One of the greatest players to ever pull on a pair of footy boots has given a refreshingly honest take on the state's AFL team bid.
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When asked about it, Hawthorn legend and born-and-bred Tasmanian Peter Hudson didn't pretend to know what's going on and like most people is waiting to see what happens later this month.
"The way I look at it, is I'm a Tasmanian and I think any Tasmanian (football fan) and probably the majority of football people all over the country would love to see a Tasmanian team in the AFL," he said.
"And that's exactly how I feel, I'd love to see Tassie have a team. But as to how that's going to work, I've got no idea. All I know is what I read, which is no more or less than anybody else. So I don't know the ins and outs of it."
Hudson described his own experience in the lead-up to the decision.
"A lot of people talk to me about Tassie having a team in the AFL but what I have to say to them is I'd love to see Tassie with a team," he said.
"And when they say, 'well what do you think of this? And what do you think of that?' I've got to go 'well, hang on, I don't have the answers because I'm not privy to all the detail of what's going on'. I think everybody's anxious about it. But there's not much anyone can do. Apart from the government and the AFL."
Hudson, who grew up in New Norfolk and is now Melbourne-based, will be at UTAS Stadium on Saturday for the Hawks' round 21 clash against the Gold Coast.
Hawthorn has worn a specially-designed Legends guernsey in his honour this season.
They've worn the jumper a few times this year but will formally acknowledge Hudson on Saturday at their president's function.
They'll celebrate one of the most prolific goal-kickers the game has seen.
Hudson, who was in the 1971 premiership team, played 129 games and kicked 727 goals at average of 5.59.
He kicked more than 100 goals in a season four times and equalled Bob Pratt's record of 150 goals in a season in 1971.
The 76-year-old is an Australian Football Hall of Fame legend and an icon in the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame.
The four-time Coleman medallist features in the Hawthorn Team of the Century as well as the Tasmania Team of the Century.
He was Glenorchy's playing-coach when they won the 1975 premiership and also coached Hobart in the 1980s.
The flight from Melbourne to Launceston is one Hudson is familiar with.
He was instrumental in getting Hawthorn to play games on the Apple Isle and attended almost every game of their first 50 in Tassie.
Hudson chaired a government-appointed task force from 2000 after being asked by then Premier Jim Bacon.
"The task force was responsible for getting an (AFL) game and then of course it grew to two games and then St Kilda had two and then St Kilda pulled out and Hawthorn took four. It grew into a world of its own after that," Hudson said.
He reflected on his time with that task force which included Launceston businessman Errol Stewart.
"It was a good group and when we had our meetings in Launceston, the Hawthorn chief executive would fly down and I'd fly down," he said.
"The task force was pretty much responsible for the games because Robert Groenewegen ran the precinct, and did all the legwork with the ground and the game. And Paul Sproule was that conduit to the Premier. It was just a real pleasure to be a part of it with those people that were so good.
"And Scott Wade was the chief executive of AFL Tasmania at the time and he was involved. We had all the right people to make it work. And it did work and it has worked."
Hudson said he was grateful for what football had given him ahead of his honour on Saturday.
He feels fortunate to have played under the likes of Trevor Leo at New Norfolk as well as John Kennedy and David Parkin at Hawthorn.
And he pinches himself thinking about how Hawthorn have won 12 premierships since he started playing with the club.
"One of the things that's been the thrill of a lifetime for me was to see my son (Paul) follow me into football, which I didn't ever push him to do," he said.
"He did it himself and then for the two of us to play in premierships with Hawthorn in 1971 and 1991."
Hudson still watches plenty of footy and was Hawthorn's number one ticket-holder for 11 years.
"I enjoy the game as much now as I ever have," he said.
"I really enjoy watching it. If it was on television eight nights a week I'd watch it every night. Currently, I'm on a couple of committees at the club and I'm enjoying that and I've had a pretty big involvement this year because of the jumper."
What does one of the game's greatest full-forwards think about goal-kicking today?
"The snap around the corner is new to me but it's new to everybody," he said.
"You can't argue there hasn't been some amazing goals kicked by kicking around the corner.
"If people can kick goals, it really doesn't matter how they kick them. I grew up in an era of kicking in a straight line. So it's hard for me to think about kicking around the corner."
While he doesn't mind the snap, he's not so keen on another aspect of modern goal-kicking.
"The one I don't like is when players run off the line and run out to the right and invariably they'll miss to the left," he said.
"By running off the line, you create a situation where you're kicking across your body. And you see it time and time again...guys will run off to the right and miss to the left if their right-footers (and vice versa)."
Keeping everything in a straight line was key to Hudson's routine.
"That was the way I was taught by the great Trevor Leo in Hobart when he was my coach at New Norfolk," he said. "He taught me a routine. I always compare it to going to a golf pro. You go to a golf pro and they tell you how to hit the ball straight.
"It's exactly the same thing. If you haven't got a proper (goal-kicking) routine, you won't stick to that routine and that's where the trouble comes in."
Apart from his scoring prowess, Hudson's knack for reading the play and protecting the drop of the ball are likely to be spoken about when he's celebrated on Saturday.
While he feels football has given him a lot, he's more than returned the favour during his more than 50 years of involvement.
It's been an experience he could only have dreamed of when he was a kid.
Back then he was booting a ball around his local oval, imagining himself as goal-kicking great, John Coleman.
- Hawthorn plays the Gold Coast at 1.45pm at UTAS Stadium on Saturday
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