Two Tasmania Devils have had their dreams realised with selection at the 2019 NAB AFL Draft, with Mitch O’Neill and Matt McGuinness both finding homes at the elite level.
North Hobart’s Mitch O’Neill – touted by many to be a second or third round pick at Thursday night’s National Draft – was overlooked throughout the Draft itself before being selected by the West Coast Eagles with pick 25 of the 2019 NAB AFL Pre-Season & Rookie Draft.
A two-time All Australian at under 18 level and a NAB League Team of the Year representative in 2019, O’Neill will look to further develop alongside the likes of fellow midfielders Andrew Gaff and Luke Shuey in the west and promises to be a bargain get for the 2018 premiers.
Lauderdale’s Matt McGuinness will make the move to Arden Street after being selected as a Category B Rookie by North Melbourne as part of the club’s Next Generation Academy program.
Highly versatile, McGuinness enjoyed a strong 2019 NAB League season with the Devils, finishing third in the team’s Best & Fairest while also being recognised as the ‘Player’s Player’ after playing roles in defence, attack and the wing.
McGuinness joins fellow Tasmanians Ben Brown, Aaron Hall and former Tassie Mariners teammate Tarryn Thomas in the royal blue and white.
Tasmanian Mitchell Hibberd was also selected with pick 10 in the NAB AFL Pre-Season & Rookie Draft after a standout season for Williamstown in the VFL where he was named on the wing in the VFL Team of the Year.
Hibberd (23), originally from Clarence, was first drafted to North Melbourne in the 2015 National Draft, where he went on to play four games before being delisted at the end of the 2018 season.
Hibberd joins ruck duo Tom Bellchambers and Andrew Phillips as Tasmanians at the ‘Hangar’.
A Tasmanian gun gets a well deserved second crack, congratulations Mitch 👊 #TheDevilYouKnow https://t.co/vTCBvw6hzi
— Tasmania Devils (@TasmaniaDevils_) November 28, 2019
Fremantle also re-selected former Tigers FC player Hugh Dixon in the Pre-Season & Rookie Draft after being moved from the club’s Primary List in October.
This now takes Tasmania’s tally of AFL-listed players to 28 heading into the 2020 AFL Premiership Season.