For decades, Tasmania’s passion for football has burned without a club of its own in national competition. That changes in 2028. The AFL’s 19th licence has been granted, the stadium deal is in motion, and behind the scenes, the list build has already begun.

But Tasmania’s inclusion isn’t without consequence. Draft concessions (the extra draft picks and list allowances the AFL gives new clubs to help them compete) are the lifeblood of a rebuild, and for clubs already struggling — North Melbourne, West Coast, Richmond — every extra pick handed to the Devils is one less chance to secure the elite talent they desperately need.

For some, the promise of new opportunity is exciting. For others, it’s a reminder that expansion comes at a cost. Brad Lloyd, who has sat in the hot seat as a list manager and football boss at Fremantle and Carlton, understands the complexity.

“Clubs understand when a new team is coming in, that they need to be set up to succeed, and they need decent players,” he tells upstart.

“Everyone in football would want it done well, just so that everyone’s not paying for it for years and years to come, because it hasn’t been set up the right way.”

“When you’re rebuilding a club, the character and leadership aspect is critical,” he says. “You sort of hear the quote of ‘your culture is king’.”

Callan Ward, hard-nosed midfielder and inaugural captain at the expansion club GWS Giants, springs to Lloyd’s mind as an example of the kind of “good, stable people that can support a younger group”.

For existing clubs, the concessions force strategic recalibration. Lloyd points to flexibility in trading, and for those clubs already stuck in the cycle of losing and rebuilding, Tasmania’s arrival isn’t just another headline, it’s another hurdle.

“They might bring some of their picks forward, avoid Tasmanian talent because they’re worried about them leaving, or re-sign their Tasmanian talent so that they’re secure,” he says.

“Teams like North Melbourne and West Coast would be watching it pretty closely.”

Maverick Weller lived the expansion reality. Signed as a teenager to the Suns in 2011, he carried the dream of an AFL career but walked into chaos. Weller won just one game from his 15 in the Suns’ first year in the AFL, a 3-point win against the Port Adelaide Power. They spent years at the bottom of the ladder, cycling through coaches and losing wave after wave of young talent.

“It was a real challenge,” he tells upstart.

“The club wasn’t a footballing club, you know, it was a slap together. You’re trying to develop as a player and you are getting beat each week in, week out.”

For Weller, the lessons are clear.

“The uncontracted players need to be of age that they are able to contribute to the next finals campaign and that needs to be realistic,” he said. “GWS got guys that had 10, 12 years left, proven players from the right clubs. We had guys on big money that were at the end of their careers that didn’t necessarily contribute to the culture and to the next generation.”

For Lloyd it all comes down to balance. You need youth from the draft, backed by hardened leaders to set the standard.

“Getting really good, strong characters that you can build a culture around would be a really key criteria,” he says. “Avoid too many players that need their hands held to a large degree.”

Incoming Tasmanian list manager Todd Patterson describes the concessions as “a package underpinned by flexibility”.

For him, the task is making sure luck doesn’t decide success.

“They [AFL] want to make sure that we’re not subject to fortunate timing,” he tells upstart.

Access to high-end draft talent remains, in his words, “key to building a list”. But the AFL landscape has shifted since 2011 and the tools exist to build differently, and more sustainably.

“There wasn’t the NGA [Next Generation Academy] and Academy system back then, the way that players move now is quite different, free agency, the money was quite different,” he says.

“We want to be as good as we can, as quick as we can. We’re not in the competition just to participate, but we want to try and build a really sustainable list.”

Still, list builds are more than spreadsheets. For Tasmania, the link between jumper and state matters. Patterson recognises the need to connect, but not blindly.

“We want the team to be as Tasmanian as possible, but Tasmanian people just want the best, and they want to succeed,” he says.

For Weller, born and raised in Burnie,  it finally feels like Tasmania is being recognised on the national stage. Weller spoke about the state’s proud footballing identity, one that’s produced some of the country’s best players and consistently supported the national competition.

“It’s a great step to field our own side and to develop the passion and put that into Tasmania,” he says.

Lloyd shares that optimism, describing Tassie as a football-mad state ready to embrace its own team. He believes the impact will extend well beyond the men’s game.

“It can catapult women’s footy and player development,” he says.

For Patterson, the role is about more than wins and losses, it’s about honouring the past and inspiring the next generation.

“Tasmania is a fantastic place to be and has a lot to offer,” he says. “The fact that we’ve now gonna have the ability for young Tasmanian boys and girls to actually have a dream and to see that that dream is possible.”

Weller knows what that dream means. His advice to the next 18-year-old Devil is simple: “Earn respect through doing the work, disciplined and focused and sacrificing.” Control the controllable.

“Don’t get pulled out of that focus point of being at your best back your instincts and the work that you’ve done.”

Article: Cam Burt is a second-year Media and Communications (Sports Media major) student at La Trobe University. You can follow him on Twitter @coachcavcam.

Cover photo: Devils Derek Hine, the Club’s inaugural Head of Recruiting and Todd Patterson, Head of List Management & Strategy. Photo provided by Patterson

Photo 1: Giants first AFL win by David Burke found HERE and is used under a Creative Commons license. This image has been cropped.

Photo 2: Maverick Weller 2017 win by Flickered found HERE and is used under a Creative Commons license. This image has not been modified