Junior pathways in the North-East are a priority for AFL Tasmania and the Tasmanian Football Council, following the demise of the North East Football Union.
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After a season with just two teams participating, the union has dissolved with Scottsdale Crows pulling the pin and Winnaleah forced into recess by the Northern Tasmanian Football Association council’s decision not to accept them into its division 2 roster.
There is now no senior team north of Scottsdale with Scottsdale Magpies, Bridport and East Coast Swans the only senior clubs left in the region.
“It’s disappointing given the history of the competition, but at the same time, none of us are surprised given what’s happened in the past couple of years,” TFC general manager Jackson Hills said.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with (NEFU president) Kirk Wagner and the union and they were always of the view that at some point the competition would wind up, but they were just trying to make sure there was still a continuation of football opportunities in the North-East.
“There has been a lot of demographic and industry change out there, which is not just isolated to the North-East, they are facing similar challenges in the North-West and on the West Coast.
“We knew that was going to occur and it was about making sure there were opportunities for kids that want to play footy and move through the pathway.”
Hills said he worked closely with both the NTFA and NEFU throughout the process, and that programs and opportunities within the school system were being investigated.
“There are avenues into the division 1 and division 2 pathways in the NTFA but there are also a few different options in terms of kids being able to play in the NTJFA with various clubs.” he said.
Hills said AFL Tasmania and TFC were concerned about the state’s “negative ratio” of junior boys teams compared to senior teams.
Several NTFA division 2 clubs have had to forfeit reserves games in the past few years and it was reported last week that the association was concerned about a number of clubs’ viability. “We’ve got 12 senior competitions across the state, but only three junior competition to fill those numbers,” Hills said.
“We’ve been honing in on Auskick and school programs in the past 12 months because it’s the only way we’re going to get more kids coming through the system.
“We’ve had a bit of an uplift in Auskick, big growth in girls and but some growth in boys as well, which provides some positive signs for the future. It’s going to take a few years to work and build those numbers back up.”
Hills supports the NTFA’s possible restructure by relieving division 1 clubs of the under-18s competition and introducing a promotion-relegation system.
“The NTFA is looking at having a process that allows clubs to confirm their status each year, sort of a licence process, and that’s healthy,” he said.
“We’ve always taken the view that you don’t necessarily want to lose clubs, and unfortunately we have done across the state in recent years, but losing teams is ultimately better than losing clubs.
“There are a range of levers you could pull at competition level to manage that.
“Some of those things are happening.”