AFL in shock as Michael Roach rushed to hospital with major health scare

Great Richmond Tigers premiership player Michael Roach underwent many surgeries following a heart attack.The Richmond Tigers have conveyed their condolences to championship hero Michael Roach, who suffered a heart attack last week and is still in the hospital. The 64-year-old former AFL star needed triple bypass surgery despite having a stent put in last Tuesday.Due to difficulties from his operation, Roach is currently in intensive care, but his doctors expect him to be discharged as soon as Monday.The incident has caused a tsunami of sympathy from the Tigers supporters and has greatly shocked the Roach family. The goal-scoring forward played 200 games for the Tigers, with the club's 1980 championship win over Collingwood being the pinnacle of his career. Roach, who was known as "Disco," was a  winner of the Coleman Medal thrice and seven times Richmond's goalkicking leader.In 1979, he made one of the most famous catches of the 1970s by flying over a group of Hawthorn defenders and capturing an unforgettable moment in Tigers history. In 2002, he was admitted into the club's hall of fame.Along with fellow club great Royce Hart, Roach played a significant role in Richmond's long-standing affiliation with Tasmanian football as one of the most recognisable Tigers from the Apple Isle. Additionally from the state are people like Jack Riewoldt, Matthew Richardson, and current club CEO Brendon Gale.

The CEO of the Tigers is a key player in Tasmania's AFL ambition:

While everything is going on, Tigers CEO Joe Gale has been a prominent figure in the AFL, urging the league to give a 19th licence to establish a side in Tasmania. But the AFL has made it clear that the building of a new stadium would be a prerequisite for any application for a Tasmanian franchise.The Tasmanian state Liberal administration, led by Premier Peter Gutwein, has agreed to fund half of a planned $750 million site in Hobart despite the fact that current facilities Bellrieve Oval and York Park can each handle up to 20,000 people.According to a March announcement, the new stadium, which will be constructed near Macquarie Point, would seat 23,000 people and include a retractable top.

Gale, a Tasmanian, pleaded with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to take into account the stadium's prospective advantages even if he acknowledged that "local politics were playing out" over its merits. He said that the majority of AFL teams understood the overall positive impact a club located in the state would have on the sport."I believe it would be amazing for football; I think it would be good for the AFL," Gale said. "But I think there would be incredible results for health, for participation in sport, for education, and for a wide variety of other aspects in Tasmania." "I believe that the state would be seismically affected," I would be telling Anthony Albanese that.

Despite the likes of Collingwood president Jeff Browne stating it would be "premature" to grant it in the coming months, Gale was certain Tasmania's application for an AFL licence was on track. The federal government has not yet decided if or how much it would contribute to the project.The majority of AFL clubs, according to Gale, "have thought that Tasmania has a right to be included in the league, and I think that right has been supported by a very, very strong and rigorous financial case." "I believe we have a willing partner in the state government of Tasmania, which is ready to contribute in the neighbourhood of $750 million over the duration,There are some local politics surrounding the stadium, and I'm not sure how they will play out, but I believe there to be a lot of excitement.