This weekend will be an historic one for Tasmanian football with Tasmania to host AFL matches across two consecutive days, for the first time ever.
This is a win not only for Tassie football fans, but for our retail sector, tourism and hospitality industry and our broader economy, and will build on the momentum generated across this week by Dark MOFO - making it a week not to be missed.
Hawthorn and Essendon will play at UTAS Stadium in Launceston on Sunday in front of an expected sell-out crowd– the first time Essendon has played for premiership points in Tassie for nearly three decades.
And in the south on Saturday, two Tasmanian coaches, David Noble and Chris Fagan, will square off with North Melbourne coming up against top-four side Brisbane at Blundstone Arena, meaning there will be AFL played at both ends of the State.
Importantly, our number one focus remains the health and safety of Tasmanians, and the AFL, Public Health, and the clubs involved have agreed to a range of strict conditions designed to enable the games to be played in a COVID-safe manner.
The Victorian clubs will fly in the day of the game and go straight to the ground without any contact with the community, and once the respective games are over, all teams will go straight to the airport and exit the State.
The game at Blundstone Arena last Sunday was successfully conducted under the same arrangements, without any issues.
These games will be considered additional games for Tasmania by the AFL, meaning our remaining scheduled matches are not affected, and Tasmanian members of Hawthorn and North Melbourne will have access to the games at no additional cost as part of their membership.
Thanks to the AFL and both Hawthorn and North Melbourne Football Clubs for working with us to make this happen, and I expect tickets will be in hot demand when they’re released tomorrow.