Injection of youth to benefit Demons

NORTH Hobart will be one of the big beneficiaries of Tasmania not featuring in the NAB League this year, with a host of youngsters now able to suit up for the entire TSL season.

The Demons will have access to 13 Devils for the shortened State League campaign, which will kick off on July 18.

Coach Richard Robinson, who has invested heavily in the club’s youth since taking the reins three years ago, said the benefits of having some of the best young talent in the state at his disposal full time was already reaping dividends on the training track.

“Our first port of call was to make sure their welfare was OK, obviously they were very disappointed they don’t get to play in the Devils program or represent their state,” Robinson said.

“Regardless of giving yourself a chance to get drafted, they wanted to represent their state and that’s what you do week in, week out playing Devils. We reached out to them early doors and put our arm around them and made sure we welcomed them back.

“They have all embraced our program, they are running around with a smile on their face, everything is going well at the moment.

“The silver lining is the TSL gets to have this influx of young talented players in the state come back and play at a good level and they can size themselves up against seasoned players.”

Though they have finished with the wooden spoon the past two seasons, the Demons secured three victories in 2019 after just the one in Robinson’s first year, highlighting their improvement under the club great.

The addition of the Devils dozen adds further depth to the squad, but Robinson was quick to rule out any walk up starters.

“Just because they have come back from the Devils squad doesn’t automatically mean they are going to play senior footy,” he said.

“We have told the whole club that we are in a position now in terms of numbers that if you aren’t doing the work, you won’t get a game.”