“Are you kidding me”: Devils faithful fire back at Giants CEO's unwarranted clip

Outgoing GWS CEO Dave Matthews has had a swing at Tasmania on his way out, and it's left a sour taste in the mouth of the Devils' faithful.

Amid the announcement of Ken Hinkley’s commitment to the Devils, the Giants’ chief has left nothing on the table, spewing his thoughts over the appeal for players to represent the Devils as a part of their inaugural side in 2028.

Given the persistent links to GWS star Tom Green, it’s understandable that the departing CEO isn’t overly thrilled with the Devils’ flexibility in offering attractive deals to stars of the competition.

And in his view, the money is a requirement given Tasmania’s liveability.

“Tasmania looms large just because of the sheer offers that you hear that they are going to make,” said Matthews on 3AW.

“To be honest, my view is that they need to make those offers. I don’t think it’s a super attractive proposition to go and play in Tasmania.

“My own view is that it’s a nice place to visit. I don’t think it’s an unbelievable place to have a career and to live.

“I think some of the hold ups in relations to the infrastructure – I know Brendan Gale (Devils CEO) wouldn’t like me saying this – we’re in a competition.

“By the time they get a stadium in place, It’s probably three years into their tenure. By that stage, a player like Tom Green is probably 31 or 32 (years old).

“The money is one thing, but the opportunity… if you listen closely to what Tom Green talks about, he wants to be a premiership player.”

The comments didn’t go down well with SEN Tassie Breakfast co-hosts Brent Costelloe and Alastair Lynch - the latter being the Tassie football director.

Costelloe: “That’s a bloke that runs a club in Western Sydney for goodness’ sake!

“Are you kidding me! It reeks of a guy that’s about to lose Tom Green as well, just quietly.”

Lynch: “It was quite extraordinary.

“Dave has been a fantastic supporter of our build over the last few years, so that is extraordinary.

“I’d argue the point that he’s given us a clip about our lifestyle and destination. He’d be very surprised.

“Maybe this is why he is making the comment; there is a lot of interest from players about the opportunity to not only play, - yes, as GWS did, offered some decent cheques in those start-up years, because that’s the way the list build is designed – but the opportunity for lifestyle, whether it be living in suburban Tassie or get out onto the land with the facilities that are being built.

“I think our facilities will be incredible in comparison to a lot of the facilities that other clubs have, especially once the stadium is built.

“Yes, it’s not going to be right for day one, but it’s going to be an incredible facility that a lot of people are looking forward to playing on.

“And, you know what the back up facilities are for the first few years? Ninja Stadium and UTAS Stadium. UTAS is regularly spoken about as the best playing surface in the country.

“I think Dave has just given us a bit of a clip on the way out, so that’s disappointing.”

Costelloe: “As far as I understand. Dave has never lived in Tasmania. Have your opinion, but can you give one if you haven’t lived here before?”

Lynch: “Not really. You’re guessing.

“I think that’s what makes Tasmanians so passionately supportive of Tasmania. Yes, a few of us have had to move for career opportunities and haven’t come back home.

“I think Tasmanians are so passionately Tasmanian because we love where we grew up, we love where we live and there’s so many opportunities in Tassie.

“We are creating more opportunities with the is football club off the field and on the field. I think it’s an attractive proposition.

“Everything from our list and recruiting team and a few of the executives as well as presenting to the under 16 championship parents about the opportunities.

“That is exceedingly well received from them and their same cohort from the year before.

“The opportunities for their young sons and daughters and families to come to Tassie are being recognised by a lot of this group.

“Dave has just gone the old, ‘let’s give Tassie a clip’, but it brings us closer together, I would have thought.”

Devils CEO Brendon Gale also wasn’t overly pleased with Matthews comments.

“It's a bit rich of Dave to lean in given he's never lived here,” Gale told today’s press conference, unveiling Hinkley as the club’s inaugural coach.

“In fact, he's never lived in west Sydney either. The prince of Balmoral, Dave Matthews.

“I'll leave it at that. I love Dave and I think he's done a great job. No offence taken.

“I think this is a wonderful place to live, incredible lifestyle and a place where you can get the balance right. It's got all of the attractions of a cosmopolitan capital city, but it's a place where you can be really focused on your profession and also do what you need to do to focus on the whole person.

“I've got absolutely no doubt that athletes and their families will thrive down here.”

The club’s latest announcement officially declared SEN’s own Ken Hinkley as the inaugural head coach of the Tasmania Devils, signing a five-year deal with the AFL’s 19th team.

Don’t miss a second of Hinkley tonight on SEN Sportsday, streaming LIVE on the SEN website or via the SEN app from 5:00pm AEST tonight!