The state government's plan to home a Victorian AFL side in Tasmania is a strategy to seek out latest "competitive advantages" over vulnerable debt-ridden clubs.
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The lasting impact of the coronavirus pandemic may have set Tasmania's bid to join the AFL back by possibly 10 years, but it has left teams with an uncertain future.
Premier Peter Gutwein is launching a new economic and social recovery advisory council to rebuild a stronger Tasmania from the effects of COVID-19 on the state.
One of the Premier's key measured outcomes for the advisory council is to consider the economic benefits to obtaining an AFL licence.
"While short-term priorities will centre on strategies to facilitate sustainable economic growth and mitigate social impacts, longer-term planning will look at targeting sectors where Tasmania has, or can develop, competitive advantages and capture opportunities for growth," Gutwein told The Examiner.
"It would be my expectation that we leave no stone unturned on ways we can rebuild our state sustainably and responsibly, including pursuing a clear goal for Tasmania to be part of the AFL."
It comes on the back of extraordinary remarks last week from the Premier that the AFL should cut its losses on a club to scale back the game and readjust costs.
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Gutwein believed that AFL boss Gillon McLachlan had to give some serious consideration to "whether some of those outlying clubs that they have poured so much money into be a part of the AFL's future moving forward".
No club has been named, but St Kilda, who are in the red to the tune of $12 million, could be targeted after an ill-fated switch to Seaford in 2010 has left the Saints more vulnerable than any of the other teams in Victoria.
Battling Gold Coast almost certainly is off the table considering the AFL's position is to retain non-Victorian clubs despite nearly $250 million being injected into the Suns since starting out in 2011.
North Melbourne was in line to be a prime candidate until ironically its decision to play up to four home games each season at Bellerive Oval helped eradicate around $9 million of debt a decade ago.
Gutwein, as of yet, would not reveal the finer details but his plan implies an AFL team playing 11 home games in Launceston and Hobart would be of greater financial benefit than to continue paying Hawthorn and North Melbourne for eight games a year in the state until 2022.
It is unclear if state taxpayers would have to fork out the outstanding debts of a club before it settled in Tasmania.
Gutwein also refused to elaborate whether a relocated team would play under a similar name and colours to its own or would the licence permit the government with a side in the state to adopt a Tasmania Devils moniker.
The former option would go against the advice of the Tasmania AFL taskforce.
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Andrew Mathieson
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
