LAUNCESTON football fans appear fairly united in their reaction to news that fledgling state league club Western Storm required ‘‘rebranding’’ after just two years in existence.
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Comments posted on The Examiner’s website largely supported the opinion of North Launceston president Thane Brady in wishing Storm staff well in their continued efforts but criticising the decision to set the club up originally.
Storm president Michelle Strickland announced a ‘‘new governance model’’ on Wednesday which was supported by AFL Tasmania but Brady asked: ‘‘Aside from a different jumper, what’s going to change?’’
The Examiner’s readers flooded our website with comments including: ‘‘Sadly, Thane speaks too much sense to be taken notice of. He is on the money again but will fall on deaf ears.’’
Phil Webb added: ‘‘I love the way that Thane isn’t spooked by the AFL Tas hierarchy to express his opinion. It’s a pity that the other club presidents don’t follow suit.’’
Michael Gibbons wrote: ‘‘The decision to create Western Storm has been shown to have been simply stupid. The decision to now change to Prospect Hawks will only lead to the decline of the Prospect Hawks and its juniors.
‘‘Rebranding to utilise the Prospect Hawks may prop up this organisation for a while but it will not lead to a greater acceptance of a team which was created for all the wrong reasons.’’
Many respondents pointed to the subsequent success of South Launceston in the NTFA, where the club has three teams contesting grand finals, questioned the financial stability of Storm and called on other TSL clubs to speak out about the league structure.
One said he had been a South Launceston supporter for more than 40 years but said the Western Storm was both a geographical misnomer and a ‘‘Frankenstein’’ creation from the league.
Even the posting on the State League’s Facebook page drew criticism, Graham O’Byrne praising the efforts of volunteers like Strickland who were ‘‘endeavouring to save’’ the club.
But he added: ‘‘[This] simply highlights the total lack of capability of AFL Tas to strategically manage any major change.
‘‘This is entirely what was projected as a key risk by the TSL clubs of the day at the time of the whole swap away from South Launceston from the outset.’’