BRETT Godfrey made his mark on Australian business by launching Virgin Australia and building it into a successful alternative to Qantas.
Now, he's been charged by the Tasmanian Government to build a case for an AFL team in the state.
Godfrey joins Damian Barrett to explain how Tasmania in 2019 is a very different state to the one that launched failed bids in the past, and why the Launceston-Hobart divide isn't the problem many see it as.
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Godfrey says the importance of an AFL team in Australia's southernmost state can't be underestimated. The first step towards that reality will be the granting of a provisional licence, and that's the taskforce's first major goal.
"A lot of it is to do with pathways and how do you get into the elite level and stay home? Well, you can't," Godfrey said.
"We'd like see a timeline put on but more importantly – to give the state some hope – a provisional licence for us is something that doesn't have to say when, that doesn't have to set the criteria but it certainly gives a bit more than they've ever had.
"You can't talk to anybody, you can't get serious, you can't get motivated or motivate anyone without having some line in the sand."
He also discusses why an expansion team in Tasmania would be very different to the new teams in Gold Coast or Greater Western Sydney, and what might happen to Hawthorn and North Melbourne's home games.
Episode guide
1.10 – How realistic is an AFL team in Tassie?
4.38 – Why the experience of launching Virgin Australia is relevant to Tasmania's AFL team
6.20 – The 'beer coaster' plan for an AFL team, and why the previous VFL team failed
8.10 – Godfrey on Tasmania's north-south divide 'myth'
10.54 – How the 2019 push is different to past bids
15.45 – How many members does a Tassie team need?
18.05 – What happens to North Melbourne and Hawthorn's games in Tasmania?
20.38 – The importance of a provisional licence to Tasmanian footy
23.55 – How Godfrey plans to convince the AFL Commission to say 'yes'
26.45 – 'No' to private ownership: 'It need to be a fan-based club'
31.20 – The 1993 Ashes series, 'six pints' worth of beer coasters and the plan to launch Virgin
32.50 – Why Godfrey won't be part of any Tasmanian team in the long run
