2015 NEAFL season explained

Competition:	neafl
Year:	2015
Teams:	11
Count:	2
Mpcount:	2
Matches:	104
Neafl Mvp:	Tom Young (86 votes)
Top Goal Scorer:	Darren Ewing (78 goals)
Prevseason:	2014
Nextseason:	2016

The 2015 NEAFL season was the fifth season of the North East Australian Football League (NEAFL). The season began on Saturday, 11 April and concluded on Saturday, 19 September with the NEAFL Grand Final.^[1] were the premiers, defeating by one point in the Grand Final.^[2]

League structure

The structure of the league follows on from 2014 with a single conference involving the three eastern states/territories (Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, and New South Wales) and the Northern Territory. Three clubs decided not to renew their licenses due to financial complications, including Canberra-based clubs, Belconnen and Queanbeyan, and Sydney-based club, Sydney Hills.^[3]

Participating clubs

2015 NEAFL participating clubs
width=30%	Club	width=30%	Location	width=30%	Home ground
	Canberra, ACT	Alan Ray Oval
	Brisbane, QLD	Graham Road
	Brisbane, QLD	Giffin Park
	Canberra, ACT	StarTrack Oval
	Gold Coast, QLD	Metricon Stadium
	Darwin, NT	TIO Stadium
	Brisbane, QLD	Tidbold Park
	Gold Coast, QLD	Fankhauser Reserve
	Sydney, NSW	Sydney Cricket Ground
	Sydney, NSW	Henson Park
	Sydney, NSW	Spotless Stadium

Premiership season

All starting times are local.

Round 21

Win/Loss table

Bold – Home game
X – Bye
Opponent for round listed above margin
This table can be sorted by margin

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	F1	F2	GF	Ladder
				X					X							X						X	X	X	9
									X		X						X								2
					X					X										X		X	X	X	10
					X				X						X							X	X	X	11
						X					X					X						X	X	X	7
	X								X												X	X			1
					X				X					X								X	X	X	8
			X						X				X										X	X	6
							X				X							X					X	X	5
		X							X							X								X	4
								X				X							X			X		X	3
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	F1	F2	GF	Ladder

Ladder

Ladder progression

• Numbers highlighted in green indicates the team finished the round inside the top 6.
• Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished in first place on the ladder in that round.
• Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished in last place on the ladder in that round.
• Underlined numbers indicates the team had a bye during that round.

width=20 abbr="Position"		width=175px	Team	width=20 abbr="Round 1"	1	width=20 abbr="Round 2"	2	width=20 abbr="Round 3"	3	width=20 abbr="Round 4"	4	width=20 abbr="Round 5"	5	width=20 abbr="Round 6"	6	width=20 abbr="Round 7"	7	width=20 abbr="Round 8"	8	width=20 abbr="Round 9"	9	width=20 abbr="Round 10"	10	width=20 abbr="Round 11"	11	width=20 abbr="Round 12"	12	width=20 abbr="Round 13"	13	width=20 abbr="Round 14"	14	width=20 abbr="Round 15"	15	width=20 abbr="Round 16"	16	width=20 abbr="Round 17"	17	width=20 abbr="Round 18"	18	width=20 abbr="Round 19"	19	width=20 abbr="Round 20"	20	width=20 abbr="Round 21"	21
1		4	8	12	12	16	20	24	24	28	32	36	36	40	44	48	52	56	60	60	64	64
2		0	4	8	12	16	16	16	20	20	20	24	28	32	36	40	44	48	52	56	60	60
3		0	0	0	0	4	8	12	16	16	20	20	24	24	28	32	32	36	40	44	44	48
4		4	8	12	16	16	20	24	28	28	32	32	36	40	40	40	44	44	44	44	48	48
5		4	4	8	12	12	16	16	20	24	28	28	28	28	32	36	36	40	40	44	44	48
6		4	4	4	8	8	8	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	16	16	20	20	24	28	32
7		0	0	0	4	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	12	16	20	20	20	20	24	24	28	32
8		4	4	4	4	4	8	8	8	8	12	16	20	20	20	20	24	24	24	28	28	28
9		0	4	8	8	8	8	12	16	16	16	16	16	18	18	18	18	18	22	22	22	22
10		0	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	8
11		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	4	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6

Finals series

Grand Final

Representative match

The NEAFL representative team played against the Tasmanian State League representative team in the league's sole state match for the year. The match was played on 7 June in Burpengary and the victory was the first time a NEAFL representative side had won since the competition unified in 2014.^[4]

Squad

The 2015 NEAFL representative squad consisted of players from all NEAFL clubs excluding AFL reserves teams . The team contained seven former AFL-listed players, led by two-time premiership winner with and 200-gamer, Josh Hunt. The side also included young talent in the NEAFL with the inclusion of three 2015 AFL draftees, Josh Smith, Matt Uebergang, and Josh Wagner. The team was coached by AFL Queensland Hall of Famer and former AFL footballer, John Blair.^[5] captain, Tim Barton, was named as best on ground.

Awards

• The League MVP was awarded to Tom Young of, who received 86 votes.^[6]
• The NEAFL Rising Star was awarded to Maxwell Kouvaras of >[7]
• The NEAFL leading goalkicker was awarded to Darren Ewing of, who kicked 78 goals during the regular season.^[8]
• The NEAFL goal of the year was awarded to Will Hoskin-Elliott of, for his goal during round 14.^{[8] [9]}
• The NEAFL mark of the year was awarded to Jarrod Garlett of, for his mark during round 18.^{[8] [10]}

Rising Star nominations

The NEAFL Rising Star was awarded to the most promising young talent in the NEAFL competition. Players were nominated each week and must have been under the age of 21 and have played less than 20 NEAFL games.

Round	Player	Club	Ref.
1			^[11]
2			^[12]
3			^[13]
4			^[14]
5			^[15]
6			^[16]
7			^[17]
8			^[18]
9
10			^[19]
11			^[20]
12			^[21]
13			^[22]
14			^[23]
15			^[24]
16			^[25]
17			^[26]
18			^[27]

1.No-one nominated due to it being the representative match round.

Best and fairest winners

Club	Award name	Player	Ref.
	Hibberson Cup Trophy		^[28]
	Carl Herbert Medal		^[29]
	Neville Fallon Medal		^[30]
	Best and Fairest		^[31]
	NEAFL Player of the Year		^[32]
	Club Champion		^[33]
	Dowling Medal		^[34]
	Doc Mackenzie Medal		^[35]
	Driscoll Medal		^[36]
	NEAFL Development Award		^[37]

AFL draftees

See main article: 2015 AFL draft.

^{[38] [39]}

Draft pick	Player	Club	Drafted to
3N
7N
14N
14N
24N
41N
43N
69N
6R
9R
13R
16R
20R
23R
25R
30R
34R
67R

N – national draft
R – rookie draft

External links

• http://www.neafl.com.au/ Official NEAFL website

Notes and References

1. Web site: MEDIA RELEASE: 2015 NEAFL fixture. 4 December 2014.
2. News: NT Thunder are the 2015 NEAFL premiers after one-point win over Aspley. McArdle. Jordan. 20 September 2015. NT News. News Corp Australia. 20 September 2015.
3. News: Three teams to leave the NEAFL:The NEAFL competition will be restructured in 2015, with three clubs opting not to renew their licenses.. Holland. James. 6 August 2014. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 20 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150323233819/http://neafl.com.au/index.php?id=16&tx_ttnews%5Byear%5D=2014&tx_ttnews%5Bmonth%5D=08&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1825&cHash=2fdf325be238eb51409d1491e68b7e97. 23 March 2015. dead.
4. News: NEAFL records historic first representative win. 7 June 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 17 June 2015.
5. News: 2015 NEAFL Representative Squad. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 17 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150617102353/http://www.neafl.com.au/index.php?id=146. 17 June 2015. dead.
6. News: Young wins NEAFL MVP by one vote in thrilling finish. 30 August 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 30 August 2015.
7. News: Uebergang beats quality field to claim Rising Star Award. 30 August 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 30 August 2015.
8. News: 2015 NEAFL Awards Ceremony. 30 August 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 30 August 2015.
9. Web site: Jarrod Garlett Screamer! Suns v Lions, RD 18, 2015. 8 August 2015. NEAFL. YouTube. 30 August 2015.
10. Web site: NEAFL TV 2015 - Round 14. 14 July 2015. NEAFL. YouTube. 30 August 2015.
11. News: Round 1 NEAFL Rising Star Nominee: Maxwell Kouvaras. Webster. Jess. 15 April 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 15 April 2015.
12. News: Round 2 NEAFL Rising Star Nominee: Jack Rolls. Webster. Jess. 22 April 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 23 April 2015.
13. News: Round 3 NEAFL Rising Star Nominee: Matt Uebergang. Webster. Jess. 29 April 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 8 May 2015.
14. News: Round 4 NEAFL Rising Star Nominee: Ben Keays. 6 May 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 8 May 2015.
15. News: Round 5 Rising Star Nominee: Ryan Nyhuis. 13 May 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 20 May 2015.
16. News: Round 6 Rising Star Nominee: Stephen Camp. Webster. Jess. 20 May 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 20 May 2015. 27 May 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150527225817/http://www.neafl.com.au/index.php?id=16&tx_ttnews%5Byear%5D=2015&tx_ttnews%5Bmonth%5D=05&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=5373&cHash=a92c703a9ea7f19c7d84b189e38f88ce. dead.
17. News: Round 7 Rising Star Nominee: Eric Hipwood. Webster. Jess. 27 May 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 27 May 2015.
18. News: Round 8 Rising Star Nominee: Liam Griffiths. Webster. Jess. 3 June 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 16 June 2015.
19. News: Round 10 Rising Star Nominee: Scott Miller. Webster. Jess. 17 June 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 17 June 2015.
20. News: Round 11 Rising Star Nominee: James Holland. Webster. Jess. 24 June 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 24 June 2015.
21. News: Round 12 Rising Star Nominee: Brydan Hodgson. Webster. Jess. 1 July 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 10 July 2015.
22. News: Round 13 Rising Star Nominee: Nicholas Jackson. Webster. Jess. 8 July 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 10 July 2015.
23. News: Round 14 Rising Star Nominee: Michael Hagan. Webster. Jess. 15 July 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 20 July 2015.
24. News: Round 15 Rising Star Nominee: Mitch Mahady. Webster. Jess. 22 July 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 29 July 2015.
25. News: Round 16 Rising Star Nominee: Tim Jones. Webster. Jess. 29 July 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 29 July 2015.
26. News: Round 17 Rising Star Nominee: Jock Cornell. Webster. Jess. 5 August 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 25 August 2015.
27. News: Round 18 Rising Star Nominee: Dyson Budarick. Webster. Jess. 11 August 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 25 August 2015.
28. News: Ainslie Football Club 2015 Presentation Night. 25 September 2015. Ainsliefootball.com.au. 29 September 2015.
29. News: Payne's legacy grows with third Carl Herbert Medal. Webster. Jess. 27 October 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 27 October 2015.
30. News: Our 2015 Club Champions. 12 September 2015. Lions.com.au. Bigpond. 27 October 2015.
31. News: Fothergill and Dowdell share Eastlake's top honour. Webster. Jess. 12 October 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 12 October 2015.
32. News: Tom Lynch claims first Club Champion Award. 11 September 2015. GoldCoastFC.com.au. Bigpond. 27 October 2015.
33. News: NT Thunder club champion Richard Tambling says teammate Cam Ilett deserved to play at AFL level. McGowan. Mark. 27 September 2015. Northern Territory News. News Corp Australia. 28 September 2015.
34. News: Smith blitzes field to win Dowling Medal. 26 September 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 26 September 2015.
35. News: Josh Hunt wins Southport Sharks NEAFL team’s best and fairest award. Boswell. Tom. 29 September 2015. Gold Coast Bulletin. News Corp Australia. 30 September 2015.
36. News: Rawlinson beats Young for Driscoll Medal triumph. Webster. Jess. 20 October 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 20 October 2015.
37. News: Shaw Wins Sheedy Medal. 12 September 2015. GWSgiants.com.au. Bigpond. 27 October 2015.
38. News: Mills becomes NEAFL's highest ever draft selection. 24 November 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 25 November 2015.
39. News: Draft records fall as mature-age players shine. Webster. Jess. 27 November 2015. NEAFL.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 27 November 2015.