{"id":675647,"date":"2026-05-16T23:37:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T23:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/675647\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T23:37:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T23:37:16","slug":"afl-draft-gone-from-strength-to-strength-tasmanian-prospect-surges-onto-radar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/675647\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL Draft \u2013 \u201cGone from strength to strength\u201d: Tasmanian prospect surges onto radar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tasmania Devils<\/a> winger Hugh McCallum has stamped himself as arguably his state’s best 2026 AFL Draft<\/a> prospect.<\/p>\n

McCallum has clearly had the highest production of any of Tasmania’s top-aged players, with his ability to find the footy and comply with his role allowing him to showcase his weapons consistently in the Talent League.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

His start to the season has caught the attention of AFL<\/a> recruiters, rising sharply as a player of interest.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s gone from strength to strength, built off the back of his running capacity and ability to cover the ground is clearly his strength,\u201d Tassie Under-18s coach Scott Moore told Zero Hanger.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s got a great understanding and willingness to learn what’s required for that wing role and has the flexibility to play from half-back to half forward as well.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can sneak forward and hit the scoreboard and slides support defensively. He’s going well. We’re hopeful he can get an Allies opportunity and showcase his skills on the highest stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s clean and got a nice kick so he’s growing. The growth in his positioning, holding shape have continued to grow. His IQ and willingness to apply his learnings in game are really key. There has been great growth in his running patterns, positioning and willingness to move the ball forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Devils also have a pair of North Melbourne-tied prospects: Jess Bula and Archie Devine.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Bula is currently sidelined with a fractured and dislocated finger, but is expected to return before the end of the month after an impressive first fortnight as an aggressive contest player.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s got power, he’s got explosiveness which is fantastic. He can break the game open and burst out,\u201d Moore said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s eye-catching. For Jess, it’s about consistency and doing it more often.\u201d<\/p>\n

Devine, meanwhile, is a natural ball-winner and has become more potent with the ball in hand this season as he seeks to prove his point-of-difference.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

While he has been given midfield opportunities for the Devils, he is expected to start his senior career off half-back.<\/p>\n

Like Bula, he has spent time at Arden St training with the Roos.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s got an ability to accumulate the ball. He gets to positions where he’s able to receive,\u201d Moore said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe growth in his game is finding a balance between accumulating and damaging. In the last couple of weeks he’s been more damaging moving the ball forward.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can break the game open with kicking and handballing forward. He’s relatively new to the midfield spot and is in there because of his ability to cover the ground and engage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlie Bovill is another Tasmanian prospect on the radar whose size is appealing.<\/p>\n

Primarily a key defender, he has been exposed on the wing at times early in the season and has also had exposure forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cCharlie has played the vast majority (of his footy) as a defender, a third tall type who is able to roll off and provide rebound,\u201d Moore noted.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve also given him stints on the wing in recent weeks which allows an athlete of his size to showcase his running capacity.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has quite a good tank which allows him to get up and down the ground. He can be a marking target for exit kicks.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tasmania Devils winger Hugh McCallum has stamped himself as arguably his state’s best 2026 AFL Draft prospect. McCallum…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":675648,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,30306,64,63,55,639,325735,85],"class_list":["post-675647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-afl-draft","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-scott-moore","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=675647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/675648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=675647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=675647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=675647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}