How does the Tassie history of Launceston's two adopted AFL sides compare?

Sharing different relationships with Northern Tasmania, Hawthorn and St Kilda meet at UTAS Stadium on Saturday.

Of the 88 AFL matches at the ground formerly known as York Park since May 2001, Hawthorn have hosted 78 of them and St Kilda eight.

The other two had Western Bulldogs and Greater Western Sydney allocated as the home teams during the COVID-hit 2021 finals series.

The Hawks dipped their talons into Tasmanian waters first, playing one game in 2001 and two the following year before the Saints joined them as co-inhabitants in 2003.

Signing a five-year deal to play two Launceston matches, St Kilda withdrew from the contract in 2006 - ending on a controversial note following the sirengate saga in their penultimate game as hosts.

In what has since become AFL folklore, the Saints were taking on Fremantle when the siren sounded with the Dockers up by a point but it couldn't be heard.

St Kilda's Steven Baker received a free-kick and found the wrong side of the sticks and the match was adjudged a draw until it was overturned 72 hours later.

Months later, the Saints were gone and Hawthorn took on a four-game contract which has seen them play at least four games in 16 of the last 17 seasons - 2020 being the the only one they didn't.

The next time St Kilda would be seen at UTAS Stadium was in 2009 as they picked up a win several years before Hawthorn went on an all-time run.

Alastair Clarkson's men turned Launceston into a fortress, winning 19 consecutive games at the venue from 2012 to 2016.

Coincidentally, it was the Saints who snapped the 10th greatest venue-based streak in history with a 75-point drubbing in April 2016.

Since then, Saturday's visitors have only played in Launceston once, becoming another Hawthorn victim in 2018.

Of the 16 teams to grace the field for premiership points - Collingwood and Melbourne have not - the Saints have the equal third-best win-loss record.

They've split their 10 matches at 5-5, only below Sydney's 66.67 per cent (2-1) and Hawthorn's dominant 73.72 (57-1-20).

Despite slipping out of the top eight for the past five seasons, the Hawks have continued to impress south of Bass Strait.

Three of their seven wins last season came at UTAS and they will be hopeful of starting their 2024 Launceston campaign with a victory over the Saints.