You would get people from Launceston who support Hawthorn to come down to Bellerive to watch them play the Kangaroos the next year.
``However, the Kangaroos intrusion could eventually impact on the Hawks financially.
``The deal Hawthorn has with the Tasmanian Government is the best deal around,'' he said.
``That's why Kennett didn't want to put that at risk. I think you will find when that deal expires, they won't get the same deal again because North Melbourne will be entrenched.
``Why would the government pay all that money to subsidise Hawthorn in the north and not subsidise it (Kangaroos) in the South?''
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