No stadium, no problems as Devils look to build roster

The Tasmania Devils believe an unfinished stadium won't hurt their prospects of luring players to the club as they prepare to announce their first batch of signings.

Speaking at Canberra's Parliament House on Tuesday, the club's chief executive Brendon Gale played down concerns surrounding the contentious Macquarie Point Stadium in Hobart.

The $1.13 billion venue won't be ready in time when the Devils' AFL and AFLW teams enter the league in 2028, and will be primed for the 2031 season.

Tasmania plans to split its home games between Hobart's Bellerive Oval and Launceston's UTAS Stadium in the first years of its AFL campaign instead.

The stadium concerns come as the club looks to land the signatures of marquee names when they are allowed to lure 18 uncontracted players from rival clubs across 2027-28.

But in a possible precursor to the challenges that lie ahead, young gun Logan Morris re-signed with Brisbane despite the Devils taking an interest in him.

Even without a state-of-the-art stadium and no Morris, Gale remains confident in their ability to recruit players to the Apple Isle.

"We have an incredible high-performance centre which is being built, and that'll be 9,000 square metres and an elite environment to come and work and realise your potential as a male or female athlete," Gale said.

"I think those things are probably more important, and I don't expect (no stadium) to have an impact on getting players at all.

"When the stadium comes along in 2031, there'll be another big sugar hit. There'll be so much anticipation, excitement again."

In the NRL, the Perth Bears have struggled to pin down a marquee player ahead of their entrance into the competition next season, while fellow expansion club PNG Chiefs have inked deals with several star names because of lucrative tax-free contracts.

Regardless, media reports have emerged the Devils will unveil their first batch of players later this month, which will be under-17 prospects, after the league allowed the team to sign a maximum of 12 under-17 athletes across 2026 and 2027.

The club's entrance is set to create another conundrum for the AFL, as it considers whether it should shorten games, as it may need to expand the number of rounds to cater for the new team.

Jack Riewoldt, a former Richmond premiership winner and Tasmanian local, said the changes were above his pay grade.

"The game continues to evolve. The rules continue to evolve to make sure not only is it safe for the players, but user experience and viewership can be at their most prevalent," he said.