Tasmanian football has added another Hawk feather to its cap courtesy of August’s Luke Hodge farewell game at UTAS Stadium.
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The round 21 fixture between Hawthorn and North Melbourne was ranked in the top five games of the 2017 season for fan satisfaction in a recent AFL survey, sharing the top of the list with Dreamtime at the ‘G and the Big Freeze game between Melbourne and Collingwood.
A crowd of 14,509 attended the fixture which featured pre-match entertainment including fireworks, X-Factor winner Isaiah Firebrace and a giant number 15 guernsey in honour of the retiring Hawthorn great, who has since signed a two-year deal with Brisbane which ironically could see him return to Launceston next season.
The survey covered 72 games – all 18 clubs nominated four games each – and gathered fan feedback on food and beverage options and pre-match entertainment.
Hawthorn Tasmanian operations manager David Cox welcomed the top-five result and said he didn’t know of any other Tasmanian games which had achieved such a feat.
“It’s amazing and it was in good company because the Dreamtime and an Anzac game were two of the other five, so the big MCG and mainland games,” he said.
“It shows that what we’re delivering in Tasmania is a quality experience that is on par with the kind of experiences people can get at mainland games.
“Just because we’re at a boutique stadium in regional Australia, it doesn’t mean they’re not getting a top-of-the-range experience and that’s endorsed by the findings from the AFL’s national survey.”
The Hawthorn-North Melbourne fixture was Launceston’s annual marquee match for 2017, an arrangement which sees Hawthorn, AFL Tasmania and City of Launceston share the bill for pre-match entertainment.
AFL Tasmania’s Trisha Squires said she was “delighted” to hear the outcome of the survey and would aim to replicate the result in future seasons.
“We were delighted to hear the outcome of the AFL pre-match satisfaction survey,” Squires said.
“It is great news that it was received well by the fans, and great feedback for football games in Tasmania.
“We will work towards achieving the same outcome in 2018 and beyond.”
UTAS Stadium’s debut Saturday night fixture, a round six blockbuster between Hawthorn and St Kilda, has been locked in as 2018’s marquee match.
Hawthorn will also meet Brisbane, Gold Coast and Port Adelaide in Launceston next season.