AT A GLANCE
Wins
9
Losses
12
6th on the ladder
Season Summary
The Taxmanian Devils inaugural finals series was a raging success. They fought off a three-way race for the last spot in the finals, beating TLM in the final round, which was required to secure them the finals spot.
They then faced the daunting task of facing off against the Vipers, who were pulling off some of the competitions highest scores in the lead up to final. But it looks like the years of pent up anticipation of this moment of reaching the finals opened a flood gate of scoring to see them crush the Vipers with a score of 2152. This put a moment of doubt in the competition’s juggernaut the Solomon’s Soldiers, especially given the Soldier’s scored less than 1900 in their match up, but alas the dream was over for another year for the Taxmanian Devils.
But they have tasted success and this looks like a team hungry for more. Riding on the coattails of a young Port Adelaide midfield, I think this is a team that should be excited for their future prospects.
top five Players
Connor Rozee
23 games
105.9 average
Ranked 16th for season
Zak Butters
23 games
99.5 average
Ranked 28th for season
Kieren Briggs
14 games
94.1 average
Ranked 47th for season
Patrick Cripps
21 games
88.4 average
Ranked 73rd for season
Reilly O’Brien
23 games
88.4 average
Ranked 74th for season
ALL-AUSTRALIANS
Connor Rozee
Zak Butters
2023 PRE-SEASON DRAFT
| Round | Pick | Player | Games Played | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Mackenzie (Haw) | 6 | 49.83 |
| 3 | 23 | Ross (Stk) | 15 | 74.13 |
| 4 | 33 | Acres (CA) | 21 | 88.38 |
| 4 | 40 | Hind (ESS) | 6 | 91.67 |
| 6 | 53 | L. McDonald (NTH) | 21 | 71.9 |
| 7 | 63 | Stanley (GEE) | 5 | 75 |
| 7 | 70 | H. McKay (CA) | 13 | 73.69 |
| 8 | 73 | N. Broad (Rich) | 15 | 68.67 |
| 9 | 83 | L. O’Brien (CA) | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | 93 | L. Young (NTH) | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | 97 | Sharman (STK) | 3 | 19 |
| 11 | 103 | T. De Koning (CA) | 1 | 61 |
| 12 | 113 | C. West (WC) | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | 133 | D’Ambrosio (ESS) | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 143 | Carroll (CA) | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | 153 | McStay (COLL) | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 163 | Perez (NTH) | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | 173 | Hotton (STK) | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | 183 | J. Silvagni (CA) | 3 | 53 |
| 20 | 193 | W. Snelling (ESS) | 6 | 57.5 |
Most Inspired Selection
Blake Acres
Pick 33
An underrated draft is how I would preface this.
Sure there were no superstars, but there were some very handy role players, which was necessary for this team to push into their first finals series. Acres was a ripper, and given his age, could lay claim to the steal of the draft. McKenzie is a sound selection and should get more opportunity given where Hawthorn’s list is at. But players like Ross, Hind, McDonald, McKay and Broad all played a solid role.
The downside is that there were no late draft steals, in fact 11 of the last 12 picks played 3 or fewer games.
Trades
Two reasonable trades which paint an interesting picture.
Reilly O’Brien is a staple of the top ruckmen, while Jarrod Berry is still young, so the upside is there, all the while marginally improving their draft hand. However this indicates that coach Max lost faith in Powell and De Koning, and time will tell if this was the right call or not.
| Date | Team | Received | Team | Received |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 21, 2023 |  | Tom Powell Taxmanian Devils Round 7 Pick |  | Jarrod Berry Defenestrators Round 4 Pick |
| March 23, 2023 | | Reilly O’Brien |  | Tom De Koning Taxmanian Devils Round 5 Pick |
LIST AT END OF 2023 SEASON
| Player | Games | Average | Player Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connor Rozee Midfielder / Forward | 23 | 105.9 | 16 |
| Zak Butters Midfielder / Forward | 23 | 99.5 | 28 |
| Kieren Briggs Ruck | 14 | 94.1 | 47 |
| Patrick Cripps Midfielder | 21 | 88.4 | 73 |
| Reilly O’Brien Ruck | 23 | 88.4 | 74 |
| Blake Acres Midfielder | 22 | 87.8 | 77 |
| Karl Amon Midfielder | 21 | 86.8 | 79 |
| Shai Bolton Midfielder / Forward | 23 | 86.8 | 83 |
| Nic Martin Midfielder / Forward | 23 | 85.2 | 90 |
| Luke Jackson Ruck / Forward | 23 | 84.7 | 92 |
| Jordan Ridley Defender | 17 | 80.8 | 113 |
| Jordan Clark Defender | 23 | 76.5 | 140 |
| Luke McDonald Defender | 22 | 75.2 | 154 |
| Matthew Kennedy Midfielder / Defender | 14 | 74.6 | 159 |
| Brayden Maynard Defender | 22 | 74.6 | 160 |
| Izak Rankine Forward | 20 | 74.2 | 163 |
| George Hewett Midfielder | 19 | 74.1 | 164 |
| Jarrod Berry Midfielder | 22 | 73.8 | 170 |
| James Aish Midfielder | 20 | 73.5 | 173 |
| Liam Stocker Defender | 22 | 70.5 | 206 |
| Sebastian Ross Midfielder | 16 | 69.9 | 213 |
| Harry McKay Forward | 19 | 69.6 | 219 |
| Nick Hind Defender | 16 | 69.1 | 223 |
| Harris Andrews Defender | 23 | 68.8 | 226 |
| Jason Horne-Francis Midfielder / Forward | 22 | 68 | 229 |
| Hunter Clark Defender / Midfielder | 18 | 67.8 | 230 |
| Connor Idun Defender | 23 | 67 | 237 |
| Nathan Broad Defender | 19 | 66.9 | 239 |
| Toby Bedford Forward | 16 | 63.7 | 267 |
| Lachlan Murphy Forward | 22 | 62.5 | 285 |
| Luke Breust Forward | 21 | 60.4 | 311 |
| Brody Mihocek Forward | 21 | 60.3 | 315 |
| Josh Worrell Defender | 12 | 59.1 | 334 |
| Cody Weightman Forward | 19 | 58.4 | 342 |
| Sam Collins Defender | 23 | 54.4 | 398 |
| Ed Curnow Midfielder / Forward | 17 | 52.7 | 413 |
| Riley Bonner Defender / Midfielder | 11 | 51.3 | 433 |
| Marlion Pickett Midfielder / Forward | 21 | 50.2 | 454 |
| Cam Mackenzie Midfielder / Forward | 14 | 48.6 | 472 |
| Nik Cox Midfielder | 6 | 44.2 | 515 |
Player To Watch in 2024
Jason Horne-Francis
The franchise has had a bumpy start to AFL life, bearing the weight of expectation that comes with the number 1 pick. JHF showed the flashes of brilliance that made him a star of his draft year particularly towards the back end of the season, which shows that he is settling into his team, his role and his place.
I expect a high output next year and for JHF to shoulder more responsibility, with low accountability due to the presence of Butters and Rozee. But then again I think we’ve said the same for 3 seasons now, so we’ll wait and see, particularly if Hinkley decides to inject Wines back into that midfield mix.
