The Believers: Tasmania's AFL Journey: Recent Episodes
DSEG Productions
The Believers: Tasmania's AFL Journey celebrates the remarkable characters and inspiring figures that have forged Tasmania's storied football identity in the AFL/VFL, as we pursue standalone teams for the Apple Isle in the AFL and AFLW. Join the last push to play on and become a Believer. Head to https://believetasmanian.com.au
Former Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting believes Tasmania is deserving of an AFL team and the state is eager to embrace a long-waited football team.
That's why he's a Believer.
On the podcast, Australia’s highest run scorer reveals:
- How he would go to extreme lengths and costs to watch his beloved Roos while playing cricket overseas
- His desire to assist North Melbourne and reinvigorate its culture to reflect its once almighty Shinboner status
- Why Tasmanians would not accept a relocated AFL team
- The tragic deaths of Rod Marsh, Shane Warne and Andrew Symonds and how Aussie cricket will honour their legacies
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Rodney Eade believes Gillon McLachlan’s legacy rests on Tasmania securing an AFL licence.
The former AFL coach said denying Tassie the opportunity to join the league in the men’s and women’s competitions will tarnish the AFL chief executive’s nine-year tenure.
That's why he's a Believer.
On the podcast, the four-time Hawthorn premiership player reveals:
- How Rocket wishes he listened to his wife and not coached the Gold Coast Suns
- The talents of Gary Ablett Sr, coaching legendary goal kicker Tony Lockett and why Gary Ablett Jr was misunderstood
- Why Tony Cochrane’s position on Tasmania is wrong
- Offers a bold solution to team list sizes based on the misconception that a 19th licence will dimmish the talent pool
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Walkley Award-winning journalist Caroline Wilson believes a Tasmania AFL licence will by the league's greatest contribution to the game, with a new footy entity likely to significantly enhance the state's social and economic footprint.
That's why she's a Believer.
On the podcast, the former Chief AFL Writer at The Age reveals:
- Why she thinks the AFL will sign off on granting Tasmania entry to the AFL
- How Hawthorn's Tasmania sponsorship has "raped and pillaged" the code
- Why Gold Coast Chairman Tony Cochrane has no right "to be speaking about a heritage state" in its ambitions of an AFL licence
- How Richmond considered installing Kevin Sheedy as coach following the Tigers' 1980 premiership triumph
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Richmond champion Jack Riewoldt would consider defecting from the Tigers to play for the new Tasmania franchise, if the island state is granted a 19th licence.
That's why he's a Believer.
On the episode, the triple premiership forward reveal:
- How close he become to becoming a Bomber
- How the club transformed to win three flags in four years
- What Riewoldt had to change after being voted out of the leadership group to becoming a premiership vice-captain
- How he managed to get on stage alongside one of the world’s most popular bands, The Killers.
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Accomplished AFL recruiter Scott Clayton believes the AFL has the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity "to do the right thing" in granting footy-mad state Tasmania a 19th licence.
That's why he's a Believer.
On the episode, the 160-game Fitzroy player reveals:
- The halcyon days of Tassie footy and playing the historic 1990 State of Origin victory against Victoria
- Being the architect to the Brisbane Lions playing list that claimed three consecutive premierships in 2001-03
- The challenges of building the Gold Coast Suns list from scratch and how the team was bound for finals before a shoulder injury to superstar Gary Ablett
- How the Suns concealed the mid-season signing of NRL star Karmichael Hunt
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Super coach Alastair Clarkson has emphatically debunked concerns that a Tasmania AFL and AFLW team will struggle with player retention, declaring a team on the Apple Isle licence will likely keep players and staff in the state “forever”.
That's why he's a Believer.
The four-time premiership coach says:
- An AFL licence will transform the state’s talent pathway, thanks to the creation of an elite academy, and see an explosion in grassroots participation
- The Tasmania state league should be overhauled through the creation of north and south conferences
- The AFL must introduce a national reserves competition
- Why he dismissed overtures to coach both Collingwood and Carlton last year and reveals his coaching plans for 2023 and beyond
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Tassie royalty Robert Shaw believes a Tasmania licence will reignite the island’s talent pathway and create a new wave of heroes for budding AFL youngsters to aspire to.
That's why he's a Believer.
The Clarence premiership coach says:
- Coaching Tasmania to a historic State of Origin victory against Victoria in 1990
- Becoming Kevin Sheedy’s right-hand man following a playing career riddled with knee injuries
- How Fitzroy could’ve avoided merging with Brisbane
- Why a Tassie team will be integral for the growth of Aussie Rules
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St Kilda’s longest serving captain, Nick Riewoldt, believes the hard work of the Tasmania AFL Taskforce will lead to the state securing a 19th AFL and AFLW licence following decades of failed endeavours.
That's why he's a Believer.
The five-time All-Australian reveals:
- How he wrestled with his performance anxiety for each of his 336 games
- How he ensured he’d become the hardest working forward in the league
- How “ridiculous” it was for Grant Thomas to be sacked on the back of three consecutive finals campaigns
- And how St Kilda’s failed pursuit of an elusive premiership still has its toll
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Adored Richmond champion Matthew Richardson believes “it’s time” for Tasmania to be included into the AFL with a dedicated men’s and women’s football team.
That's why he's a Believer.
The Devonport star and Tasmanian Team of the Century member reveals:
- His reinvention as a wingman and coming runner-up in the Brownlow medal
- How he was approached to sue the SCG following a horrific knee injury
- Coping with the merry-go-round of coaching changes at Punt Road
- His struggles quelling his white line fever that became synonymous with Richo’s career
- Being a central figure to Richmond’s drought-breaking 2017 premiership
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Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan believes a Tasmania AFL an AFLW team will be the league’s sleeping giant, with tens of thousands of footy fans signing up to become members of the 19th franchise.
That's why he's a Believer.
The Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame member details:
- Playing on the famed gravel oval at Queenstown
- Representing Tasmania 11 times and playing 263 games in Tasmania
- Being central to some of the state league’s most infamous blood baths
- How Neale Daniher gave Fagan his first AFL opportunity
- Why Brisbane is primed for a premiership tilt
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Dual Coleman medallist Michael Roach believes Tasmania’s accomplished honour roll is the envy of the other states and territories and should be recognised with a standalone team.
That's why he's a Believer.
The 1980 premiership forward reveals:
- How he discovered Brendon Gale as a junior in Tasmania
- Fielding calls from Ron Barrassi, Polly Famer and Bob Davis, and negotiating “brown paper bag” deals as a 15-year-old
- Commencing his career on the wing before making the goal square his own as one of the league’s eminent full forwards
- How Royce Hart inspired Roach to be an accurate goal-kicking sharpshooter
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Leading AFL broadcaster Tim Lane believes Tasmanian AFL and AFLW teams will be the “most unifying event” in the state’s history.
That's why he's a Believer.
The passionate Tasmanian explains:
- His pride in the Launceston Football Club, Lane’s first love
- How he was central to Tasmania’s triumphant State of Origin victory over Victoria in 1990
- His recollections of watching icon Darrel Baldock playing for East Devonport
- How he resigned as a Channel 9 AFL commentator due to a contract dispute concerning Eddie McGuire.
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Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale believes Tasmania - a foundation footy state - is primed to host another professional sports team and the groundswell of support for a Tasmanian AFL and AFLW licence can no longer be ignored.
That's why he's a Believer.
The Burnie Hawk big man details:
- How Richmond transformed itself from a basket case to a triple premiership powerhouse
- How during the club’s lowest ebb, Gale would daydream about the Tigers winning the premiership and become so overwhelmed he would cry
- His career ambitions beyond Richmond
- The misogyny Richmond president Peggy O’Neal has endured and overcome
- And why the AFL will be the great beneficiaries of a Tasmanian licence.
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North Melbourne coach David Noble tells Alister Nicholson how a Tasmanian franchise will bolster grassroots participation and strengthen the elite competitions.
That's why he's a Believer.
The two-time North Hobart premiership player also reveals:
- How an administrative error ended his AFL playing career
- Why he retired from playing footy at age 27
- How Terry Wallace’s Sydney coaching deal almost made Noble bankrupt
- The impact Phil Walsh’s death had at the Crows
- And how he came to be coach of North Melbourne
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