![\""They](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2495164f5926f01d5db63ae2cb0142e2.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nHawthorn can build another quarter-century long dynasty in Far North Queensland and forge a lasting connection in a town ripe for the taking. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s the pitch from AFL Cairns general manager Craig Lees as the sweepstakes to determine the Hawks\u2019 next home away from home in the AFL begin, following confirmation earlier this week of the club\u2019s forced exit from Tasmania.<\/p>\n
While there are numerous options on the table for Hawthorn CEO Ashley Klein and the executive to consider, Cairns looms as a strong suitor. <\/p>\n
This is in large part due to the club\u2019s active connection to the region via it\u2019s ongoing AFLW partnership, which has seen the women\u2019s team has played one home game a year for the last three seasons, with talks ongoing about extending that partnership into 2027 and beyond. <\/p>\n
Lees said the Hawks would be met with a huge groundswell of support from the tourism and advocacy bodies in the region should they elect to bring a premiership men\u2019s game to FNQ. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur advocacy groups scream out for opportunities like this to stimulate our economy and tourism,\u201d he told this masthead. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d love for (Hawthorn) to create what they\u2019ve done in Launceston for the next 25 years here. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur region is only growing, 250,000 are people going to live in Cairns by 2050, how good would it be if we then had Hawthorn playing premiership matches here for the next 25 years? <\/p>\n
\u201cI see that as type of deal that could get done based on the history of what Hawthorn did for Tasmania. <\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s get the Northern Nest to Cairns and let\u2019s see if they can create a dynasty in our region for a quarter-century like they did in Launceston.\u201d <\/p>\n
While Cairns sits firmly on the rugby league side of the Barassi Line which divides AFL and NRL heartlands, the town boasts a unrivalled Aussie rules presence in Queensland outside of the south-east corner at both a junior and senior level. <\/p>\n
State league guns out of the VFL, SANFL and QAFL flock to the region every year for a taste of what AFL Cairns has dubbed \u201cFooty in Paradise\u201d in it\u2019s promotional material. <\/p>\n
Earlier this month Port Douglas – an hours drive north of the Cairns CBD – played host to AFL royalty in Dustin Martin who chose the local club, the Crocs, to make his return to footy. <\/p>\n
A pair of three-time premiership Hawks in Isaac Smith and Liam Shiels make the trek to Cairns just a fortnight later to play for the Manunda Hawks at the region\u2019s premier football facility Cazalys Stadium. <\/p>\n
They\u2019re not the only ones, with high-profile players like Gary Ablett Jr, Trent Cotchin, Dane Swan and Charlie Dixon – among plenty others – all featuring in AFL Cairns senior matches since 2023. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In addition, Lees said a growing junior program which encompasses Auskick right through to under-17s for both boys and girls makes Cairns a uniquely strong AFL town in a sea of NRL. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe 33% growth of our women\u2019s and girl\u2019s offering alone has been massive,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cSince Hawthorn\u2019s (involvement) commenced in-region through the AFLW contract, we\u2019ve had brand new under-9s and under-13s girls competitions to which Hawthorn is offering support. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey helped launch the Port Douglas women\u2019s team\u2019s licence 3 years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the tangible piece. You bring the women\u2019s game in and it goes for 100 minutes, but there\u2019s 280 hours of community attached to what they give the region, and that\u2019s obviously why we\u2019re really angling strong to bring back men\u2019s content as well, because we know the power that it provides.\u201d <\/p>\n
AFL Cairns has owned the freehold for Cazalys Stadium outright since 1994, which has already been ticked off once again as an international standard cricket venue with Australia hosting South Africa for a pair of men\u2019s white ball international matches last August. <\/p>\n
Lees backed his organisation\u2019s venue as \u201cone of the best\u201d in the country. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s been publicly referenced by many players who have played here,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
AFL Cairns is largely taking a glass half full approach to their negotiations, but Lees said they are simultaneously acknowledging the hit they took when Gold Coast departed from the region after 2022. <\/p>\n
FNQ has produced several prominent AFL players over the years, most notably the likes of Dixon and Jarrod Harbrow. <\/p>\n
But the talent filtering through to the top level has dried up in recent years. <\/p>\n
\u201cFrom 2023 to 2026 we\u2019ve had no men\u2019s game here in Cairns, and you don\u2019t know the impact that\u2019s going to have,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t had a player drafted out of the region in eight years, and we\u2019re probably not producing as many fans to come and watch those elite athletes because they\u2019ve got to jump on a plane and go down south. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe still feel that North Queensland has a massive place for premiership men\u2019s matches and there\u2019s now a great opportunity to make that happen with Hawthorn.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hawthorn can build another quarter-century long dynasty in Far North Queensland and forge a lasting connection in a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":683371,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[329435,329436,329438,638,6074,54654,64,63,689,55,639,329445,283364,72,251555,53429,64905,42266,23589,10145,2105,329439,2485,329434,18619,112375,86157,12152,329433,329440,14402,329441,677,136481,329443,329444,329442,701,329432,3236,77492,1183,329446,18780,85,329437,2801,19998,15706,80099],"class_list":["post-683370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-active-connection","tag-advocacy-bodies","tag-advocacy-groups-scream","tag-afl","tag-africa","tag-ashley-klein","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-boss-calls","tag-brendan-radke","tag-cairns","tag-charlie-dixon","tag-craig-lees","tag-dane-swan","tag-dustin-martin","tag-elite-athletes","tag-garry-lyon","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-girls-competitions","tag-gold-coast","tag-growing-junior-program","tag-home-game","tag-isaac-smith","tag-jarrod-harbrow","tag-launceston","tag-leads-players","tag-liam-shiels","tag-mabior-chol","tag-manager-craig-lees","tag-oceania","tag-port-douglas","tag-premier-football-facility","tag-premiership-matches","tag-premiership-men","tag-queensland","tag-rules-presence","tag-senior-level","tag-senior-matches","tag-south-africa","tag-south-east-corner","tag-southern-africa","tag-sports","tag-tangible-piece","tag-tasmania","tag-team-mates","tag-three-time-premiership","tag-trent-cotchin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=683370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/683371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=683370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=683370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=683370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}