Josh Christian previews Tasmania in wheelchair football nationals

That kind of commitment comes from his desire for competition and a love for a sport that is just 10 years old.

With the VWFL season over, the 33-year-old has turned his attention to the national championships in Melbourne, the first one in which all states and territories will be competing.

Following a training session at Prospect High School, Christian outlined his goals for the competition, being a balance between growing the sport in Tasmania and winning the whole thing.

"We've got a bit of experience, which is good, but we've also got some new guys who have hardly played really," he said.

"Some haven't played the actual game for maybe two years and then we've got a couple who are really new, but there's definitely a good mix of experience and talent.

"We're definitely trying to grow the sport in Tassie, but also, our goal is to win it. We've got top-three every national champs we've been to so far with a few silvers, which is really painful in the grand final but yeah, we're looking to win."

With player ages ranging between 28 and "late 40s to early 50s" Christian said he would like to recruit a new generation of wheelchair footballers.

Unlike the football played at UTAS Stadium, wheelchair football is played on a basketball court.

Similarly to AFL 9s, players are divided into zones with only forwards allowed to score goals.

Kicks are replaced by handballs, with a minimum distance of three metres required for the ball to travel to be paid a mark and handballs are swapped with under-arm throws.

Scoring is the same, with behind and goal posts replacing the basketball ring.

"It's a pretty good spectator sport really, it's pretty fast paced and there's a lot of smashing and bashing."

The Tasmania Devils will play from October 29 until November 3.

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