Source : ABC NEWS
The Tasmania Devils have pulled off a stunning double coup, securing the services of a pair of recruiting gurus who will construct the club’s inaugural AFL, VFL, AFLW and VFLW lists.
Former Collingwood list manager and head recruiter Derek Hine has been lured to Tasmania and will take the role as the club’s first ever head of recruiting, while Tasmanian-born Melbourne AFLW list manager Todd Patterson has also committed as the team’s first head of list management and strategy.
Mr Hine is best known for his time at the Magpies where he helped build teams that claimed the 2010 and 2023 AFL premierships, contested the 2018 grand final and were perennial finals contenders since his appointment in 2003.
Under his tenure, Collingwood drafted Scott Pendlebury and Dale Thomas in 2005.
Former Collingwood recruiting manager Derek Hine (centre) will be the Devils’ head of recruiting. (AFL.com.au)
Mr Hine also oversaw the selection of Steele Sidebottom and Jordan De Goey, as well as trades that secured Jack Crisp from Brisbane and Tasmanian Jeremy Howe from Melbourne.
Mr Hine and Mr Patterson’s first task will likely be assembling the club’s inaugural VFL list, which is set to take the field next year. They’ll then move into helping construct the Devils’ inaugural AFL team, which is set to play its first game in 2028.
Mr Hine will initially split his time between Melbourne and Hobart.
In a statement, Devils chief executive Brendon Gale said Mr Hine’s recruitment was a “significant addition” to the club and that “his passion for talent identification and team building aligns perfectly with our vision for the Tasmania Devils”.
“It’s a really exciting time for football in the state,”
he said.
Pair to access salary war chest
Mr Patterson, who hails from Launceston, will return to his home state following a 16-year stint in Victoria, with an eight-year stint at Melbourne, which included women’s talent identification and ultimately a six-year term as the club’s AFLW list manager.
The Demons won the AFLW flag in 2022 and have been a long-time powerhouse of the women’s competition.
Todd Patterson will join the Devils as the club’s head of list management and strategy. (Melbourne Football Club)
Tasmania’s women’s team is slated to enter the AFLW in 2027, making the Devils the first club in history to field a women’s team before a men’s side.
Both Mr Patterson and Mr Hine will officially start later this month, and have been employed on full-time, permanent contracts.
The pair will be handed about a dozen first-round picks, which will be spread across the 2027, 2028 and 2029 drafts, and which could still possibly include the number one pick in 2027.
Some of those will likely need to be traded for established players.
The Tasmania Devils are slated to enter the AFLW in 2027, while the men’s team is due to enter the league in 2028. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
Mr Patterson and Mr Hine will also likely have access to a salary war chest that will be used to lure players from other clubs, as well as to uncontracted free agents from other clubs across two trade periods.
The appointments come as Tasmania’s parliamentarians prepare to vote on so far unseen special legislation that aims to fast track the approval of the proposed Macquarie Point stadium.
The proposed stadium, which is expected to cost more than $775 million, is a non-negotiable requirement of the Devils entering the AFL, but has been met with strong community opposition.
It has bipartisan support in the state’s lower house but will need the vote of at least two independent upper house members to progress.
