Tassie celebrates their adopted Hawks
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Four-year-old Luke Mans accepts the AFL premiership cup from Hawks captain Sam Mitchell on behalf of the Tasmanian people. (ABC News: Christopher Allie)
What do you do when you do not have your own AFL team? Well, you sponsor someone else's and claim them as your own.
That's exactly what Tasmania has done with Hawthorn.
The AFL grand final winners are known on the Apple Isle as the Tassie Hawks after the State Government signed a $15 million five-year sponsorship deal.
After winning the premiership the team headed south from Melbourne to show it off.
While some Tasmanians think they are paying a high price just to have a team to call their own, the president of the Hawthorn Football club says they are getting a bargain.
The Tasmanian people paid a sizeable sum of money to sponsor the Hawthorn team and yesterday they well and truly claimed ownership of the new AFL premiers.
"It is brilliant and it is great for Tasmania. Really good," one Hawks supporter said.
"I think it will mean a lot for Tassie, especially when Sam Mitchell after the grand final actually like plugged Tassie on his speech at the end of the game."
The premiership cup was flown to the Tasmanian capital and carried into the middle of an enthusiastic crowd by Grant Birchall.
He is the only Tasmanian-born player in the Hawks side that beat Geelong.
"It is sort of a dream come true," he said.
"I never really thought this day would come around so it is obviously really special and being a Tasmanian, it makes me really proud."
The deal to sponsor the Tassie Hawks was brokered by former premier Paul Lennon but it was his successor, David Bartlett, who basked in the premiership glow.
"We are really excited about having a team with Tasmania on their guernseys taking out the premiership," Mr Bartlett said.
The Tasmanian Government's $15 million sponsorship deal with the Hawks is controversial.
The money started flowing last year in the five-year deal and Mr Bartlett says it is money well spent.
"The sort of publicity that we have had for Tasmania and will continue to have for Tasmania over the coming months and years will prove to be very well spent in terms of promotion," he said.
"But more than that, the economic injection that happens in Launceston four, five times a year is also, all the economic studies show, worth the sponsorship as well."
Controversial deal
But many Tasmanians think $3 million a year is too much to spend on sport.
The Tasmanian Greens are against the deal, even though their leader, Nick McKim, is a Hawks fan.
"When people stop me in the streets in Hobart and around Tasmania, they are saying, 'Nick you've got to get the Government to invest in reducing hospital waiting lists'," he said.
"'You've got to get the Government to invest in improving education outcomes.
"'You've got to get the Government to invest in a strategic direction for Tasmania's economy to make us competitive in the 21st Century'.
"No-one is stopping me in the street and saying, 'Nick you've got to get the Government to pump more money into sponsoring an AFL football team'."
The Hawks victory over Geelong has earned the club a $300,000 bonus.
Hawthorn's president Jeff Kennett says the grand final win has given Tasmania publicity that is priceless.
"You have a look at the performance. You have a look at the coverage," he said.
"At the moment we have a contract with Tasmania which has got three years to run and we are very grateful for and we work it very hard.
"So I don't know what you'd be charged today, but it would be millions more than you are paying at the moment. You're a very lucky Taswegian."
Mr Kennett brokered the $15 million deal with Mr Lennon.
Mr Lennon is a Cat's supporter and watched his team go down to the Hawks on Saturday.
New Premier David Bartlett hopes this will not be the last time a premiership cup comes to Tasmania.
"This just goes to show how much Tassie people love football," he said.
"We want a team of our own and that is what we are going to continue to fight for."
But for now Tasmanian's are celebrating their de facto AFL team.
Based on a report by Felicity Ogilvie for The World Today
