Tasmanian AFL team: McLachlan response 'beggars belief' says Gutwein

The Premier penned a letter to the AFL last week stating that deals with Hawthorn and North Melbourne could be dropped should a timeline for a Tassie AFL team not be provided soon.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said in a written response that an independent consultant had been commissioned to assess the report conducted by the Tasmanian AFL taskforce.

"This should be completed by late 2021 or early 2022 when we expect to have a clearer picture of our own financial position and that of the wider AFL community," McLachlan's letter said.

Gutwein said the response received from the AFL was simply not good enough.

"After receiving our business case 12 months ago, it beggars belief the AFL has not been able to consider it fully over the last year and now, to add insult to injury, want to take up to another year before providing clarity on the future of a Tasmanian team," he said.

Gutwein described Tasmania as 'a footballing heartland state' that has paid its dues and deserved much better.

"We have supported the AFL and before them the VFL, providing some of the best talent to play the game and it's now time for the AFL to treat Tasmania fairly," he said.

McLachlan's written response said COVID-19 had impacted the Commission's ability to review the 267-page taskforce report.

The AFL head honcho also said the league had suffered financial hardship due to the pandemic in the form of a $600 million drop in revenue.

The response said that COVID-19 would continue to impact the league in 2021, and thus prolong the review's duration.

"We understand the impact this might have on your government's ability to progress the arrangements with Hawthorn and North Melbourne," McLachlan said.

"And if that remains an issue, we would propose the AFL deal directly with the two clubs and the implications or them in 2022, as well as for Tasmanian football."

McLachlan spoke to both the Premier and taskforce chairman Brett Godfrey prior to writing his response.

It has been more than a year since the taskforce submitted its findings to the AFL, with no formal response given until Friday.

The Premier had made a similar push for a response to the taskforce's findings in December 2020.

Gutwein said he intended to seek a meeting with McLachlan at the earliest opportunity to continue to press the case for a Tasmanian team.