Greater Northern talks quashed, but Gill 'incredibly bullish' about region

Reinvigorated discussion of a Greater Northern league reboot does not have AFL Tasmania's support, according to head of the state body Damian Gill.

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Launceston president Scott Stephens brought the discussion back to the fore in recent weeks, but Gill said the concept "isn't the way to go" from AFL Tasmania's perspective, backing the model of three Premier Leagues.

Action from a Deloraine juniors game. Inset: Head of AFL Tasmania Damian Gill. Pictures by Linda Higginson, file

"I understand why it rears its head and why people see some value in it, but I do think when people are considering it, they're looking at it from the perspective of a very small number of players and a very small number of clubs," he said.

"When you consider the ecosystem in totality, you need to think about the flow-on impacts a decision like that could have, particularly in consideration to the North-West Coast.

"If you were to rip a couple of those clubs from the existing competition, it would have very serious implications for other clubs down the road, and while we're open the quest to grow football, they're the sort of decisions that fly in the face of where we want to head."

A Greater Northern competition previously existed through several iterations of the NTFL, with Launceston and South Launceston most recently playing against North-West sides from 1998 to 2008 and North Launceston from 2001.

Gill said the same barriers that made the competition difficult last time still existed.

Since the, AFL Tasmania has introduced a "sophisticated talent pathway", with Gill saying the role of Premier League and community clubs isn't to service that angle, but to be the best community clubs they can be.

He said AFL Tasmania is in "regular dialogue" with both NTFA president Peter Gutwein and NWFL president Garry Carpenter and is "very comfortable with where things sit".

"The reality is, our role is to look at football as a whole and what serves the ecosystem, and we're really confident that three strong regions is the way to go," he said.

"There's been a lot of different models trialled over the journey and I think one model that probably not enough time has been invested into over the time is having as many strong regionally based clubs as possible, so the more strength we can build within regions and the more holistic pathways we can have, the better off football will be.

"Then we've got talent pathways alongside that that are going to make sure no talented kid - boy or girl - gets missed wherever they ply their trade from a football perspective."

In March 2024, AFL Tasmania released an ambitious participation goal of 28,000 players registered by 2028, announcing earlier this week that it had eclipsed the target two years early.

Gill said he's "incredibly bullish about where football is headed in Northern Tasmania", with Superkick participation growing by 170 per cent and Auskick more than 50 per cent.

He identified North Launceston (460 per cent Auskick growth), Longford (250 per cent girls' growth) and Deloraine (260 per cent Auskick growth) as prominent success stories, and is hopeful of seeing the increased numbers flow into senior football within the next five years.

Head of AFL Tasmania Damian Gill and students from Dodges Ferry Primary School. Picture by AFL Tasmania

"Those clubs that lean in and grow through their juniors, I believe, will profit," he said.

"It's not a quick thing, but that's why sticking to the model and investing in the region is so critical, because when you chop and change structure, you shift the pathway.

"The TSL had a lot of positives to it, but one of the negatives was, it shortcutted the pathway somewhat and it had a detrimental impact to the non-TSL clubs in terms of producing and driving growth through their juniors.

"The more strong junior pathways you can have, the more strong senior clubs we can have, the better Northern Tasmanian footy will be and then ultimately, the more Northern Tasmanians we'll see running out there in the AFL and AFLW."

With the NTFA Premier League set to expand to 10 teams in 2028, junior pathways have been at front of mind for Gill and AFL Tasmania.

He praised St Pats and Old Scotch, who were announced as newcomers in July, and said the state body's "attention has turned" to the pathway structures of newly announced sides Bridgenorth and Old Launcestonians.

"Working with Bridgenorth and considering how the Tamar corridor works and how that all comes together, I think there's real promise and opportunity there," he said.

"With Old Launcestonians, we feel like there's a bit of an opportunity through what their club brings to the table to build something a bit different in Launceston.

"There's some good opportunity with the school there and from a facilities perspective, we feel like there's potentially some opportunity as well, so there's a lot of value adds that those clubs bring to the competition."

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