More Football-related comments.

It has been a few days since I posted a Blog and there has been a lot happening.Hawthorn upset the Geelong party and unexpectedly won the AFL Grand Final at the hallowed MCG. Hawthorn are really a local team as they play 4 regular season matches here in Launceston and Tasmania are their No. 1 sponsor. The local reaction has been wild and the team are currently here at York Park (Aurora Stadium) celebrating with local fans and sponsors.

This unexpected victory has perhaps killed off the idea of a separate Tasmanian team in the AFL. The idea was really floated by the State Labor Government to deflect attention away from recent political incompetence and mismanagement. Hawthorn has said it remains committed to staying here in Tasmania and frankly it clearly is the best option than starting off a separate AFL team from scratch. The AFL hierachy has also made it clear that they are not interested in a separate team for Tasmania, prefering instead for teams on Queensland's Gold Coast and Sydney's western suburbs. I personally think the idea of a second team in Sydney is a non-starter, judging by the extremely poor attendance for the Sydney Swans finals match at the Sydney Olympic Stadium. Also the Gold Coast team is shaky with lukewarm sponsorship and local interest.

I think that the current 16 teams are enough. There are some teams who are on borrowed time if they cannot overcome their huge financial debt, namely Melbourne, Fremantle and the Western Bulldogs. Melbourne could possibly be saved because it was the first australian rulles football club and is as old as football itself. Freo will probably merge with the West Coast Eagles.As for the Western Bulldogs, I think they can survive as they do have a good supporter base yet are heavily in debt.

I know you may be asking the inevitable question whether the Hawthorn victory make me alter my allegiance from Collingwood? The answer is of course, NO. Naturally I am not happy with the way they have been performing, particularly off-field.I really think they need a new direction and leadership to overcome the negative image they have been portraying. Personally I think they lost the plot when they moved away from Victoria Park , which was Collingwood's identity for over 100 years. I have been there and you could feel the history and atmosphere of the ground. True the ground was too small to cater for the huge increase in spectator numbers but to move their clubrooms and facilities out of the suburb of Collingwood was, IMHO, a retrograde step.

Robin L. Harwood
a passionate Magpie fan.