DEVILS WORK FOR JEROMEY

Jeromey Webberley will be the new Devils coach. Picture: Andrew Woodgate

AFL Tasmania has locked in on its No.1 candidate to coach the Devils boys and girls programs next year.

It is understood former Clarence coach Jeromey Webberley is the preferred option for the much soughtafter position.

Webberley, 33, will replace Cameron Joyce in the role after Joyce took the senior coaching role for the Gold Coast Suns AFLW team.

Head of AFL Tasmania Damian Gill was remaining tight-lipped when contacted

by the Mercury.

“We are deep into the recruitment process for the position, and we’d hope to have a preferred candidate confirmed and announced in coming days,” Gill said.

The selection is likely to be positively received in the Tasmanian football community. Not only is Webberley a local, he has an understanding of player and league club requirements having coached Clarence for the past five seasons.

Webberley was the first success story of the rebirth of the state league, playing in

Clarence’s 2009 premiership and then being selected by Richmond in the draft.

He spent three seasons at the Tigers, playing 16 games, before returning to Clarence.

Webberley has overseen a rebuild of a Roos list that produced a number of Devils players while taking Clarence to third spot this year.

The job of Devils coach is an arduous one, having to oversee both the boys and girls teams across the state’s regions to make competitive sides but to also hopefully increase Tasmanian numbers in the AFL and AFLW drafts.