Launceston is emerging as a key battleground in the fight for control of Hawthorn.
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As the club considers its future around Tasmania possibly securing the AFL's 19th licence, both candidates to replace Jeff Kennett as president have made significant moves towards the Hawks' second home.
Premiership player and former board member Andy Gowers will visit UTAS Stadium on Monday keen to outline how he thinks Hawthorn can remain a presence at the venue.
His visit coincides with rival Peter Nankivell - the Kennett-endorsed current vice-president - meeting with Premier Jeremy Rockliff having also been courting the Tasmanian media this week.
Both presidential candidates are seeking to build on the Hawks' 22-year arrangement in Launceston but while Nankivell wants to renew the sponsorship with Tasmania, Gowers sees the club becoming an annual opponent at UTAS Stadium to reward its Tasmanian supporter base.
"If, and hopefully when, Tasmania are granted their own AFL team licence - and assuming commercial arrangements change at that point as well - I look forward to working with the Tasmanian government to find a way for Hawthorn to continue to be involved in the Tasmanian football market," he said.
"Our nearly 8000 Hawks members in Tassie will always be treated with the respect they deserve given the outstanding support they've provided to teams in brown and gold since 2001.
"For Northern Tasmania, and Launceston specifically, I'm thrilled to see the state government commit to hosting four home games a season for the new club at UTAS Stadium."
A member of Hawthorn's 1991 premiership and on the board as football director for the 2014 and 2015 premierships, Gowers supported Tasmania getting its own team.
"As Hawthorn president, Tasmania getting its own AFL team would have my and our emphatic support," he said.
"It makes absolute sense that Tasmania be given the chance to enter our national competition in their own right and I'm certain they'll do a brilliant job if/when you do."
Gowers criticised the "lukewarm stance" of Kennett and Nankivell towards Tasmania, suggesting it had taken a presidential election for them to "come out in support of" the state.
"Hawthorn has a proud and rich history over 22 years in Tasmania - so many fantastic games have been hosted at York Park," he said.
"As president I will put in a standing request with the AFL that we are one of those games each year, as the away team. I'm also attracted to the idea, if it works commercially, of exploring a fifth AFL match each season by hosting Tasmania at UTAS Stadium - two blockbusters a year between the two best supported clubs in the state. We can create an instant rivalry that all of Tasmania will enjoy.
"Combined with the AFLW and VFL games that Launceston have been promised by the state government in this new arrangement, it presents a terrific outcome for Northern Tasmania."
On the subject of a new $750 million stadium in Hobart, Gowers said he was supportive of any move that could land Tasmania the AFL team it "so richly deserve(s) as a state that has given so much to our game over many decades".
He said stadium funding is a matter for federal and state governments rather than football clubs.
Rob Shaw
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
