Tassie Devils in bold bid to lure Geelong stalwart

The Tasmania Devils have reached out to Andrew Mackie in a bid to lure him out of Geelong.

The Devils have earmarked Mackie, who is widely viewed as an excellent administrator, to be the club's inaugural football boss.

It's unclear whether Mackie is considering the move.

The Devils are hoping to have a senior football boss locked in by the end of the year, with former Carlton GM of football Brad Lloyd's name also floated in industry circles recently.

But Mackie, who has a close relationship with Hinkley, is towards the top of Brendon Gale's list.

Mackie, a three-time premiership Cat, oversees Geelong's football department and list management strategy in a combined role similar to Jason McCartney at GWS.

The 42-year-old did a four-year apprenticeship under recruiting guru Stephen Wells, before taking over as list manager full-time in late 2021.

He then succeeded Simon Lloyd as GM of football in 2023.

The Devils have already poached Nigel Lappin to be the club's inaugural head of development from the Cats.

Finding a football boss is believed to be their top priority now, with a head of strength and conditioning not far behind.

The club would like to have assistant coaches locked in by this time next year.

On Monday morning, the Devils announced Fairbrother Construction as the successful tenderer to build the new high performance centre.

Work is set to begin immediately on the facility, which will be completed by mid-2028.