Analysis by Adam
At a glance
Top 5 Scorers
| Player | Games | Average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nic Martin | 23 | 107.2 | 13 |
| Zak Butters | 23 | 106.1 | 15 |
| Patrick Cripps | 23 | 100 | 30 |
| Connor Rozee | 20 | 97.1 | 36 |
| Jordan Clark | 23 | 96.9 | 38 |
Season Summary
The league’s most methodical list build has really started to pay dividends. They’ll be gutted about the egg they laid on grand final weekend. But that happens.
One of the problems with having excellent depth is you can only keep 20 players. Your greatest strength is undercut at season’s end every year. But the silver lining is you’re undoubtedly going to have 20 great keepers heading into the following campaign. The Devils are well built for another push in 2025. Their stars are nearly all young. Very young. They can hit every draft for the next few years just cherry picking the best established talent while others dabble in speculation – if they so choose. This list shouldn’t need to be turned over any time soon. The world is their oyster – it’s just a matter of whether they can snare a flag while that’s the case.
Season Grade – A
All-Australians
| Pos | Player | Average | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| D3 | Nic Martin | 104.9 | 20 |
| M8 | Zak Butters | 105.05 | 20 |
DangerGawn Votes
| Rank | Player | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | Zac Butters | 11 |
| 21 | Nic Martin | 10 |
| 31 | Jordan Clark | 7 |
| 32 | Patrick Cripps | 7 |
| 35 | Connor Rozee | 7 |
| 50 | Kieren Briggs | 4 |
| 56 | James Worpel | 3 |
| 68 | Jarrod Berry | 3 |
| 76 | James Aish | 2 |
| 82 | Jack Crisp | 2 |
| 85 | Izak Rankine | 2 |
| 96 | Harry McKay | 1 |
| 104 | Blake Acres | 1 |
| 110 | Karl Amon | 1 |
| 114 | Jake Stringer | 1 |
| 116 | Jason Horne-Francis | 1 |
| 121 | Josh Treacy | 1 |
Pre-Season Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | GP | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Luke Parker | 4 | 60.5 |
| 2 | 17 | Jack Crisp | 15 | 88.47 |
| 3 | 27 | Jarman Impey | 19 | 75.47 |
| 4 | 37 | Adam Saad | 9 | 68.11 |
| 4 | 38 | Nick Hind | 4 | 56 |
| 4 | 39 | Jeremy Finlayson | 4 | 54.25 |
| 6 | 57 | James Aish | 13 | 74.62 |
| 9 | 87 | Harry McKay | 19 | 81.95 |
| 10 | 97 | Jamie Elliott | 3 | 64.33 |
| 11 | 107 | Sebastian Ross | 7 | 76.29 |
| 12 | 117 | Jack Scrimshaw | 4 | 75.5 |
| 13 | 127 | Toby Bedford | 6 | 65.33 |
| 14 | 137 | Nathan Broad | 2 | 44 |
| 15 | 147 | Will Graham | 9 | 47.89 |
| 16 | 157 | Oscar Ryan | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 167 | Harris Andrews | 6 | 74 |
| 18 | 177 | Charlie Cameron | 2 | 43 |
| 19 | 187 | Will Hayward | 12 | 63.83 |
| 20 | 197 | Conor McKenna | 2 | 54 |
Most Inspired Selection
Pick 87 – Harry McKay
Coach Bernardi was pretty transparent on draft night. He was in it to win it in 2024, and his draft choices reflected that ethos.
Will Graham and Oscar Ryan were the only dalliances with rookies. Every other selection was aimed at securing a player who could take the field and contribute with some confidence.
On that front, this is a pretty successful draft class. Parker in the first was no doubt a major disappointment. But subsequent picks Cripps and Impey were mainstays in a Devils outfit that made it to Grand Final day.
But McKay is my pick for the most inspired selection. With the dearth of forwards, securing someone who almost made the All-Australian team on that part of the ground in the draft is massive success story – made all the more compelling by the selection coming in the 9th round.
Trades
| Date | Teams | Received |
|---|---|---|
| 30 April 2024 |  | James Worpel |
 | Taxmanian Devils Round 2 pick | |
| 4 April 2024 | | Jayden Short Puttanesca Chiefs Round 6 pick |
 | Cam Mackenzie Taxmanian Devils Round 5 pick | |
| 6 February 2024 | | Dom Sheed MSHB Round 4 pick (pick 38) |
 | Reilly O’Brien Taxmanian Devils Round 8 pick (pick 77) |
Neither Jayden Short nor James Worpel paid immediate dividends for the Devils. But they certainly weren’t failures, and they didn’t pay an onerous price for either.
McKenzie is an interesting prospect, but not one who is yet a guaranteed member of Hawthorn’s best-22. Their upcoming second rounder might turn into an interesting prospect. Might not. Who knows. But James Worpel can be put on the field any weekend with some confidence. And so can Jayden Short. When you’re trying to win the flag, these are bets worth making.
List at end of 2024 season
| Player | GP | AVG | Rank | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nic Martin | 23 | 107.2 | 13 | 23.04 |
| Zak Butters | 23 | 106.1 | 15 | 23.11 |
| Patrick Cripps | 23 | 100 | 30 | 29.05 |
| Connor Rozee | 20 | 97.1 | 36 | 24.07 |
| Jordan Clark | 23 | 96.9 | 38 | 23.1 |
| Kieren Briggs | 22 | 91.5 | 55 | 24.1 |
| Jason Horne-Francis | 21 | 89.5 | 60 | 21.02 |
| Blake Acres | 22 | 88.6 | 62 | 28.1 |
| Jordan Ridley | 9 | 88.4 | 63 | 25.1 |
| Karl Amon | 23 | 87 | 70 | 29 |
| Jarrod Berry | 23 | 84.5 | 82 | 26.06 |
| Jack Crisp | 23 | 83.1 | 88 | 30.1 |
| George Hewett | 21 | 83 | 89 | 28.07 |
| Harry McKay | 20 | 81.9 | 99 | 26.08 |
| Jayden Short | 22 | 80.5 | 103 | 28.07 |
| Izak Rankine | 15 | 79.8 | 109 | 24.04 |
| Luke Jackson | 23 | 78.6 | 117 | 22.1 |
| Jarman Impey | 23 | 77.7 | 127 | 29.01 |
| James Worpel | 23 | 77.6 | 128 | 25.07 |
| Matthew Kennedy | 23 | 77.1 | 133 | 27.04 |
| Josh Treacy | 20 | 75.9 | 147 | 22 |
| Shai Bolton | 22 | 73.5 | 169 | 25.08 |
| Connor Idun | 23 | 72.6 | 177 | 24 |
| Brayden Maynard | 23 | 71 | 185 | 27.11 |
| Adam Saad | 17 | 70.9 | 187 | 30.01 |
| James Harmes | 8 | 69.9 | 194 | 28.1 |
| Jack Scrimshaw | 22 | 67.6 | 211 | 25.11 |
| Will Hayward | 23 | 66.2 | 221 | 25.1 |
| Luke Parker | 7 | 65.9 | 224 | 31.1 |
| Jake Stringer | 23 | 65.9 | 225 | 30.04 |
| James Aish | 20 | 65.2 | 232 | 28.1 |
| Jamie Elliott | 15 | 64.2 | 250 | 32 |
| Nathan Broad | 22 | 61.6 | 283 | 31.04 |
| Conor McKenna | 14 | 60.4 | 303 | 28.05 |
| Todd Goldstein | 14 | 59.9 | 309 | 36.01 |
| Callum Ah Chee | 22 | 59.3 | 318 | 26.1 |
| Charlie Cameron | 23 | 58.6 | 331 | 30.01 |
| Matt Guelfi | 13 | 56.8 | 346 | 27 |
| Nathan Kreuger | 6 | 53 | 396 | 25.02 |
| Dom Sheed | 8 | 44.6 | 501 | 29.04 |
Ages as of 31 August 2024
Averages are AFL H&A season averages (not DangerGawn games played)
Player to watch in 2025
Shai Bolton
Bolton was one of the premier forwards during the 2023 season, averaging 86.8 in his 23 games at AFL level. But last year his average dropped to 73.5. Serviceable in a dire landscape of forwards, but the Devils would’ve been hoping for a top 5 forward.
Bolton has moved from Richmond to Fremantle. Does this bode well for his fantasy scoring? One assumes perhaps not, given Fremantle’s deep midfield. But Fremantle is almost certainly going to be a better outfit than the 2025 Tigers, which presumably will mean more fantasy points overall. Can Bolton get his fair share at the Dockers? A return to something closer to that 2023 Bolton would go a long way to helping the Devils go one better next season.