The Tasmania Football Club has secured its first official VFL signing, with former Essendon forward Jye Menzie joining the inaugural Devils squad.
The 22-year-old Tasmanian returns to his home state after 47 games and 36 goals with Essendon, where he arrived as a mid-season draftee in 2022 via South Adelaide in the SANFL.
Tasmania Football Club Head of VFL and VFLW Aaron Pidgeon described the signing as a significant milestone for the organisation.
“The build of our inaugural VFL and VFLW list is well underway. The announcement of Jye joining us at the Devils is exciting for the Club and we are looking forward to further announcements over the coming weeks,” Pidgeon said.
The club is actively scouting talent across Tasmania, conducting trials in regional centres throughout the state as they prepare for their debut season.
“The calibre of the talent that we are seeing is impressive and the interest in joining our program is encouraging,” Pidgeon added.
Head of List Management and Strategy Todd Patterson said Menzie will bring elite level leadership potential and experience.
“Whilst unfortunate for Jye that his time at Essendon has ended, we couldn’t be happier to kick off with him as our first signing,” Patterson said.
“Having played 10 games this year Jye showed he can still compete at the level.”
“Jye has spoken consistently through the recruitment process around his passion for Tasmania and bringing his experiences to our program to help make others better and we believe he can be a genuine leader for our club.”
For Menzie, a North Hobart product via Bridgewater, the opportunity is a homecoming and chance to help build the club from its foundation.
“I am a proud Tasmanian and I cannot wait to be involved in the build of the Club from the ground up,” he said.
“I am really looking forward to getting in on the ground floor and being back in Tassie and getting stuck into training.”
The medium forward will join the Devils when pre-season training for both VFL and VFLW programs commences in November.
