THE Tasmanian region that produced AFL greats Darrel Baldock and Matthew Richardson now has no teams in the state league.

The Burnie Dockers have joined Devonport in leaving the competition, citing a lack of players.

It leaves the league without any teams from the northwest coast and has further fuelled commentary about the AFL and Tasmanian football.

Former AFL coach Robert Shaw, Richardson and a fellow northwest Tasmania alumnus, Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale, have expressed their dismay on Twitter about the crisis.

Shaw said the area was turning to social media in a bid to find players, prompting replies from Gale and Richardson.

“It’s a real concern for such a proud and productive region,” said Gale. Richardson added it was “hard to believe”.

It’s hard to believe this @shawry_analyst . — Matthew Richardson (@mattricho0) February 5, 2018

The news came in the same week it emerged the AFL had increased its financial support for expansion team Gold Coast by $5.5 million to $25 million.

Also this week, AFL Tasmania chief executive Rob Auld was promoted to the AFL’s head of game development, with Tricia Squires to replace him. AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said despite ongoing problems, the situation was improving in Tasmania.

“You look at the numbers at AFL Tasmania in the last two years, there’s no doubt we had some challenges, there are some challenges,” he said. “But the challenges were much greater two years ago, in my view. “The numbers have grown, Auld has done a hell of a job down there (and) we’ve invested much more money.

“Rob’s promotion to the AFL I think is a good thing, it reflects well on the job he’s done in Tasmania and reflects well on what’s happened down there. Squires will do a great job. It’s a seamless succession down there.”

Hawthorn has built a successful sponsorship in Tasmania, playing some home games at Launceston, and North Melbourne are now also hosting matches in Hobart.

“We will continue to invest down there, we have a really clear plan for Tasmania,” McLachlan said. “You can look at this through different lenses and that’s certainly how we see it.”