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“A completely legitimate question”: The ‘conspiracy theory’ behind Launceston's first Friday night match
Nicholas Quinlan • June 14th, 2025 3:20 pm
Gerard Whateley and Sam Edmund have wondered what the Hawthorn vs Adelaide match on Friday night has done for the case against having a roof on the proposed Mac Point Stadium.
It was a cold and dreary game on Friday between the two sides with the Hawks scoring a winning total of 47 points to the Crows’ 44 points at UTAS Stadium on Friday night.
With such a low scoring game in poor weather, it raised questions as to why the game was held in that timeslot.
But there might be more than meets the eye as to why the AFL decided to give Launceston its first Friday night match.
In the backdrop, there is still ongoing debate about whether the proposed $945 million stadium should need a roof on it.
With conditions reaching zero degrees in the match and players struggling to kick straight, the game in the eyes of some was the perfect advertisement as to why there should be a roofed stadium for the Tassie Devils if they come into the AFL.
But maybe it was too perfect of an advertisement for the AFL's case.
On SEN’s Crunch Time, Whateley would pose the question to Edmund in a jesting way about whether this was a planned action by the AFL when they released the fixture to show the reason why Tasmania needs to put a roof on their stadium.
Whateley: Sammy, was it a masterstroke or an error to schedule Friday night footy in winter in Launceston?
Edmund: “Maybe the better way to ask it is, was it a deliberate error to generate the masterstroke?”
“About this time last year…to start thinking of the fixture ahead of its November release, did they think “How can we really ram home the fact that Tassie needs a roofed stadium to give the 19th license the best possible chance of success?”
“I know. We’ll schedule a game; a Friday game on June the 13th in Launceston when the mercury dropped to zero degrees to illustrate, wet on the ground, freezing cold; look at what it produces for a game."
Whateley would add to Edmund’s comment believing that the AFL’s action may not seem as accidental as it appears.
“There is no believe it or not. This is a completely legitimate question,” he noted.
“It has only happened once before in Hobart, and it was bitingly cold. I can still feel that if I close my eyes. It was 47 to 44.”
It’s not the first time that the weather has been a talking point during a game in Tasmania this season.
During Hawthorn’s round three clash against the Giants at Launceston, blustery winds would help see GWS score 37 points in the first quarter to the Hawks’ two.
While in the second quarter, Hawthorn scored 44 points with the wind behind them while the Giants only scored two points against it.
The next AFL game in Tasmania will be in Round 16 between the Hawks and North Melbourne at Launceston which will be in the Saturday afternoon timeslot.
Hawthorn and North Melbourne will both have one more home game in Tasmania after that.
