Kane Cornes has backed Tasmania’s decision to play hard ball with the AFL over contract negotiations surrounding Hawthorn and North Melbourne.
Both teams will play four games in the state in 2021, but will need to negotiate new contracts beyond that.
Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein has put the pressure back on the league, saying they will not discuss the contracts until the AFL gives them greater clarity about the 19th license.
We will not finalise the arrangements for the next contract with Hawthorn or North Melbourne until we have clarity from the AFL in terms of our own licence,” Gutwein told reporters on Tuesday.
“That clarity doesn’t exist at the moment.
“I’ve made it perfectly clear to Mr (Gillon) McLachlan we cannot and will not finalise those arrangements until we have that clarity.
“Tasmania is part of the federation and you cannot have a truly national Australian Football League if one of the states does not have a team in it.
“I’ve made that perfectly clear to the AFL.”
Cornes hopes the AFL commits to putting a 19th club in Tasmania sooner rather than later.
“Good on them, and so they should (put pressure back on the AFL),” Cornes told SEN SA Breakfast.
“They deserve one. They have been put on the backburner for far too long and I’d love to see a team in Tassie and a 19th team, I think it would be terrific for the national game.”
Cornes isn’t sure whether the AFL will make the commitment, but feels the pressure is building on them to do so.
“I’m not sure how committed the AFL are to it or if they’re in a financial position with what happened last year to make this happen,” he said.
“We’re starting to get some real heavy hitters behind this push now.
“And the fact they’re now saying we’re not going to think about hosting teams until you’re serious about giving us our own team, I think that’s a big step.”