Tasmania Devils list boss Todd Patterson has warned the new AFL club won't become a superannuation scheme
As the Tasmania Devils set upon their first AFL list build,one key staff member has declared the club won’t become a place to “fill in your super” for potential recruits.
The Tasmania Devils will spend the next six months planning how to use their AFL Draft concessions in 2027 and list boss Todd Patterson warned they must be careful not to become a top-up scheme for some players’ superannuation accounts.
The AFL’s 19th team received its concession package last week, which included picks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13 for its draft debut, and the first selection of each subsequent round.
Four of those picks - 5, 7, 11 and 13 – must be used to trade for players already established at AFL clubs.
Patterson said the club would think long and hard about which players they would target to ensure they spend those picks wisely.
“We do have access to one uncontracted player from each club, so we’d like to think we will get a reasonable amount of experience through that mechanism,” Patterson said.
“But there will be some cases where players are contracted – like we are seeing at the moment [through the AFL Trade period] – where clearly those draft picks will come into play to get additional expertise through the door.”
The concession package included an additional $5m fund over and above the salary cap as a sign-on bonus to help Tasmania attract the big names.
“It certainly puts us in the marketplace,” Patterson said.
“There’s a certain amount of responsibility that comes with that.
“We want to make sure we don’t just become a destination that’s going to fill in your super.
“We’ve got to sit down now and take our time, digest all of this and strategise it.
“One thing the club has done really well so far is work meticulously well through their gears and put everything in place with really solid thought.
“It will probably take us the next six or seven months to fully digest and stretch these concessions to suit our strategy and then I’m sure it will be a moving feast after that as well.”
In a significant step toward their AFL debut in 2028, the Devils were granted a VFL licence and will join the second-tier competition in 2026.
More than 300 players applied for their VFL list trials, with some of them expected to go on and play for Tasmania in the AFL.
The Devils have a wish-list of players to target for their AFL list of 48 players, but in some cases established AFL players have chased them.
“There has been a reasonable level of interest [in playing for the Devils],” Patterson said.
“It is quite difficult because we are that bit away [from debut in 2028] and there’s still that level of uncertainty, which hopefully will be closed off very shortly.
“We have met with some players already, and we have been sought out to have those meetings, so it’s all really positive.
“But there’s still a lot to play out and a lot of time to go.”
Originally published as Tasmania Devils list boss Todd Patterson has warned the new AFL club won't become a superannuation scheme
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