ANALYSIS: Empty seats to packed stadiums: How it started and how it's going for Tasmanian AFL fans
Essendon played in the state for the first time in nearly 30 years and, predictably, the match sold out in a flash.
Tasmania also sold out a 13th match in under an hour as Collingwood, for the first time ever, prepared to play for premiership points in the state. Alas, that game against Hawthorn suffered the same fate as dozens of others around the country and had to be relocated at the 11th hour, after an unauthorised, COVID-positive traveller arrived in Launceston.
Having Tasmania host high-quality AFL games due to pandemic-created quirks is not a trojan horse to a Tasmanian AFL team, but it is a nice change to have the state considered a serious part of the football landscape. It has been a source of growing Tasmanian frustration, that poor crowds for Gold Coast, Giants and Fremantle games in Hobart and Launceston are regularly cited as evidence Tasmanians won't support an AFL team — ignoring the fact the same games in Melbourne would also draw disappointing crowds.Just 10 days after the Carter Review recommended creating an AFL team in Tasmania, two finals have sold out in Launceston, albeit in a stadium with a reduced capacity.
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