The success of the Tasmania JackJumpers' debut season has left one of the key drivers of the state's potential AFL expansion believing the AFL has ground to make up.
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The JackJumpers have made a grand finals series in their first-ever season with multiple sell-out crowds in Hobart and produced a groundswell of support for their grand final push.
Former premier Peter Gutwein believes their success has shown the AFL that Tasmania could be a success in the national code.
"The state has got right behind this and importantly, participation has gone through the roof in terms of kids want to be involved in basketball," he said.
"The JackJumpers are leading from the front and I tell you, they're sending a signal to the AFL."
Gutwein was one of the state's key voices in the push to become the AFL's 19th side which is set to be decided in August.
Last year, it was determined by Colin Carter in his report that the business case for a Tasmanian side stacked up. Outgoing AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has said the AFL had the finances to bring Tasmania into the league.
While Gutwein strongly believed Tasmania will get the 19th licence, he said the AFL needed to commit one way or the other to a potential side.
"The AFL really does have to sit up and notice, Tasmanians will get behind a team of their own and I am certain they will get behind an AFL team," he said on SEN.
"What the AFL has to do is lay out that pathway ... I think the AFL really do have to take notice.
"We're a football state and we would get behind an AFL team, importantly the plan has to be laid out so that we don't lose the seven or eight or nine-year-old to basketball when football is really their preferred sport of choice.
"They're got to be able to see what the future holds."
The comments come after Geelong coach Chris Scott shared the Victorian club's support for a potential Tasmanian side.
However, it was reported that some AFL clubs were concerned about Tasmania's potential after Jeremy Rockliff replaced Gutwein as premier.
Earlier this week, Tasmanian AFL taskforce member Grant O'Brien moved to refute those concerns.
"The reality is the premier is leading the way and leading it well," he said.
"Myself and others on the taskforce have seen someone who has shown commitment to the team and there's been no drop off in momentum at all. To say otherwise is simply not true."
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