Last week at a press conference, AFL President Andrew Demetrio granted the new Gold Coast club an official AFL license. This was great news for new club as it was accepted as the 17th AFL club; this again raised the question about where the next AFL club should be.

A lot people have been confused as to why the AFL persists with starting a new club in West Sydney as we were until last week. The popular decision would be to place the new team in Tasmania where there already is large supporter base and an AFL ready ground. In theory this seems to be the logical decision but the AFL see it differently.

AFL would rather put it’s efforts and money into West Sydney, where Rugby League currently dominates. Their plan is not for the short term but rather the long term. The AFL knows that their venture into West Sydney won’t be easy; they are aiming for in 20 years or so, the young supporters which they influence now in the first few years of the club will eventually become possible AFL recruits or hardcore supporters to sustain the club’s growth.

Tasmania’s fantastic support of the AFL is ultimately it’s own downfall. The AFL knows that it can postpone placing a new club in Tassie for a number of years and will still have the supporter base when they finally do. We are delighted that Andrew Demetrio last week announced that the next AFL club after West Sydney will be based in Tasmania.

Finally Tasmanians have something to look forward to.