Former AFL coach Rodney Eade says the problems facing the game in Tasmania are opening up opportunities for rival codes to take control in the traditionally-strong football heartland.
Eade, a Tasmanian who played for Glenorchy as a junior before his long VFL career with Hawthorn and Brisbane, says the AFL must address the plight football his home state faces today, with the state league losing three clubs in the past two seasons.
He worries that should the AFL continue to neglect the game in the state, rival codes such as soccer could take the throne of being the most popular game in Tasmania.
“We can’t afford to drop the ball in heartlands, whether it be country Victoria, suburban Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia or Tasmania,” the former Sydney Swans, Western Bulldogs and Gold Coast Suns coach told SEN’s KB and The Doc.
“It has been a fertile ground… If soccer get their act together and start to play A-League games over there consistently and even get a team, there are going to be some dire consequences for footy in Tasmania.
“There’s not a lot of money pumped into it, the resources are a bit thin. At the moment we have only had one player drafted there the last two years…the signs aren’t looking too good.”
A Tasmanian team is believed to be under consideration as part of the A-League’s expansion plans for the 2019-2020 season, when two new teams will join Australia’s premier soccer competition.
Listen to Rodney Eade chatting with Kevin Bartlett and Dr Turf below: