{"id":681774,"date":"2026-05-19T23:12:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T23:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/681774\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T23:12:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T23:12:12","slug":"real-gains-5m-weapon-to-help-newest-afl-club-wedge-stars-from-rivals-as-full-list-rules-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/681774\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Real gains\u2019: $5m weapon to help newest AFL club \u2018wedge\u2019 stars from rivals as full list rules revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Fox Footy commentators believe the suite of list concessions handed to Tasmania would give the Devils the best chance of early AFL success.<\/p>\n<p>But integral to the 19th club\u2019s hopes of making an immediate splash on the field would be their ability to land a big-name player(s) off the field.<\/p>\n<p>Watch every match of every round of the AFL Premiership Season LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | <a href=\"https:\/\/kayosports.com.au\/en-AU\/welcome\/afl?pg=default&amp;extcamp=fsaeditoriallinkafl-edt-fsp-lnk-awr-grc-afl-kyo&amp;channel=fsa&amp;campaign=fsacontra&amp;voucher=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779017096_680_poster-fallback.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Hours after Hawthorn\u2019s exit from its Launceston agreement was confirmed after a 25-year partnership, the AFL on Tuesday rubber-stamped the formal establishment rules for the Devils\u2019 list.<\/p>\n<p>In a detailed statement, the league said six principles guided the development of the rules, including \u2018competitive from the start\u2019, \u2018prioritise local Tasmanian talent\u2019 and \u2018access to both new and mature talent\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis has been workshopped and debated at length behind the scenes \u2013 and that No.1 plan remains: Competitive from the start,\u201d AFL 360 co-host Gerard Whateley told Fox Footy on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n<p>AFL Media reporter Cal Twomey said on Footy Classified: \u201cI spoke to a club who said this is the list package of a generation. They couldn\u2019t have asked for more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The league in October last year released the initial list build concessions for the Devils. This included details like flexible list sizes across their first five AFL seasons, access to a signing bonus pool of $5 million outside of the salary cap, the ability to pre-list prospects in their 17th year and juicy national draft hands across their first three drafts.<\/p>\n<p>Richmond could turn to mid season draft | 00:49<\/p>\n<p>Whateley said there were \u201ctwo main headlines\u201d from the AFL\u2019s most recent release on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>One of them was the father-son rules for the Devils, who\u2019ll have access to a draft prospect if their dad was born in Tasmania and played over 100 AFL games. If the player\u2019s Tassie-born father played at least 100 games at an AFL club, the prospect could then choose to nominate their preferred team \u2013 like when Dean Rice\u2019s son Bailey chose St Kilda over Carlton ahead of the 2015 draft.<\/p>\n<p>The Devils will also have access to a father-son prospect if their dad played 200 or more Tasmania State League games.<\/p>\n<p>In both circumstances, the Devils would have to match rival club bids under the current bidding system at the draft to secure those eligible players.<\/p>\n<p>Whateley\u2019s other headline was the Devils\u2019 ability to poach uncontracted AFL players.<\/p>\n<p>Tasmania Devils Football Club mascot Rum&#8217;un and club CEO Brendon Gale during Gather Round in Adelaide. Picture: Tasmania DevilsSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n<p>The Devils will be able to sign a maximum of 18 uncontracted players \u2013 one from each of the rival 18 clubs \u2013 across a two-year window (2027 to 2028) \u2013 without a trade needing to be struck. Whateley said a \u201cvague compensation system\u201d would be in place for clubs who lose a player to the Devils.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI spoke to a couple of clubs before we came on (air). They were fearful the exposure was going to be two uncontracted players across the two years, so there is a little bit of relief that it\u2019s only one,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut this is where the real gains can be made. No need to trade. Swing in, use the $5 million sign-on bonuses across two years and wedge players out, one from each club.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s the unanswerable, but it looks like a good balance to try and achieve that aim (being competitive from the start).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melbourne legend Garry Lyon added on AFL 360: \u201cIt\u2019s a nice suite, it\u2019s a really strong hand I think.<\/p>\n<p>Hawks &#8216;angry&#8217; at losing &#8216;best deal&#8217; | 03:56<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ve got smart people involved. If they use that properly that first key tenant \u2013 \u2018being competitive from the start\u2019 \u2013 that gives them every chance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was confirmed last October the Devils would have access to the following selections across their first three national drafts<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 National Draft 2027: Picks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and the first pick of each subsequent round (Picks 5, 7, 11 and 13 must be traded but may be rolled forward for up to two national drafts)<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 National Draft 2028: Picks 5 and 9 and the first pick in each subsequent round in addition to their natural draft hand (Pick 5 must be traded but may be rolled forward to the next national draft)<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 National Draft 2029: Picks 5 and 9 in addition to their natural draft hand (Pick 5 must be traded)<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on Fox Footy\u2019s Midweek Tackle, CODE Sports reporter Jon Ralph reported the Devils needed to land a big fish early in their build to give themselves the best chance of truly being competitive from the start.<\/p>\n<p>Finn O&#8217;Sullivan of the Kangaroos and Sam Lalor of the Tigers. Picture: Daniel Pockett\/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Foxfooty.com.au reported last week the Devils would \u201clook to come hard\u201d for both Richmond\u2019s Sam Lalor and North Melbourne\u2019s Finn O\u2019Sullivan \u2013 the top two picks from the 2024 draft \u2013 as part of their recruiting plans.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ve got those picks \u2013 there\u2019s an extraordinary welter of them \u2013 they have to trade Pick 5 in every year and their view is that in compromised drafts, everyone will go nuts trying to secure those picks,\u201d Ralph told Midweek Tackle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ll be able to secure some 23 or 24-year-old players. They certainly will get the older players \u2014 whether it\u2019s an Alex Pearce for a year then transition into coaching \u2014 and then it\u2019s all about those 18 uncontracted players.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan you get yourself a Finn O\u2019Sullivan? Can you get yourself a (Nate) Caddy? Can you get yourself a Sam Lalor? I think if all those blokes say \u2018thanks but no thanks\u2019, that\u2019s when you start thinking finals are seven, eight years (away). But if you get a couple of those early with your $5 million, maybe you\u2019re away.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fox Footy commentators believe the suite of list concessions handed to Tasmania would give the Devils the best&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":681775,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[3443,638,11292,64,63,689,55,639,24991,3423,166582,53433,328790,3499,328791,328802,328789,328313,328797,2526,168476,328804,328799,328801,10145,61,2105,4517,328798,3489,681,116614,116612,328800,647,7198,1817,328796,328794,677,311101,322373,7889,3469,10032,1124,85,2801,53432,328792,328805,13338,328793,328795,660,328803],"class_list":["post-681774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-adelaide","tag-afl","tag-alex-pearce","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-bailey","tag-ben-waterworth","tag-bidding-system","tag-brendon-gale","tag-club-ceo","tag-daniel-pockett","tag-dean-rice","tag-devils-football-club","tag-draft-picks-hand","tag-establishment-rules","tag-extraordinary-welter","tag-father-son-prospect","tag-father-son-rules","tag-finn-osullivan","tag-football-club-mascot","tag-formal-establishment","tag-garry-lyon","tag-gerard-whateley","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-hamstring-injury","tag-inaugral-season","tag-jagga-smith","tag-jon-ralph","tag-list-concessions","tag-list-rules","tag-long-term-injury-list","tag-melbourne","tag-michael-willson","tag-mid-season-draft","tag-national-drafts","tag-natural-draft-hand","tag-oceania","tag-real-gains","tag-recruiting-plans","tag-salary-cap","tag-sam-lalor","tag-signing-bonus","tag-south-australia","tag-sports","tag-tasmania","tag-tasmania-devils","tag-tasmania-devils-football","tag-tasmania-state-league","tag-tigers","tag-uncontracted-players","tag-vague-compensation-system","tag-victoria","tag-wedge-players"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681774","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=681774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/681775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}