Football writer ALEX FAIR sat down with Hawthorn’s new Tasmanian operations manager David Cox about his vision for the AFL powerhouse in the state.
FOR a team that has the word Tasmania on the front of their jumper, Hawthorn still has a way to go to form a connection with the entire state.
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That's the opinion of the club's new Tasmanian operations manager David Cox, nine weeks into the role after a five-year stint with Tourism Tasmania as its distribution partnerships manager.
Cox comes into the role at the club as the two-time reigning premiers, who have called Launceston their second home since 2001, are negotiating a new deal with the state government to continue playing at Aurora Stadium post-2016.
A club that once again broke its Tasmanian membership record, a fortnight ago passing the record mark of 8743 as it pushes towards its eventual goal of 10,000, with at least 9000 the target this year.
A life-long Hawthorn supporter, 44-year-old Cox, originally from Melbourne, sees the position "a marriage of my personal drive for community, the love of the team and the opportunity to do some really innovative things in this state".
Cox wants the Hawks to be able to connect with Tasmanians whether they are football fans or not, and break down some of the stereotypes attached to the game and their fans.
"While the state has really embraced Hawthorn, my role is to broaden that reach and make Hawthorn more three dimensional," Cox said.
"I often say footy is a conversation starter, and an important one, because that is the universe that we operate in, but what are the things that sit behind that?
"How are we relevant to members of the community that aren't necessarily Hawthorn or footy fans?
"At the moment we're probably not, but Hawthorn absolutely has a role to play in contributing to those people across the state."
He uses the Eat and Play the Hawthorn Way program (which focuses on good health and the importance of education) run in schools as an example of the way it contributes to members of the community who aren't necessarily attached to the game.
"There's a lot of communities here that feel quite isolated across the state and what we are trying to do is to create a dialogue with those communities and get them to come to matches.
"So we partner with people like Active Tasmania, who look after children's activities during games, who are focused on people getting out of their seats, out of their houses, and getting into the community and being active."
Cox also hopes to reach out to the design, innovation and artists-oriented communities, and make them part of the Hawthorn family, with more partnerships with other community organisations on the cards.
The other challenge is geographical as such, that the club needs to have a connection with more than just the area of the state that it plays games in.
"We obviously have a high-profile here in the North, and we have a key challenge to be relevant in other areas of the state.
"We are the only state-sponsored team, but it is not just about the sponsorship.
"There is that formal part of the relationship, but the players actually loves Tasmania, so what we want to do is create a meaningful relationship statewide."
While Cox admits that North Melbourne's presence in Hobart does make this challenging, he said having both teams play in the state was "good for footy".
MEANWHILE, Aurora Stadium matches are a bit different this year.
Last Sunday's Pink Ribbon clash with the Western Bulldogs saw new initiatives such as the Tassie Tasting Corner, a trip for two to Melbourne given away by stomping grapes the fastest, buskers and a larger children's area.
A crowd of 15,559 attended, the biggest since 2013, with Cox saying "our goal is to make match days a uniquely Tasmanian experience and I think we achieved that in spades."
Each game will have a theme attached to it, with, for example, the May 30 encounter with the Gold Coast to be played in the AFL's indigenous round.
There are plans to have a music/visual element before each game, coming from a local source, and more unique ways for the crowd to be involved.
Cox is confident the Aurora Stadium's attendances will increase due to this after a few years of going the other way.
"With any relationship there are peaks and troughs, and there are a lot of externals that impact on people's desire to attend events.
"My challenge is to remain relevant enough in the community despite those influences, that people want to come."
Cox, who is married to Jess and has three children (Ella, 15, Henry, 12, and Freddie 9), is part of a three-person Tasmanian Hawthorn team in Launceston, along with operations administrator Emma Miller and corporate and sponsorship executive Tristan Hall.