Tasmania Devils chief executive Brendon Gale has conceded his team will be “out of a job” if the upcoming vote on the Macquarie Point stadium fails.
Gale, who spoke in Southbank on Friday, also revealed his five-man shortlist for Tasmania’s senior coaching vacancy — with a sixth reportedly also being eyed.
The Devils’ provisional AFL licence is dependent on a roofed stadium in Hobart, and a failed government vote would put a massive dent in the club’s hopes of entering the AFL in 2028.
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A vote by the Tasmanian government on the legislation is expected by early July.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, but that’s a risk,” Gale said of the looming call.
“There’s a view down there that we’ll have an opportunity to renegotiate — and I guess our response to that is I wouldn’t be running that risk, because the AFL has its own politics and its own constituents.
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“And as we’ve all come to appreciate over the years, clubs have little power.
“If one of those conditions (the stadium) aren’t met, if the AFL can’t prove that the club can meet its financial needs, I reckon the (AFL club) presidents would be hanging on to that power and say, ‘Well, you know, I’m not that enthusiastic about changing our minds’.”
Gale on Friday revealed that former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley, Geelong’s Chris Scott, former Sydney coach John Longmire, former West Coast coach Adam Simpson and outgoing Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley were five candidates for Tasmania’s inaugural coaching job.
The Age’s Sam McClure reports Gale later confirmed to him that Brisbane’s Chris Fagan was also of “significant interest”, ‘whether as senior coach or in an overseeing role’.
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The Devils in early May confirmed a pair of key football department hires, with former Collingwood list manager Derek Hine joining as recruiting boss and former Melbourne AFLW list boss Todd Patterson signing on as its head of list management and strategy.
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