Tasmania Devils CEO Brendon Gale. Photos: AFL Photos
TASMANIA chief executive Brendon Gale has confirmed the club is hoping to make an appointment for its first senior coaching position within the next 10 weeks but remains tight-lipped on potential signings from rivals.
This was revealed on AFL.com.auindustry and draft show Accessible The industry’s belief this week is that the Devils have already struck two deals with rival players as they scour the market for established senior talent.
Tasmania have publicly confirmed they have met with several rival players, while the new expansion club have also begun the process of making lucrative offers using their listing mechanisms. However, when asked if anyone else had accepted the offer on Friday, Gayle let his silence speak for itself.
“I’d rather not comment on that,” Gale laughed.
“Do with it what you want. I will not make any further comments.”
Tasmania will step up the process of trying to lure rival players over the next 18 months and has wondered whether it will announce signings publicly even as next year ends.
Gayle said the Devils would struggle to find the balance between gaining momentum by making their contracts public and maintaining a respectful relationship with that player’s existing club.
“It’s (a tough balance),” Gale said.
“This is something we haven’t had to deal with before. We are working on how we can do this. “Obviously, everything is designed to ensure that we achieve these types of results, and the AFL expects us to do that.”
“How we take this to market to create momentum is important in some ways. But we are mindful of people’s sensitivities and relationships with their existing clubs. I don’t know where we are with this.”
“This is new ground for us, but we’ll have to settle there pretty soon.”
Tasmania has made progress in appointing its first senior coach, with the experienced trio of Nathan Buckley, John Longmire and Ken Hinkley already beginning the process of presenting to the club’s selection committee.
The Devils have also approached former North Melbourne and Essendon coach Brad Scott about the role of head of football, although Gale said the appointment of the team’s senior coach would still be a priority.
“This is a very important appointment,” Gale said.
“We have set ourselves a timetable to resolve this issue by the end of the season. That’s all I can say at this stage. “We will do whatever we need to do to make a really strong decision for our football club and we will give ourselves the time and space to do that.”
“I don’t want to confirm the names or the process. Obviously, we’ve been quite open about the fact that experience is really important, as well as the ability and real desire to do the job. This will be a very difficult job.
“I’ll leave it at that. I’m confident we’ll fill that position by the end of the season.”
Nathan Buckley and John Longmire during Collingwood’s match against Sydney in Round 10, 2019. Photo: AFL Photos
Tasmania’s roster mechanisms ensure that the club’s first priority is to build its playing group through the draft, with Gayle saying the ability to manage young talent will be a priority in appointments.
“I’ve been open about sharing what I think are our key needs,” Gale said.
“It’s about building really strong relationships with the players in a squad that will probably skew towards a young team early on. This will be very, very important. Real passion and focus on development.”
“AFL football is a completely different game to track. It’s almost a real passion to teach children to play before you let them play. There is a huge opportunity for our state to come in and really support this club and reach across the state and sell the club.”
“North, south, east, west, being a really strong advocate locally and nationally.”
Gale also said Tasmania expected the redeveloped UTAS Stadium in Launceston to host at least six Devils home games during the club’s formative years, but potentially more, with Ninja Stadium in Hobart hosting the remaining matches.
However, that split is likely to change to 7-4 in Hobart’s favor once Macquarie Point Stadium is completed ahead of the 2031 season. But Gale said he would still like to see Tasmania host top-flight opponents to Launceston from time to time.