The Tasmania Football Club says its first teenage signings are not just development projects, but the core of a future premiership side.
Head of list management and strategy Todd Patterson said the club’s inaugural intake had to be right.
“These are the first players that are going to be in our premiership team, so we’ve got to get it right. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime where you get free access,” he said.
“We are the draft, we have complete control over it, so we’ve got to make sure that we nail it and that’s where we’re lucky we’ve got the right people in the right places to make these decisions.”
The Devils will announce their first wave of 17-year-old talent at a draft-style pre-listing event on Tuesday, September 29.
Several targets and their families have already been hosted in the state.
“It’s a massive moment and one that probably hits you a little bit emotionally to register that we’re about to sign our first ever players,” Patterson said.
Under AFL concessions, the club can pre-list up to eight 17-year-olds in both 2026 and 2027, capped at 12 across the two years.
Patterson said the recruiting department had logged more than 3,500 player reports this season.
Each player will get a tailored program in the year before the club enters the competition in 2028.
“There will be some tall guys, there’ll be some small guys, there’ll be some quick guys, there’ll be some not so quick guys. So we can actually build their program out,” he said.
“There might be periods of time where they actually don’t play, but they do a significant athletic development block.”
Fans should still see the young players in 2027.
“I’d be surprised if they all don’t play some VFL at some period of time. Some might just play the whole season, you’ll definitely seem them at North Hobart or UTAS Stadium,” Patterson said.
He said the club had a clear goal for next year and that is to win the VFL.
“Hopefully those crowds just get bigger and bigger we want to win the VFL premiership next year,” he said.
“Whilst development and recruitment will underpin the foundations of our VFL program, we want to win it.”
