North chairman James Brayshaw was thrilled by Tuesday afternoon's announcement that the Kangaroos will play two games a year in Hobart from next season.
"We can't wait to play games in Hobart next year," Brayshaw told afl.com.au.
The chairman's excitement is understandable.
Most obviously, the deal is a lucrative one. As one of the lower-drawing clubs in the AFL, the Kangaroos will now be able to lock in two games a year in a new market, and turn a tidy underwritten profit.
As the gap between the AFL's haves and have-nots continues to grow, this will help North bridge at least some of that distance.
Over the longer term, North can further bridge this gap by bolstering its membership numbers through its Tasmanian presence.
Hawthorn has shown what's possible in this area. The Hawks have played home games at Launceston's Aurora Stadium since 2001. From 2003-06, they shared the venue with St Kilda, but since the Saints decided to stop playing 'home' games there, the Hawks have made Launceston a true home away from home.
As of June 7, 8267 of their 55,068 members are based in Tasmania - that's 15 per cent of an already healthy membership.
These supporters have not just fallen into the Hawks' lap. They have worked hard to engage not just Launceston, but Tasmania as a whole, and not just at their games.
Every pre-season, the Hawks hold community camps throughout Tasmania. Throughout the year, they are involved in ongoing community and school programs, such as Tassie Hawks in Schools, in which every Tasmanian primary school receives footballs and netballs to encourage physical activity in the schoolyard.
North must now engage with the wider Hobart community in the same way, a point that Brayshaw and chief executive Eugene Arocca recognise and presumably they will attack the challenge with vigour.
Although some in Hobart will have already formed unbreakable bonds with Hawthorn, the rivalry between the Apple Isle's north (Launceston) and south (Hobart) is so strong, North (in the south!) should still have a sizeable local market ready to embrace the AFL club.
But, like Hawthorn, the Kangaroos will need to demonstrate their commitment to the region is genuine, is for the long haul and not just revenue-based.
There are sure to be doubters they will need to win over, but they do have a proven model to follow - at least to some extent.
Some may point to North's previous involvement in the Sydney (1999-2002), Canberra (1998-2006) and Gold Coast (2007-08) markets as proof it can't fully commit to a secondary market away from its Aegis Park base.
In fairness, though, North's involvement in each region reached a relatively natural conclusion.
Sydney, at that time, was not ready to embrace anyone other than the Swans.
The North-Canberra alliance was a successful one over nine seasons but when the opportunity of playing in the football-mad Gold Coast region came up it was too good to refuse.
However, when the AFL offered the Kangaroos the chance to relocate to the Gold Coast, their board - supported by the vast majority of their members - voted to stay in Melbourne, the club's home since 1869.
One conflicting commitment North still retains is its connection to the Ballarat region. For some time, North has been lobbying the Victorian Government for funding to redevelop Eureka Stadium, so it can bring AFL games to Ballarat.
In November last year, it looked like the Kangaroos had succeeded on this front, when then-Victorian Premier John Brumby committed $30 million to the project. However, Brumby's Labor government was voted out of office less than a week later and the new Ted Baillieu Liberal government refused to honour Brumby's commitment.
Nonetheless, Brayshaw has consistently said North remains committed to bringing AFL games to Ballarat.
Whether Tasmanians see this as a case of North having an each-way bet remains to be seen.
Certainly, North has shown a vastly improved ability to engage with the community since Arocca joined the club from Collingwood in February 2008.
As part of the redevelopment of its Arden Street headquarters, North has implemented a number of programs designed to ensure it's more closely engaged with its diverse local community.
Chief among these programs is The Huddle, a classroom-based program run from Aegis Park, which is designed to engage local children in education and sport. Investments like these in the Hobart region will show their commitment is well beyond flying in and flying out, while pocketing the money.
There is one other potential kangaroo in the room for North down the track.
In the lead-up to the Hobart deal's announcement, AFL Tasmania chief executive Scott Wade told The Mercury that North playing matches in Hobart would be an important step in Tasmania eventually fielding its own AFL team.
"Having games at both ends of the island is really a step toward a team of our own," Wade said.
"It's all part of the plan."
When AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou addressed the National Press Club two weeks ago, he was also open to the idea of a Tasmanian AFL side.
"Will there ever be a team in Tasmania? You can never say never," Demetriou said.
"If there's another club to ever appear as the 19th club, that would seem to be the most logical place to put that club."
This would mean North's foothold in Tasmania has a finite timeframe, especially given Brayshaw's comments at North's annual general meeting in February.
There, he said a proposal late last year for North to play seven games a year in Launceston and Hobart had fallen over - at least partly - because of the club's refusal to consider relocation.
But a 19th club scenario is something the Kangaroos may, or may not, have to address in the future.
For now, they have a great opportunity, one they will want to invest as much time, energy and inventiveness as a Brent Harvey Goal of the Year contender.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL
