Tasmania leader Jye Menzie has re-signed with the Devils' VFL side for 2027 as the golden ticket to the AFL looms.
Menzie joined the expansion club's VFL team last season and is holding out hope for an AFL lifeline.
His time with Essendon ended after the 2025 season.
The former Bomber, originally from North Hobart, returned home to Tasmania ahead of the Devils' inaugural season after kicking 36 goals in 47 AFL games for Essendon.
The versatile forward played a key role in the Devils' inaugural VFL campaign, kicking 29 goals across 17 appearances, averaging 20.1 disposals and earning selection in the VFL Team of the Year squad.
Menzie was Tasmania's first-ever playing signing and wants to rejoin the AFL competition.
"I'd do anything to get back to where I was, so I'm going to use that as motivation to be a good teammate to the Devils boys and see where footy takes me," Menzie told Zero Hanger in February.
Menzie believes he deserves another chance after refining his role as a midfield-forward in the VFL.
Menzie has shown another level in his game that wasn't seen during his time at Essendon.
"If I reflect back on my time at Essendon, I was mainly a small forward, and I was a little bit inconsistent," Menzie said.
"It was hard sometimes playing that high half-forward role, so if I can look to get up the ground a bit more, get in the game a bit more and be a bit more influential, it will hold me in good stead going forward, so the big thing for me is consistent four-quarter footy.
"As a small forward, you might have a couple of moments in a game, and if you don't take those moments, then there goes your game, so I have to make the most of every opportunity.
"Whether that's forward of the ball or higher, I'll have the ball in my hands a bit more and show what I can do."
The Tasmania Golden Ticket initiative allows the Devils to sign up to four players under their VFL-listed players in 2026 and 2027, who can be added to the AFL list ahead of the 2028 introduction.
Menzie's teammate Brandon Leary looms as another Golden Ticket candidate after a stellar VFL campaign, resulting in strong interest from a host of AFL clubs.
Leary's consistent football throughout the year pushed his name into recruitment conversations, and his attributes, according to his coach Jeromey Webberley, suit the AFL.
"I think it's like his speed, power, and vertical leap are top-end. I think he's AFL already in that space, like his ability to swoop on ground balls or take pack marks for his height and win one-on-ones, and then finish is AFL," Webberley told Zero Hanger in August.
"He's got the speed, power, and vertical leap, and athleticism to play AFL footy.
"There's some areas of his game that he needs to continue to tidy up, but I feel like, I think he may be 22 now, but he's just at an age now where he's built on his body. He's now a young man. He's worked on his endurance engine, so he seems ready to go and get that opportunity."
