The AFL has agreed to a demand from club presidents that they be allowed to vote on the licence for Tasmania’s team if the goal posts for the club’s entry to the competition shift.
St Kilda president Andrew Bassat was one of the most vocal club bosses at a meeting with the AFL before Tuesday’s season launch.
Bassat said the presidents had agreed not to discuss agenda items publicly, but in a broader interview with this masthead he answered questions about Tasmania, his sympathy for former Carlton president Luke Sayers over the lewd picture scandal, the AFL’s plan to find a successor to commission chairman Richard Goyder, and controversial proposed changes to the illicit drugs code.
An artist’s impression of the proposed AFL stadium in Hobart.
Bassat also said the Saints wanted to wean themselves off AFL funding but said the club needed to play more matches at the MCG to do so.
The Tasmania Devils, due to take the field in 2028, were the hot topic at Tuesday’s meeting of presidents and chief executives at Sydney’s Sofitel, where AFL boss Andrew Dillon referenced a planning deadline of September 15, after which the proposed stadium will go to a vote in Tasmanian parliament.
The provisional licence is conditional on the construction of a 23,000-seat stadium with a roof at Macquarie Point. Presidents said they wanted a fresh vote if any of those things changed, amid fears the stadium could be delayed to 2030 or beyond.
The AFL confirmed this request would be granted.
“I think there is a lot of alignment between the AFL and the clubs on those issues,” Bassat said. “There is a lot of goodwill towards a Tasmanian team.
Brendon Gale is the inaugural chief executive of the Tasmania Devils.Credit: Getty Images
“There is a fair bit of alignment over the fact a deal has been done, and hopefully that deal gets done.”
Asked if the Tasmanian team should only go ahead if there is a new stadium, Bassat replied: “It’s not my call to say. That’s what the AFL is working through.”
‘We need to get off welfare’
North Melbourne ($26.4 million) and St Kilda ($26.1 million) received the highest funding of Victorian teams last season.
“We absolutely know we need to get off welfare … we have done some things poorly in the past, but we are getting better at that,” Bassat said.
“Football being good is the biggest part of that … But there is a part of it that’s not our fault.”
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon speaks to the media ahead of the start of the season. Credit: Getty Images
The Saints, who missed finals last year, have only one home game at the MCG, against Carlton in round nine.
Bassat said: “We have said to the AFL, and we have said publicly, ‘Give us four MCG games a year, and we will dramatically reduce our reliance on variable funding.’ The answer is, ‘No, we need the product at Marvel.’ Our response is: ‘Why the hell is that our problem? Why is that not Richmond’s problem, or Melbourne’s problem, or Collingwood’s problem, or somebody else’s problem? Why do we have to live with that?’
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon with club president Andrew Bassat.Credit: Getty Images
“That leads to financial disadvantage. Also, we get no marquee games. We play in Adelaide three times in the first five weeks.”
‘I have a lot of sympathy for Luke’
Bassat, the co-founder of Seek employment website, is also a major investor in the Sayers Group – the ex-Blues president’s consultancy business.
Sayers quit the top role at Carlton after a lewd photo was posted to his social media account in January, leading to an AFL investigation that found his X account had been compromised and he was not responsible for posting the image.
Former Carlton president Luke Sayers.Credit: Elke Meitzel
Bassat said he had been in regular contact with Sayers.
“I am in quite close touch. He is going OK. It’s been a tough episode for Luke,” Bassat said.
“Luke is a friend of mine. I have a lot of sympathy for Luke. Luke is a very good person and loves the club. It was a tough position for him to find himself in.
“ Luke was a formidable foe, but I think he realised the noise would not abate until he stepped down from Carlton.
“He was giving the media a chance to keep going and, in the context of a season, that noise would only increase. To protect his family, and protect himself, he realised that was the only call he could make.”
Bassat said AFL chairman Richard Goyder was doing a good job, but the issue of his successor was a discussion point.
This masthead reported in November that Goyder had surprised industry figures by revealing plans to remain in charge until the end of 2028. His latest three-year term expires in March next year.
“I am not sure he has come out and said that quite fully. So I am not sure,” Bassat said of Goyder’s intention to remain until 2028.
“I think Richard is doing a good job. Richard is actively working on succession, and I think at the right time, that will happen.”
Bassat said clubs were open to Goyder extending his term.
Asked if there was a natural successor on the commission, Bassat said: “That’s a question for Richard more than me. I think there are a few people that probably won’t put their hand up for various reasons.”
Drugs policy must strike the right balance
The St Kilda president said the clubs were ready for a “mature debate” on illicit drugs policy, which needed to strike the right balance between welfare and deterrence.
The AFL is proposing an immediate “co-contribution” of $5000 for a first strike to help fund drug and mental health treatment, which is viewed as a fine by the AFL Players Association.
The players have also said they won’t compromise on privacy.
A government report revealed this week that the AFL provided the anti-doping watchdog, Sport Integrity Australia, with a list of 51 footballers to be target-tested in 2023-24.
“I think there is a balance – you want to protect the player, particularly when there is mental health involved and all sorts of things,” Bassat said. “But also you don’t want people taking liberties, and taking advantage of the system.
“I think the AFL is just trying to get that balance right. I am not sure where they are going to end up, but there is a mature debate – can we protect the player, but not let people take flagrant advantage of it. That’s the conversation. If they end up in a better spot than they are today, that’s good for people.”
Bassat said Monday’s meeting was “by far the best presidents meeting we have ever had”.
“We have a group of presidents, almost to a man and woman now, who are able, which hasn’t always been the case, to separate their club’s self-interest from what’s good for the competition,” he said. “Because of their ability to do that, we found a lot of common ground.”
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