Andrew Phillips will be a wanted man by TSL clubs when he retires from Essendon in three weeks

Lauderdale is keen to secure favourite son Andrew Phillips when he retires from Essendon in three weeks - but rival clubs keen too.

MELBOURNE - July 9 : AFL. Andrew Phillips of the Bombers enjoys Zach MerrettÕs 2nd quarter goal during the round 17 AFL match between Essendon and Adelaide at Marvel Stadium on July 8, 2023. Photo by Michael Klein.

ESSENDON ruckman Andrew Phillips is a wanted man in the TSL and the retiring Bomber is on the radar of his home club Lauderdale for 2024.

Phillips, 32, announced his retirement from AFL football earlier this week along with his intention to return to Tasmania.

That got the interest of TSL clubs, especially Lauderdale but coach Allen Christensen, who is a 133-game, 114-goal Brisbane Lion and 2011 Geelong premiership player.

He knows to give Phillips, a 76-game Gold Coast, Carlton and Essendon ruckman, space to finish his career with games against North Melbourne, GWS and a Friday night blockbuster against premiership favourite Collingwood at the MCG in the final round.

MELBOURNE - July 9 : AFL. Andrew Phillips of the Bombers enjoys Zach MerrettÕs 2nd quarter goal during the round 17 AFL match between Essendon and Adelaide at Marvel Stadium on July 8, 2023. Photo by Michael Klein.

On the eve of their own blockbuster against North Launceston at Lauderdale Oval on Saturday, Christensen said it was important to will give Phillips space to wrap up his career.

“I remember when I retired, you finish up and within a couple of hours you’re getting phone calls and you’re like, ‘let me be’,” Christensen said.

“Especially for him, they’ve still got a couple of games to go.

”Once their season is done and dusted, I’ll pick up the phone and have a chat to him and see what his plans are and when he’s heading home.

“Until then, having been in that circumstance before where you just want a bit of space and time to breathe, I won’t make the call.”

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 21: Andrew Phillips of the Bombers marks the ball during the 2023 AFL Round 19 match between the Essendon Bombers and the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on July 21, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Taken as number four pick in the 2011 AFL Rookie Draft, the 201cm ruckman would be a powerhouse in the State League, and possibly for Tasmania’s VFL team starting in 2025.

“When you talk about the dominant players in this league, a lot of them are ruckman _ Alex Lee [North Launceston], Jack Tomkinson [Tigers], when Launceston were good Joe Groenewegen was dominating, and Sam Siggins [Lauderdale] when he won his medals,” Christensen said.

“It would be great to get him [Phillips], we would really relish that,” Christensen said.

“He would be an asset alongside Haydn Smith and ‘Siggo’ and a couple of guys in our reserves and udner-18s, he could do a lot with mentoring with them and also helping me.

“We’ve got a few lined up ready to come back hopefully next year, like Oscar Shaw and Luke Paton, who have been gone all year.

“Hopefully some boys who used to play here want to have another crack at TSL level, so we will try to get Lauderdale people back to the club which is really important to us.”