Tasmanian football talent is spread far and wide and the Devils might have a hard time getting them home to play VFL in 2026
Tasmania’s foray into the VFL in 12 months looks set to have challenges before it begins with locals already on the mainland not desperate to return home. See what some exports had to say.
The state’s VFL build may be harder than Devils hierarchy might expect with Tasmanian stars like Jackson Callow and Ling twins Connor and Liam now calling Adelaide “home”.
Callow, 22, has been terrorising SANFL defenders for the past four seasons while Connor and Liam, 19, left Glenorchy at the end of last year at the end of the Tasmanian State League as part of a stream of top-level players exiting the state.
It took no time for the Ling lads to establish themselves at Norwood, SANFL’s premier in 2022 and grand final runner-up last year.
All three players were part of the Tasmanian contingent that helped Norwood inflict an 11 goal mauling on the Devils at the Twin Ovals on Sunday.
A former Hawthorn AFL draftee, Callow kicked three goals for the Red Legs and dominated in attack.
He was on the fence about a potential return to Tasmania to play VFL.
“I’ve been away for five years and Adelaide’s my home now — Tassie will always be my proper home,” he said.
“There’s a lot to be put into place in Tassie to see what the VFL [structure] is going to look like before we can start having those conversations.”
Connor was a ball-magnet in the middle for Norwood, and Liam kicked two goals.
Both are fitter than they have ever been.
“It’s pretty hot [in Adelaide], we train four nights a week, four main sessions and it’s pretty hard but it’s worth it,” Connor said.
“You definitely learn what you have to do to take it to the next level.”
It was not an easy decision to leave home.
“We thought if we wanted to take our footy to the next level we probably should move while we are young,” Connor said.
“That’s a big thing when you are young, you’ve got to keep learning and keep improving.”
A tap on the shoulder to return home to play Devils in the VFL could cause a dilemma.
“I don’t know _ we’ve been enjoying it in Adelaide,” Connor said.
“You’d have to think about it, but I like being at Norwood.
“We are both third-year sparkies and we’ve both just found jobs about three weeks ago.”
Callow believes the culture of Norwood was key to its success.
“I’ve played a lot of football around the country and there’s no state league team or club like Norwood for culture,” he said.
“There’s a lot of us Tassie boys there and it has been appealing to other Tassie boys to come across to the club like Mitch Nicholas, the Ling brothers, Jack O’Hearn and those boys who have come over this year.
“They’ve made the big move, put their heads down and are doing really well and you can only respect them for that.”
Callow was sympathetic to the Devils build, which is in its infancy.
“They probably haven’t trained together as much as we have – we’re a club, they’re in hubs,” he said.
“There’s a lot of young talent out there and it’s promising with the VFL coming up.
“You’ve got to play these boys, get some miles into their legs, and playing them all together like that [against Norwood] is going to be great for them.”
Originally published as Tasmanian football talent is spread far and wide and the Devils might have a hard time getting them home to play VFL in 2026
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