For love, not money — Tasmania’s elite eight ready to represent the map

Source : ABC NEWS

He’s the 202-centimetre 17-year-old West Australian, who was the raging favourite to be taken at pick No.1 in next year’s AFL draft.

His name is Axel Walsh, and if Tasmanians are unfamiliar with the baby-faced beanpole, they won’t be for much longer.

Walsh is one of eight elite 17-year-old footballers who have been pre-listed by the Tasmania Devils, a year ahead of when they were due to be drafted, as part of the club’s bespoke list concessions.

And if he turns out to be half as good as his football heroes, the Devils have a superstar on their hands.

“I think a lot of people would go Luke Jackson,” he said, when asked what his closest AFL player comparison would be.

“I have a lot of respect for his game.

“But someone I’ve always looked up to is Max Gawn. You see the success he’s had, and I’ve looked up to him as a leader off the field as well.”

It was an easy decision for Walsh to accept the Devils’ invitation to join the team, a year ahead of his official draft year.

Family ties encourage decision

With an aunty, uncle and three cousins residing in the Hobart suburb of Glenorchy, Walsh already considered himself “somewhat Tasmanian” before signing on.

Walsh said he got “goosebumps” at Tuesday night’s draft style event in Hobart, where he and seven other young guns were unveiled as the Devils’ first ever AFL listed players.

He said he was struck by a club-produced hype video that chronicled Tasmania’s football history, previous failed bids for an AFL team, and the importance of the state’s famous “map” insignia.

“It’s very important. The people of the island have wanted that for a long time so to have the opportunity to wear that on the jumper, it’s very special and something I’m looking forward to,” he said.

Walsh was the first player unveiled on Tuesday, and is the highest profile player of the initial crop.

But he’s not feeling the pressure to perform early.

“I’m really competitive. I want to win, and I hate losing,” he said.

“I feel like pressure is a privilege, and we have that pressure because of the opportunity we’ve been given.

“I don’t think there’s pressure, just excitement.”

It’s a mindset reinforced by Devils’ list boss, Todd Patterson.

“We need to understand that each of them is on a different journey,” Patterson said.

“For some of them, it’ll be really customised.”

Walsh and his seven new teammates will split their time between the Devils’ VFL, the Tasmanian under 18s, the gym, studying and visiting their home states next year.

Sales pitch began this year

Patterson was part of the team that lured the club’s first players south — a process that started earlier this year with the delivery of “letters of interest” to about two dozen of the country’s best under 18 players.

Part of the sales pitch was financial.

Each player will make about $150,000 next year, having penned four-year contracts with the club.

But Patterson insists the intentions of each of the players is pure.

“What they earn, what they’ll end up earning and all that stuff, we are thinking about that and the strategy — but I think we could have offered them one dollar, and they would have been here,” he said.

Each player signed has unique on- and off-field attributes.

Victorian Jake Miller is already a quasi-Tasmanian, boasting an impressive golf swing and having a mother who works for Cadbury.

Fellow Victorian midfielder Griffin Barker’s highlight reel showcases a player who has perfected the “don’t argue” — his favourite players are Harley Reid and Dustin Martin.

While on-baller Baxter Sruk accepted his Devils guernsey as AC/DC’s Thunderstruck blasted throughout the venue.

For another Victorian — gun small forward Angus Brown — moving to Tasmania was never a given.

“I wasn’t in the initial interest letter back in the start of the year, I had to work my way up and find a patch of form,” he said.

“I found out in May there was a letter of interest and then I pursued an interview with [recruiter] Derek Hine.”

Even then, there was an element of trepidation for the Victorian who has placed an emphasis on finishing year 12, and pursuing higher education in tandem with a flourishing career in the AFL.

“I’m someone whose pretty studious and I want to finish my studies,” he said.

“The club has been open and flexible about my studying and pursuits academically, so that’s probably my biggest thing.

“But when I got here and was able to experience the amounts of development, it was an easy sell.”

It was the signing of Ken Hinkley as senior coach, and then the appointment of development guru Nigel Lappin that sealed the deal.

“I think the calibre of coaches and staff we’ve got is immense,” he said.

“The sell is the experience, the dedication to the program and development was the biggest thing.”

As for his on-field prospects, the 174-centimetre pocket rocket has this message for Devils fans:

“Something I pride myself on, is that while I’m not the biggest on the field, I think I have the biggest heart when I’m out there playing,” he said.

“It’ll be a dream come true,” he says, of making his AFL debut.