Tasmanian AFL bid: Gutwein raises stakes with McLachlan

Decades worth of discussion and debate appeared to come to a head early last year as the Tasmania AFL taskforce handed down its highly-anticipated business plan.

The 267-page document illustrated how a Tasmanian team could viably enter the competition by 2025 with minimal financial assistance from the AFL.

Last Sunday marked exactly one year since the report was released, with barely a murmur from the AFL about if, or when, Tasmania could secure a licence.

That could be about to change.

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After postponing talks with Hawthorn and North Melbourne, who are both in the final year of five-year deals with the state, Premier Peter Gutwein has upped the stakes.

A letter sent to the AFL this week threatened to drop both deals should the state not be given a timeline for the establishment of its own team.

The government expects a response from the AFL within a few days.

"The Premier has recently written to the AFL in relation to Tasmania's continued bid for an AFL licence," a government statement read.

"We understand that there was an AFL Commission meeting this week which included discussion on a potential Tasmanian AFL licence.

"The Premier has had a telephone conversation with [AFL boss Gillon McLachlan] subsequent to this meeting and been advised that he will receive a response to his letter in coming days."