September 20, 2007
From The Mercury
Reported by James Bresnehan
SANFL executive commissioner Leigh Whicker found out on Monday afternoon in a phone call from Scott Wade that the Devils had announced their intentions to stay in the Victorian league.
The AFL Tasmania general manager had fronted a media conference in Hobart four hours earlier to outline the Devils' future.
Whicker said he and his South Australian colleagues did not feel used as leverage for the Devils to get a better deal in Victoria.
"Not at all," Whicker said.
"At the end of the day it's not about South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, it's about the game and getting the best mix to strengthen the code.
Reported by James Bresnehan
THE SANFL has copped it on the chin and said there were no hard feelings that the Tasmanian Devils preferred to continue in the VFL rather than switch to the Adelaide-based competition.
SANFL executive commissioner Leigh Whicker found out on Monday afternoon in a phone call from Scott Wade that the Devils had announced their intentions to stay in the Victorian league.
The AFL Tasmania general manager had fronted a media conference in Hobart four hours earlier to outline the Devils' future.
Whicker said he and his South Australian colleagues did not feel used as leverage for the Devils to get a better deal in Victoria.
"Not at all," Whicker said.
"At the end of the day it's not about South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, it's about the game and getting the best mix to strengthen the code.
"I reckon what's Tassie's done is fantastic."
Wade's call came as a surprise and Whicker felt Tasmania could have offered the SANFL a fresh challenge.
With its increased annual grant from the AFL on the way, AFL Tasmania will form a Centre of Excellence for elite teenage players, lift the Devils' salary cap from $200,000 to $300,000, and form closer ties with Hawthorn.
