Tasmania Devils expected to be forced to trade away top draft picks – but who will they target?

Tasmania will be forced to trade out precious draft picks for established stars of the game – but will the Devils target local talent? Here are the names who could be on the hit list.

Tassie Devils in draft pick frenzy

Tasmania will be forced to trade out precious draft picks for established stars of the game in what is expected to be the critical list concession tabled to the AFL Commission.

The AFL is desperate for the Devils to be competitive instantly after key learnings from Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney, who have each collected multiple wooden spoons and were belted on the field in their first few seasons.

Nine of the first 11 picks in the 2011 draft went to the Giants while seven of the first 11 picks in the 2010 draft went to the Suns.

They retained those picks and loaded up on teenagers who did not have enough physically mature teammates to prevent their clubs routinely playing in 100-point blowouts that were unwatchable for most neutrals.

Senior recruiting sources across the industry on Tuesday expected the Devils would be afforded similar draft concessions – but with a mandate that they must exchange plenty of those selections for high-calibre ready-made players.

Gold Coast’s young list unveiled after the 2010 draft. Picture: The Gold Coast Suns

For example, if the Devils were given picks No.1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 13 in the 2027 draft, they could be forced to trade out about half of those selections.

That was the draft hand given to the Suns in 2010.

The expected trade mandate attached to those coveted draft picks would also ensure that clubs at ground zero of a rebuild were not denied access to top-end young talent.

It would be a double-win for the competition because not only would Tasmania be super competitive from its very first game, but it would minimise the distortion of the draft.

The 2010-2013 drafts were so heavily compromised that clubs towards the bottom of the ladder had the handbrake pulled on their rebuilds.

In 2010 Melbourne finished 12th – yet only entered the draft at pick No.12, taking Lucas Cook.

Similarly, Brisbane Lions finished third-last in 2011 but had their first pick at No.8, taking Billy Longer.

St Kilda did not enter the 2011 draft until No.25 when it was able to unearth Seb Ross.

Clubs at the foot of the ladder when the Devils enter the AFL could potentially secure multiple top-10 picks by trading one of their ageing superstars to the 19th franchise.

That would not only turbocharge their rebuild, but also ensure Tasmania can hit the ground running.

For example, if the Devils had entered in the last couple of years it would have been tempting for West Coast to offload the likes of Jeremy McGovern, Tom Barrass, Dominic Sheed and even Liam Duggan for golden picks.

The Tasmania Devils entry will create a draft pick trade frenzy. Picture: Getty Images

Last year the state produced No.2 pick Colby McKercher (North Melbourne), No.6 pick Ryley Sanders (Western Bulldogs), No.17 pick James Leake (GWS) and No.62 pick Arie Schoenmaker.

But that was a rare cluster of draftees and was undoubtedly helped by the fact those teenagers were able to push each other to improve as they developed.

Oliver Dean and Nathan Sulzberger are this year’s standouts although footy is losing the fight for several taller prospects on the back of popular NBL franchise Tasmania JackJumpers.

Dean (North Launceston) is in the AFL academy while Sulzberger is boarding at Caulfield Grammar and playing for Sandringham Dragons

But there is a strong sense of optimism that the new club will help produce more AFL players that will deepen the talent pool.

Sources at Monday night’s launches also noted the extreme excitement of hundreds of young girls who are dreaming about representing their state in AFLW.

Veteran footy administrator Geoff Walsh is helping map out the AFL’s plans for Tasmania’s inaugural list build.

Experts also believe that Tasmania should be afforded an expanded list for several seasons.

The concessions given to the Giants were more generous than the Suns because they accessed six extra first-round picks through the two-year mini-draft and maintained a bloated list for longer.

The Suns had to annually trim their list from 48 primary players in 2011 to 38 by 2015. That forced them to delist developing talents long before the club was even certain whether they could play or not.

Originally published as Tasmania Devils expected to be forced to trade away top draft picks – but who will they target?