Tasmania Devils AFL saga ‘embarrassing’ for our state, says former Australian Test cricket captain Tim Paine

The former Test wicketkeeper felt Tasmania would continue to be the butt of jokes if it can’t deliver an AFL team.

“Tassie has for a long time been the laughingstock for the other states because of our inability to get stuff done,” Paine said.

“When I was playing cricket people would say, ‘Oh you’re heading back to ‘Slowbart’, nothing ever happens’. It’s the same as it was 10 years ago, and we keep proving people right. It’s embarrassing when you’re involved in national or international sports and businesses, and you go to carnivals or Tests and people just continually shit-can us.

“They talk down to us and we continually prove them right.”

Rockliff has vowed to fight and win a snap election, but speculation is growing his Tasmanian Liberal colleagues will deny him the chance.

The prevailing political wisdom is the Rockliff government will lose an election, with veteran Liberal political operative Brad Stansfield saying they would be “annihilated” in a winter campaign.

However, parliament’s dissolution is not due until after Tuesday, given the need to pass a stop-gap budget bill before the campaign.

The delay across the King’s Birthday long weekend gives the 17 members of the Liberal party room – including 14 who will put their seats at risk in a campaign – plenty of time to rethink their support for Rockliff.

“It’s probably 70 to 80 per cent likely that either over the weekend or following the appropriation bill going through on Tuesday, Jeremy won’t be leader,” former premier David Bartlett said.

“It won’t be a coup. It will be a smooth transition of power to a new leader and Jeremy will be under all sorts of pressure from internal Liberal party people to make that happen. I’m not even convinced Jeremy Rockliff wants to go to another election. He’d probably rather retire to the farm.”

After losing the no-confidence vote, Rockliff gave an emotional address where he revealed he fought off internal opponents to stand by the billion-dollar Macquarie Point stadium.

“I’ve been advised by all the hard-heads in my party not to go down that track. Why? Because it’s bad for votes,” he said.

“Well, I’ve always said, ‘Stuff votes’ … I’ll say it for the stadium for as long as I damn well live, because I believe in it.”

AAP

‘Bro can’t have fun’: Ginnivan’s social media post after goal celebration

Jon Pierik and Scott Spits

Jack Ginnivan made no apologies for showing his Western Bulldogs opponent the ball as he raced in to goal late in Hawthorn’s victory at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.

In fact, he made it clear that he felt his critics were out of touch.

The Hawks forward posted on X about midnight: “why everyone wanna be so serious, bro can’t have fun”, and signed off with a couple of dinosaur emojis.

Chol was at his athletic best and booted four goals himself. He was honest in his appraisal of Ginnivan’s celebration.

“Look, I wasn’t a fan of it, to be honest,” Chol told Fox Footy.

“I’m just kinda glad [about his form] … he’s had a massive two weeks. Hopefully he can carry that into next week, and have a good well-earned rest.”

Another teammate, Dylan Moore, was unfazed. “That’s Ginni being Ginni. When he’s at his best he’s showboating. He’s causing frustration for the opposition. I absolutely love that,” Moore told ABC Radio after the game.

Ginnivan kicked two goals and had 23 touches, and Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said his antics could be a case of “winners are grinners”.

“Sometimes I think with the contemporaries these days, it doesn’t even go in the memory banks,” Beveridge said.

“Next time we play the Hawks they won’t even remember it, and I won’t show it. That’s what he [Ginnivan] does, that’s the way he rolls.”

The Hawks needed to find a way to resuscitate their season, having dropped their previous three games.

They were without skipper James Sicily and irrepressible forward Nick Watson.

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The Bulldogs needed to reaffirm why they are seen as legitimate finals contenders.

By late Thursday night, with Prime Minister and Hawks fan Anthony Albanese still in the house, the result was clear: the Hawks, stung by a week of criticism, are top-four and premiership threats. The Bulldogs, now 6-6, have much work to do if they are simply to make the eight.

Having laid just 74 tackles over the previous fortnight, the Hawks finished this clash with 82.

“It was a clear focus for us coming into the game,” coach Sam Mitchell said.

“Part of it is player attitude, but part of it is the way we set up the game. When you work together on those things and prioritise them at the top of the list, you get that performance, which is going to give you a much better chance to beat good teams, which the Bulldogs are.”

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