Veteran Age and Channel Nine journalist Caroline Wilson has taken aim at AFL officials for delaying an announcement regarding a Tasmanian franchise.
In her longstanding segment 'Caro's Arrow' on Nine's 'Footy Classified', the scribe claimed that the league had let down an entire state of footy fans as they dragged their feet.
“The AFL has failed Tasmania,” Wilson began.
“Not for the first time – and probably not for the last – the game’s governors have not delivered upon their charter."
She then turned her bow directly on the AFL's CEO, Gillon McLachlan, and Chairman, Richard Goyder, for 'kicking the can'.
“Obsessed with debt elimination and hiding behind a pandemic, both Gillon McLachlan and Richard Goyder have failed to show any leadership in this area and because they have strung along, and insulted, an entire football loving state of Tasmanians – leading up to the Premier, Peter Gutwein – this feels personal."
Wilson also suggested that the findings of the much anticipated 'Carter Report' was just another means for impeding progress.
“They’ve also hidden behind the ‘Colin Carter Report’ – another delaying tactic in my view,” she continued.
“Even the ‘Carter Report’ was promised in June and delivered in August.
“It was well-written. It was enthusiastic. It was positive. But it failed to deliver any true substance. Not even a timeline. Not even one that was Covid dependent. And certainly, no serious option – just three-choices. Two of which, in my view, were totally untenable. One, no team is going to relocate, and a joint venture, please, that’s an AFL push and [is] just insulting."
Although scathing, Wilson offered an antidote to the stagnant status quo.
“There should be only one-joint venture where Tasmania is concerned – one between the AFL and the state government of Tasmania, potentially with the federal government, and ultimately big business to create a 19th AFL team."
The daughter of former Richmond President Ian Wilson rounded out her tirade by quoting the Tiger's current CEO, Brendan Gale.
"What are we, the keepers of the code or the keepers of the wallet?"
Wilson's co-host, and former Essendon legend, Matthew Lloyd raised the notion that perhaps Carter was simply delivering what the league had requested to be delivered – a view that Wilson agreed with due to the fact that the former Geelong President had failed to deliver a timeline to the Apple Isle’s public.
“He could of least have said ‘once the we’re through that [the Covid pandemic], three-years after that’,” the scribe retorted.
“To offer three-options and not say what he thought was the best solution is just insulting.”
Fellow panelist Craig Hutchison weighed in by suggesting that these perceived delays were not coincidental and that if Gillon McLachlan truly wanted a franchise in Tasmania, far more progress would have been made on the matter.
“He’s a strong leader [and] if he wanted a team in Tasmania, he would drive an agenda and it would happen," he said.
Wilson rounded out her contention by stating that although the league’s forefront view was to tighten the purse strings, the introduction of four-new AFLW franchises was made as it was “the right thing to do” - a move she believed should have extended to a Tasmanian announcement.
The journalist's views come in the wake of fellow media member, and vocal Tasmanian advocate, Tim Lane held an emotion charged interview with Carter on Saturday.
At the time of writing, McLachlan is yet to issue any further statement surrounding the release of said report.