But the state's pathway into a home-grown team of its own remains as muddy as ever, as tensions continue to rise over the issue.

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein has threatened to halt all negotiations for new sponsorship deals with Hawthorn and North Melbourne unless the AFL comes to the party with a clear timeline.

Tasmania has and always will be an AFL heartland - the communities here, particularly in Northern Tasmania, live and breathe AFL. The Tasmanian AFL taskforce's 267-page business plan was first handed to Mr McLachlan on February 7, 2020 - 43 days before COVID forced the season's postponement. The AFL Commission had begun to consider the report when coronavirus put the season on standstill until June 11, with cuts putting many out of jobs industry-wide.

Tasmanian AFL taskforce chairman Brett Godfrey said last week that while the AFL did not need Tasmania's "added noise" once COVID set in last year, the state could not wait much longer for a response.

The AFL's response to this was to post an announcement late on Friday, saying it would seek a further review of the business case, with a deadline attached - the end of 2022. Hollow words indeed - it has not committed to anything, despite the fact the AFL has had ample time to consider Tasmania's business case.

As the COVID vaccine roll-out program has begun in haste, it begs the question, how long can the AFL hide behind the pandemic to delay its response to the report? And when will it definitively answer?

While it appears the government wants to play hardball with Tasmania's sponsorship support - in terms of monetary dollars - it's hoped that Tasmanians will not get caught in the crossfire and lose football altogether. That won't serve anyone. The AFL has the ball squarely in their court - they need to come to the party.

Tasmania has not only supported the AFL for decades with fans but has for the past several years stumped up with millions of dollars to prop up clubs financially - how much more do we need to give?