Tasmania Devils unveil first eight players ahead of 2028 start
Tasmania has its first Devils. The club unveiled eight teenagers as its inaugural AFL-listed players at a draft-style event in Hobart on Tuesday night, ahead of its entry to the competition in 2028.
The headline name is Axel Walsh. The 17-year-old West Australian stands 202 centimetres tall and was the favourite to go at pick No.1 in next year's national draft — the yearly intake where clubs select the best young talent. He was the first player called out in Hobart, according to the ABC.
Walsh already has family in town. He has an aunty, uncle and three cousins living in the Hobart suburb of Glenorchy.
He is joined by six other under-17 prospects and one local. The seven under-17 signees are Walsh, Angus Brown, Riley Stratford, Jake Miller, Griffin Barker, Nate Jenkins and Baxter Sruk, the AFL confirmed.
Walsh is listed as a forward/ruck from East Perth. A ruck is the tall player who contests the ball-up in the middle. The other six come through Victoria's under-18 system. Brown is a 175cm small forward and wingman from the Sandringham Dragons. Stratford is a 188cm midfielder from the same club. Miller is a 197cm forward from the Western Jets, alongside 186cm midfielder Barker. Jenkins is a 196cm forward from the Calder Cannons. Sruk is a 181cm midfielder from the Eastern Ranges.
The eighth signing is Hugh McCallum. He is a Tasmanian midfielder, 181cm, who was eligible for this year's draft. Tasmania signed him under a special rule that lets the new club add local players from the 2026 draft class. He is the brother of former Port Adelaide-listed defender Tom McCallum.
The deals run long. Each of the eight signed a four-year contract worth about $150,000 next year. For the seven under-17s, that covers a year in the VFL — the state-level competition below the AFL — in 2027, then three AFL seasons from 2028 to 2030.
Next year will not be full-time footy. The group will split time between the Devils' VFL side, Tasmanian under-18s, gym work, study and trips home. List boss Todd Patterson said the club wrote to about two dozen of the country's best under-18 players earlier this year to gauge interest.
Tasmania is allowed to sign 12 under-age players across 2026 and 2027 before their draft years as part of its start-up concessions. That leaves five more spots to fill next year. The eight will join the side to be coached by Ken Hinkley.
For fans, this means the team now has faces. No jumpers pulled on for a home-and-away game yet. No ladder spot. Just eight teenagers tied to Hobart until the end of 2030.
