Tasmania’s AFL team will reportedly be built via priority picks in three drafts.
The Age reports the pending club will, under draft plans, receive fewer priority picks than fellow expansion sides Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney.
In addition, the league wants the side to be competitive in its opening year, so a heavier focus on experienced players is also expected.
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The AFL’s draft plan, the report says, would see four or five first-round picks given to Tasmania in the 2027, 2028 and 2029 national drafts.
Of those picks, the club would be required to trade two each draft to bring in experienced players.
Should one or both of those picks not be traded, it would roll into the following season as an additional selection.
The Herald Sun, meanwhile, said the new club would likely be granted $1 million outside the salary cap as a means to providing signing on bonuses to big name players.
There would also be a Tasmanian father-son clause.
The report claims it is not yet known whether the Tasmanian side will be granted ongoing cap concessions in a bid to combat the go-home factor that has plagued the competition in recent seasons.
AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said on Wednesday he was confident Tasmania’s opening years in the league would be smoother than the Suns and Giants, given the lessons learned from both of those builds.
“I think we’ve learned a lot about list builds and how we do that work to ensure, I think, probably more immediate success rather than longer term success,” he said on Wednesday.
“I think that we have tools and free agency and a lot, we learned a lot about actually how you do that while limiting the impact on the rest of the competition.
“Then in the end, like in our heavily regulated, equalised game, there’ll be the right people in the right spots making the right decisions.
“I think we will, reasonably quickly and with the support of the clubs, get a set of rules to put the squad together. It’ll be good decision making after that.”
McLachlan said he also had no fear about the ability of the new side to attract big-name players.
”I’ve certainly spoken to enough star marquee players who love (the idea of) coming down here (and) starting young families. I do my homework and I’m not worried about that,” he said.
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“We’ve had legitimate concerns historically (but) this is a different city, a different state.
“What players want to be able to do is be good footballers, and whether it’s in the AFLW or the AFL, the facilities are going to be first class. They will be playing in what I think will be an incredible, pumping venue in the middle of a great city.”
Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said clubs were already starting to put plans in place for the coming years as Tasmania edges towards its first year in the competition.
“There’s list management meetings happening every day this week now that it’s official,” he told Nine’s Footy Classified.
“I spoke to a number of list people today. The general consensus from the smart people in football is they should be looking to finish somewhere between 6th and 10th in that first year.”
The Suns finished 17th in their opening two seasons, while the Giants finished 18th in their opening two.
