Gillon McLachlan has reaffirmed his pledge to save football in Tasmania but the AFL chief wants some help doing it.
With the sport in crisis in the state, McLachlan will meet with key people in the local leagues and government when he visits on Wednesday.
There is a strong sense among local fans the AFL is ignoring the grassroots football state at the expense of northern expansion and projects such as AFLX.
This season's Tasmanian state league will feature no teams from the northwest region after Burnie and Devonport opted out.
"We've got a view about how we should be going forward over the coming weeks but the reality is that we're committed to doing whatever it takes down there," McLachlan told Fox Footy on Monday night.
"And it's not all on us. I can provide as much money as you want but there's a two-way street here because there are structural challenges in Tasmania.
"I'm not trying to avoid our share of responsibility but there is stuff that exists in Tasmania and there is stuff that we can be doing better or investing more in.
"We'll get to the right ground because we can't solve all of the issues down there but we can make sure that we're doing everything we can to deal with as many issues as we can."
McLachlan dismissed the notion that neglect from league headquarters - over the past two years at least - is at the root of the problems the code faces in Tasmania.
The AFL has boosted the amount of funds allocated to the sport over the past two years but McLachlan promised more money would be forthcoming if required.
"We had about 50 or 60 per cent increase in investment down there and the numbers are encouraging but it will take some time to catch up to where we need to be," he said.
"Whether (there) was neglect or not enough investment or however you want to characterise it ... certainly (it wasn't) in the last couple of years.
"But it will take time to catch up to where we need to be. We'll need to stay strong and if we need to invest more then we will."
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