Border restrictions dog draft hopefuls
SOME of the state’s best young AFL draft hopefuls were dealt a blow on the weekend when changing border restrictions resulted in a handful of Tassie Devils unable to play their final match of the season in a last-ditch bid to impress recruiters before the AFL National Draft in November.
Young Devils Sam Collins, Oli Davis, Tyler McGinnis, Jye Menzie and Oliver Sanders were due to represent the Allies against South Australia in Adelaide on Sunday.
However, the state’s tightening border restrictions meant all five Devils were unable to take part in the match
due to their new requirement to quarantine on arrival in South Australia since they had visited a Queensland hotspot on September 24 for the Devils’ final NAB League match of the season.
While some of the Devils will participate in the AFL state combine in Hobart next week in a final bid to boost their draft chances, interim Devils coach Mathew Armstrong said it was still unfortunate for the young stars.
“It’s disappointing that they didn’t get another chance to play against some of the elite under-19 players from South Australia as you want to put yourself in those games and play well but unfortunately it
was out of their hands,” Armstrong said.
“A positive is that the boys did get to play some footy this year and they’ve done what they can and I guess the decisions will be made in coming months.”
Armstrong said, after another challenging Covid-affected season, he was hopeful the Tassie talent stacked up against its national counterparts and soon there would be more Tasmanians in the big league.
“You always have your fingers crossed for our boys,” he said.
“It’s really a difficult time because, when you play in the NAB League, you get to see other players and see what the talent pool is but with the complications of getting games played, we didn’t get to see the whole talent pool often but fingers crossed they’ve done enough.
“We’ll know in a couple of months.”
Next week’s state combine will feature Sam Banks, Baker Smith, Will Splann, Oliver Sanders, and Tyler McGinnis and Armstrong said that good performances could be a deciding factor come draft night.
“They’ve just got to do their very best at the state combine,” he said.
“When they do the testing, one player might show he’s a bit quicker or has more endurance or more power than other players and so it’s very important they do their best.”
The state combine will take place in Hobart on October 11 with the National Draft scheduled for November 24.