June 13, 2007
From Adelaide Advertiser
Reported by Doug Robertson and James Bresnehan
Reported by Doug Robertson and James Bresnehan
THE Tassie Devils would take a couple of years to be fully competitive if it joined the SANFL in 2009, AFL-Tasmania general manager Scott Wade said.
AFL-Tasmania - which lost to developing Aussie Rules state Queensland by 11 points on Saturday - is investigating its long-term future which might lead to becoming the 10th SANFL club.
Tasmania had 16 Devils players in the team that lost to Queensland but no AFL-listed players.
Seated among the top-five VFL clubs in 2004-05, the Devils have one win and sit bottom of the VFL ladder this year.
Aligned with the AFL Kangaroos, the Devils are obliged to play over-flow Roos players and have not recruited star players from outside Tasmania in the past few seasons.
Tasmania upset the SANFL by 15 points in 1995. West Adelaide, bottom in the SANFL, lost by seven points to Tasmania in a trail in March.
"We think we can be competitive in the SANFL but it might take a year or two," Wade said. "We're in a rebuilding phase."
Central's Ian Callinan and Nathan Grima played with the Devils last season, South Adelaide's Gerard Bennett and Sturt surprise packet Luke Crane are Tasmanians. Crane came to Unley via Queensland.
Tasmania's loss to Queensland in Launceston could be the bargaining chip to receiving extra funding from the AFL.
