The players out of contract in 2027 that could become Tasmania targets
Some big names are on the board to come out of contract right when Tasmania will start signing up players. Who is open for poaching and where do the Tassie players sit?
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Clubs and players know it is coming.
Just as when the Suns and Giants entered the league, the Devils will make a huge splash and take a bunch of established players down to Tasmania in the 2027 off-season.
Star players in negotiations on new deals know they have the looming leverage of a 19th team to push for longer or more lucrative deals, with one manager recently quipping about star players that clubs “just want to lock them down”.
List managers have happily handed out longer deals to make sure their A-grade players aren’t on the market when Tasmania comes calling.
But mid-tier players are unlikely to have factored Tassie in just yet as one player manager said this week that they expect contracts that end in 2027 to begin to become more popular from the end of next year.
As this masthead revealed, it is likely that the Devils will enter the marketplace with a $1m war chest for signing bonuses, opening the door for an unprecedented one-off payday for players willing to go south.
With the new side keen to be competitive from the word go, here are the players currently slated to be out-of-contract at the end of 2027, the year the Devils will begin signing players.
There are 23 players from Tasmania in the league and even as none of them come out of contract in 2027, they are all names worth watching.
ADELAIDE
At this stage, the Crows have no players who will be coming out of contract at the end of 2027.
Riley Thilthorpe (out of contract 2025), Reilly O’Brien (2025) and Darcy Fogarty (2025) could be ready-made key position options for the Devils.
Izak Rankine (2025) is happy at his second club but he would automatically be a box office winner if Tasmania could get in his ear.
BRISBANE LIONS
A knee injury has ruined Keidean Coleman’s 2024 season just as he was promising to become a genuine star. He would be just coming into his prime at the end of 2027, and so would Wilmot as a similar running half-back.
CARLTON
The Blues love the potential of Cowan as a tall midfielder who was co-captain of the Tasmania Devils in his draft year. He has played just seven games so far in his career and is due to come out of contract at the end of 2026.
Could Cripps be a marquee signing for the Devils? A lot would have to change between now and then, and the Blues would surely have to fall out of contention for him to take it up.
COLLINGWOOD
Probably unlikely either Howe or Mihocek are still running around by 2028.
The sexy name to watch here is De Goey but players like Lipinski or McCreery would be excellent additions if the Devils truly want to compete from the start.
ESSENDON
Hard to see skipper Merrett being tempted south. Martin would be truly hitting his straps as an outside player by then, and Menzie is a more-than-useful small forward after finishing second in Essendon’s goalkicking in 2023.
FREMANTLE
If the Devils are really serious about competing from the start, they could do worse than make Serong the team’s skipper straight away. The tough midfielder is Fremantle’s captain-in-waiting and projects to be right among the best handful of midfielders in the game by 2028.
Hayden Young, too, should be flying by then.
Would Pearce be worth calling as a veteran presence to help young defenders?
GEELONG
Impossible really to see Stewart leaving Geelong, while Kolodjashnij would be a depth defensive option if hunted by the Devils.
Sam De Koning comes out of contract in 2025 and Max Holmes this year, two names Tasmania would surely be keeping the closest of eyes on.
GOLD COAST
Some huge names must be targets by Tasmania here.
Noah Anderson could be the best midfielder in the game by 2028 and his running mate Matt Rowell (out of contract in 2025) might be alongside him.
Sam Flanders is a very good player, while Touk Miller and Lachie Weller would be useful leaders in their twilight. The Suns will need to lock away Anderson and Rowell.
GWS GIANTS
Leake was drafted with pick 17 and has big wraps on him. As a first-round pick he is under contract until the end of 2026 and would be a big target for the Devils.
If Anderson could be the best midfielder in footy by 2028, Green won’t be far behind him. Some say he is already in the best handful. He is the kind of player who you can build a midfield around.
HAWTHORN
South Australian Day is a star already and should be even better by the time he turns 26. A tall and versatile midfielder, the Hawks see him as potentially being one of the best 15 players in the league by his peak and his next contract should be a huge one.
MELBOURNE
How good would Pickett be lighting up the forward half in a new stadium? He is a bums-on-seats player for sure.
The Demons have locked up Christian Petracca (to 2029) and Clayton Oliver (2030). Christian Salem and Bayley Fritsch both run to the end of their respective deals in 2026.
NORTH MELBOURNE
McKercher is one of a handful of names that would surely be right at the top of the whiteboard for the Devils. Many rate the Launceston native as a sure-fire star given his work ethic.
The Roos are nurturing an important crop of young players and can’t afford to let any stars leave.
No longer with North Melbourne, Tarryn Thomas was drafted from North Launceston.
PORT ADELAIDE
Connor Rozee (contracted to 2032), Jason Horne-Francis (2028) and Todd Marshall (2029) are all off the board. Vice-captain Zak Butters (2026) is not.
Georgiades delayed his contract talks last year and is a West Australian but seems an odd man out at Port Adelaide at the moment.
RICHMOND
Both Rioli and Short are excellent rebound defenders but appear unlikely candidates for Tassie.
The Tigers have more players from the Apple Isle on their list than any other team so if Banks, Mansell or Campbell pop, the Devils will have an eye out.
A proud Tasmanian, Nankervis will be 33 by 2028 so may struggle after years of fighting in the ruck.
ST KILDA
A sweet-kicking tall back, Schoenmaker was an emergency for St Kilda in round 1, a sign of his talents. A draft slider, some experts see him as poised for big things and he should be past any growing pains by 2028.
The key names in St Kilda’s out-of-contract list for 2027 will be over 30 by the time the team plays a game, but all have good leadership value.
SYDNEY
The Devils could do plenty worse than McCartin as a full-back to build around, or McLean at the other end. Both are quality.
No doubt the Swans are planning to lock Errol Gulden down until well past 2027 when the negotiate with him this year.
WEST COAST
The Eagles are really a blank canvas, with only seven players contracted beyond 2025.
That means there are a lot of players who could be up for grabs in a few years for Tasmania but how much genuine quality there is beyond Oscar Allen and Harley Reid is to be seen.
WESTERN BULLDOGS
The big name here is clearly Sanders. Expected to be a top-line ball magnet, Sanders could be a fully-fledged star by 2028. The Devils will desperately want one of him, McKercher, Leake or Schoenmaker in the ranks.
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