Australia and the World Past and Present

The AFL has officially launched its 19th team – the Tasmanian Devils. The club will also have a team in the AFLW.

The team was granted a licence in 2023 but the official launch was held last week. The team is expected to enter the AFL competition in 2028.

The club’s colours, dark green, yellow and red have long been associated with football in Tasmania. The Devil’s guernsey includes a map of the state which is unique for an AFL club. States on the mainland all have more than one team and one can imagine the brawl that would break out if one team attempted to adopt the state image in their uniform.

Reaction to the design has been mixed. Many praise the salute to the state’s football heritage. Others see it as a missed opportunity to come up with something more modern. Club officials are quick to point out this is a foundation guernsey.

In choosing the Tasmanian devil as their mascot, the club has chosen an animal immediately recognisable to all Australians and one that holds a special place in the hearts of many Tasmanians. The use of animals to represent AFL clubs is nothing new. The devil will join the crow, lion, magpie, cat, hawk and kangaroo to name just a few. The Tasmanian devil is compact, tough and burly. He is a scrapper and a survivor – traits that many supporters will want to see in their players.

Football has been played in Tasmania for over 150 years. What an amazing achievement. A century and a half without a team of their own in the national competition. Tasmanians have long agitated for entry into the AFL. If history and passion were the chief determinants for entry, the state would have been in the AFL long ago. However, population size and economics play a big role in such considerations and this helps to explain why extra teams were formed in the rugby states of New South Wales and Queensland before Tasmania had a team.

Foundation memberships were offered at $10 and over 40,000 were sold in 2 hours. Quite amazing when you consider that the club doesn’t yet have players or a coach.

The club had entered into talks with Warner Bros over the team’s mascot. The devil is Tasmanian as the name suggests. Tasmania is the only place in the world where it continues to live in the wild. However, many years ago, Warner Bros decided to create a memorable cartoon character and take out the proprietary rights to him. It seems that Warner Bros and the club were able to work out an agreement and many will be pleased with the result.

Crucial to the granting of a club licence was ensuring that a new stadium at Macquarie Point in Hobart would be built.

The issue of building a new stadium has been controversial. The stadium would have a 23,000 seat capacity and a roof. There have been questions over whether the stadium will fit on the proposed site and whether it can be built on time. The money chipped in by the federal government dwarfs the amount that would be spent by the AFL.

Tasmania finally has an AFL team of their own. It is a tribute to the passion and hard work of generations that kept the flame alight.