Asked if he had played such a venue before, the 21-year-old singer said: “Yes, last night.”

English-born Mr Mastin, who won the national talent search show as a 16-year-old, had flown in from his home town Sydney where he performed at Friday night’s NRL match between the Canterbury Bulldogs and St George Illawarra at ANZ Stadium.

“It’s good to get to do two stadiums in two days.

“That was amazing, but cold. I’ve played Hobart before and travelled through Launceston so I was looking for a chance to come back down and it’s nice to perform in front of so many people.

“The crowd were lovely. I guess a lot of people here don’t really listen to my music but this is the market where I really want to be so it’s lovely to come down here and play to them.”

A fan of his English soccer side Scunthorpe, Mr Mastin moved to Australia a decade ago and watched his first AFL game when Sydney beat Hawthorn in the 2012 grand final.

“I went for the Swans because my girlfriend at the time was going for Hawthorn but I reckon after this the Hawks have won me over.”

Mr Mastin and his support musicians happily played much of their set in Hawthorn guernseys and the club was delighted to host him.

Tasmanian operations manager David Cox said the concert and accompanying firework display were a joint initiative between the Hawks and Launceston City Council to celebrate the club playing 15 years in the city.

“We wanted to do something special to mark the occasion,” Mr Cox said.

“The response has been fantastic with a sellout crowd. 

“A lot of people are really excited about this game and got to the ground really early.

“I have not seen a vibe around a game like this in years.”

The popularity of the fixture was evident long before the first bounce with fans of both persuasions flooding the city and traffic anywhere near Inveresk slowing to a standstill.

“The harvest market was full to over-flowing with Hawthorn and Carlton supporters before the game,” Mr Cox added. “It’s really exciting to see such interest in a game.”

Hawks president Richard Garvey and Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman both said the 18,112 crowd (the biggest since 19,217 in 2012) represented a ringing endorsement of the relationship between the reigning premiers and their principal sponsor.

“We are delighted to have two of the AFL’s great teams here and are able to celebrate with a sellout crowd,” Mr Hodgman said.