Jack Riewoldt has hit back at Leigh Matthews for his “cut the crap” comments regarding the Tasmanian AFL bid.
Riewoldt, a proud Tasmanian, believes Matthews’ words only diminished what has been an ongoing push for a state steeped in VFL/AFL tradition.
The Richmond star was forthright in his response to the comments which came after Matthews challenged the “fabric” of the game in the wake of the Jack Ginnivan non-decision.
“Leigh Matthews has come out and said, ‘Cut the crap, it’s not the be all and end all’ if Tasmania doesn’t get a team and it won’t affect a lot of people if they don’t get a team,” Riewoldt said on SEN Tassie.
“But in the same interview he spoke about the essence of the game and not being able to sleep because Jack Ginnivan didn’t get a free kick, that he was up all night thinking about that because it’s the fabric of the game.
“This is the thing that I constantly beat my head against the wall about, is that Tasmania is the fabric of the game.
“They are an interwoven part of what is the AFL blanket. They are an original thread of why this game is so great.
“It’s tearing at the fabric if Tasmania’s push doesn’t get up. That’s solely it.
“You’ve got to look through the AFL Team of the Century - Royce Hart, Ian Stewart, plus Darell Baldock.
“The influence of Tasmania on the AFL and the game that Leigh Matthews has became arguably the greatest player at is there to see.
“It’s taken a while now to get a legitimate push up. Now this push is here, just to say ‘cut the crap’, doesn’t cut the mustard for me.”
Another who has discredited the Tassie push is outspoken Gold Coast Suns chairman Tony Cochrane.
Colin Carter, who undertook the task of proving a team in the Apple Isle can be viable, has been mystified by some of the chat surrounding the state’s bid for a licence.
“I find the comments from some of those other clubs mystifying,” Carter added on SEN Tassie.
“I’m a great fan of Tony Cochrane and what he’s done up there, I got to know him a bit when I was up in the hub 18 months ago.
“But I can’t even begin to fathom his attack on the proposition of a Tasmanian team on the basis that it can’t be afforded.
“It seems to me like he’s saying, ‘We don’t need another team like us’, and that’s a pretty weird argument to make.
“Because in arguing that the Tasmanian team will be a drain on the competition, he’s effectively saying, ‘We don’t want a drain like my club is’. I don’t think their club is a drain, either.”