AFL National Championships explained

AFL Under-19 Championships
Current Season:2024 AFL National Championships
Formerly:Teal Cup (1953–1995)
Sport:Australian rules football
Administrator:Australian Football League
Inaugural:1953
Teams:8
Champion:Vic Metro
Champ Season:2024
Most Successful Club:(D1) Vic Metro (19)
(D2) Tasmania (8)
Tv:Fox Footy
Sponsor:National Australia Bank
Related Comps:AFL Women's Under 18 Championships

The AFL National Championships is an annual Australian national underage representative Australian rules football tournament. Since taking over as national governing body in 1995, the AFL has gradually restructured the competition into a primary junior pathway for its fully professional national club competition.

The National Championships grew out of the Teal Cup which began in 1953 as a junior representative competition between the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales. It was rebranded in 1976 to reflect its expansion to include representative teams from each Australian state and mainland territory, rotated between host cities.

The current competition is contested as a hybrid representative format. The best players from the Academy competitions (AFL club feeder teams) combine to form an 'Allies' team in conjunction with South Australia, Western Australia and two Victoria teams—Metro (Melbourne Metropolitan Area) and Country—to contest the division 1 tournament.

History

Originally known as the Teal Cup, it began in 1953 as a junior representative competition between the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales. It was an annual match between the two states, the winners would possess a trophy donated by the Teal family of Queensland. Members of the Australian National Football Council, most notably Victorian representative Bruce Andrew, assisted in the establishment the competition in its early days.[1]

The Australian Capital Territory was the first other side to enter in 1973. With the addition of teams from each Australian state and mainland territory in 1976, the tournament was rebranded as the National Championships and rotated between host cities. The championships were split into two divisions with the strongest states including Victoria (later split into two sides: Vic Metro and Vic Country) comprising Division 1. Papua New Guinea was the first other country to field a team in 1979.In the absence of a national league, and less regular senior competition, it grew into one of the most important competitions in the country. Early on it was an Under-17 competition, however the age limit has been progressively increased and separate junior championships added for Under-15 level (commencing as the Shell Cup, now the AFL National Development Championships) from the 1970s onwards. It was a major talent pathway for underage players outside of Victoria to the VFL. As part of the AFL Commission's role as national governing body, the Victorian TAC Cup competition was restructured in 1992 to become the primary pathway to the AFL. As a result, representative development sides from NSW/ACT and Tasmania for a time have played in that competition instead. However, in recent years, the National Championships has regained its status as a primary AFL recruitment pathway as the growth of the sport outside Victoria has accelerated.

The division 2 competition was replaced by the Under-19 Academy Series in 2017, with teams from the 4 Queensland and NSW AFL clubs' academies in addition to Northern Territory and Tasmania state teams. The entire competition was changed to under-19s in 2021 (the competition has previously operated under-17s and under-18s competitions).

With the AFL Commission phasing out representative football at senior level since 1994, the National Championships are one of the few opportunities for players to play for their state or territory. Players typically share the senior team's guernsey (with the exception of Victorian teams, which play in variations of the state team guernsey—Vic Metro has a light blue Big V insignia, while Vic Country plays in a reverse white with navy Big V).

The best players from the academy competition then combine to form an 'Allies' team in conjunction with South Australia, Western Australia and two Victoria teams, Metro (Melbourne Metropolitan Area) and Country to contest the division 1 tournament.

The winner of the 2024 division 1 tournament was Vic Metro, defeating Vic Country 12.13.85 to 13.6.84.

Winners and awards

Individual awards

The Larke Medal is awarded to the best player in Division 1 of the competition. It is named in honour of a junior footballer, Michael Larke, who was killed in a bus crash while attending a trial match for New South Wales. The Hunter Harrison Medal is awarded to the best player in Division 2 and is named in honour of a former president and life member of the Northern Territory Football League, Hunter Harrison, who played a major role in the development of the AFL Youth Championships.[2] Each tournament, an underage All-Australian team is named; an MVP is also named for each team.

Past winners

Year Division 1 Premiers Larke Medal Division 2 Premiers Hunter Harrison Medal Host/s
1953 Queensland[3]
1954-1962 Not contested
1963 Queensland
1964 Queensland
1965 Queensland
1966 Queensland
1967 Queensland
1968 Queensland
1969 QueenslandBrisbane, Queensland
1970 Queensland
1971 Queensland
1972 Queensland
1973 Queensland Sydney, New South Wales
1974 New South Wales Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
1975 New South Wales Brisbane, Queensland
1976 Victoria Mick Woods (Vic) Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
1977 Victoria Rodney Watts (Vic) Melbourne, Victoria
1978 South Australia Mark Weideman (SA) Brisbane, Queensland
1979 South Australia Grant Campbell (WA) Hobart, Tasmania
1980 South Australia Darryl Murphy (ACT) Perth, Western Australia
1981 Victoria Paul Salmon (Vic) Melbourne, Victoria
1982 Victoria Michael Phyland (NSW) Brisbane, Queensland
1983 VictoriaGreg Anderson (SA) Darwin, Northern Territory
1984 VictoriaDavid Condon (NSW) Sydney, New South Wales
1985 Western Australia Jason Kerr (NSW) Perth, Western Australia
1986 VictoriaStephen Lawrence (Qld) Adelaide, South Australia
1987 Victoria Steven Kolyniuk (Vic) Hobart, Tasmania
1988 VictoriaRobbie Wright (NSW) Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
1989 Vic Country Ray Windsor (Qld) Melbourne, Victoria
1990 Vic Metro Paul Williams (Tas) Brisbane, Queensland
1991 South Australia Robert Neill (ACT) Darwin, Northern Territory
1992 Vic Metro Daniel Southern (WA) Vic Country Michael Voss (Qld) Melbourne, Victoria
1993 Vic Metro Shaun McManus (WA) New South Wales Mark Ryan (NT)
1994 Vic Metro Daniel Harford Vic Country Michael Martin (Tas) Perth, Western Australia
1995 South Australia Luke Godden
Ben Setchell
Western Australia Steven Koops (NT)
1996 Vic Metro Pat Steinfort Tasmania Matthew Bernes (Tas)
1997 Vic Metro Tim Finocchiaro Queensland Fred Campbell (NT)
1998 Vic Metro Garth Taylor (WA) / NSW/ACT Shane Young (Qld)
Derek Murray (NSW/ACT)
1999 Western Australia Paul Hasleby (WA) Queensland Brad Green (Tas)
2000 Vic Country Kayne Pettifer / NSW/ACT Ian Callinan (Tas)
Vic Metro Sam Power
Steven Armstrong (WA)
Tasmania Tom Davidson (Tas) Melbourne, Victoria
Vic Metro Byron Schammer (SA) / NSW/ACT Anthony Corrie (NT) Melbourne, Victoria
Vic Country Kepler Bradley (WA) / NSW/ACT Jake Furfaro (Qld) Melbourne, Victoria
Vic Metro Jesse Smith Northern Territory Richard Tambling (NT) Melbourne, Victoria
Vic Metro Marc Murphy Tasmania Grant Birchall (Tas) Melbourne, Victoria
Vic Metro Tom Hawkins Queensland Ricky Petterd (Qld) Melbourne, Victoria
Western Australia Cale Morton (WA) / NSW/ACT Craig Bird (NSW/ACT) VIC, WA, SA, NSW
Vic Metro Jack Watts Tasmania Mitch Robinson (Tas) VIC, WA, SA, TAS
Western Australia David Swallow (WA)
Andrew Hooper
/ NSW/ACT Dylan McNeil (NSW/ACT) National (excluding ACT)
Vic Country Harley Bennell (WA) Tasmania Sam Darley (Tas) National (excluding ACT)
Vic Metro Stephen Coniglio (WA) Tasmania John McKenzie (Tas) National (excluding ACT)
Vic Metro Lachie Whitfield Northern Territory Jake Neade (NT) National (excluding ACT)
South Australia Dom Sheed (WA) Tasmania Liam Dawson (Qld)
Kade Kolodjashnij (Tas)
Toby Nankervis (Tas)
National (excluding ACT)
South Australia Christian Petracca / NSW/ACT Isaac Heeney (NSW/ACT) VIC, WA, SA, NSW
Vic Country Josh Schache Queensland Ben Keays (Qld) VIC, WA, SA, QLD
Vic Metro Jack Graham (SA) / NSW/ACT Jack Bowes (Qld) National (excluding ACT)
Vic Metro Oscar Allen (WA)(Replaced by Academy Series) Nick Blakey VIC, WA, SA, NSW
South Australia Sam Walsh Tarryn Thomas (Tas) VIC, SA, QLD
Western Australia Deven Robertson (WA) Connor Budarick VIC, NSW, SA
2020Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[4]
2021Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[5]
Vic Metro Will Ashcroft (Replaced by Academy Series) Jaspa Fletcher National (excluding Tasmania)
Allies Ryley Sanders (Allies) Ethan Read [6] VIC, WA, SA, QLD
2024 Vic MetroHarvey Langford (Vic Metro), Leo Lombard (Allies)

Participating teams

Current

Division 1

Division 2

(Note: Since 2017, the AFL has replaced state and territory representative teams with an Academy division consisting of its QLD and NSW AFL Club sides: GWS Giants, Brisbane Lions, Gold Coast Suns and Sydney Swans)

Full List

Currently participating
TeamYears participatingRegion/s representedDiv 1 PremiershipsDiv 1 Premiership Year/sDiv 2 Premierships Div 2 Premiership Year/sNotes
Allies2016-Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania12023See also Allies team
Australian Capital Territory1973-1995 Australian Capital Territory[7] [8] (later combined within New South Wales)
Brisbane Lions2017-(club)See Brisbane Lions Academy
Gold Coast Suns2017-(club)See Gold Coast Suns Academy
GWS Giants2017-(club)See GWS Giants Academy
New South Wales1953-1995 New South Wales21974-7511993 Previously governed by NSWAFL. Combined with ACT in 1996 by AFL NSW/ACT.
New South Wales-Australian Capital Territory1996-2016 New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory81998, 2000, 2002-03, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2016 [9] Governed by AFL NSW/ACT
Northern Territory1979-201622004, 2012Governed by AFL Northern Territory
Papua New Guinea1979 Papua New GuineaSee also Papua New Guinea underage national team
Queensland1953-2016 Queensland121953, 1963-7341997, 1999, 2006, 2015 Governed by AFL Queensland
South Australia1976- South Australia81978-80, 1991, 1995, 2013–14, 2018See also South Australian state team. Governed by the South Australian National Football League
Sydney Swans2017-(club)See Sydney Swans Academy
Tasmania1976-2016 Tasmania81996, 2001, 2005, 2008, 2010–11, 2013, 2018Governed by AFL Tasmania
Victoria1975-1988 Victoria91976-77, 1981–84, 1986–88See also Victorian state football team. Split into Vic Metro and Vic Country in 1989
Victoria Metro1989- Melbourne (Victoria)191990, 1992–94, 1996–98, 2001–02, 2004–06, 2008, 2011–12, 2016–17, 2022, 2024Governed by AFL Victoria
Victoria Country1989- All areas of Victoria outside of Melbourne51989, 2000, 2003, 2010, 201521992, 1994Governed by AFL Victoria Country
Western Australia1978- Western Australia51985, 1999, 2007, 2009, 201911995See also Western Australian state team. Governed by the West Australian Football Commission

Sponsors

The tournament is currently sponsored by the National Australia Bank, having previously been sponsored by Caltex and the Commonwealth Bank.[10]

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. https://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/news/904708/bruce-andrews-remarkable-football-life Bruce Andrew’s remarkable football life
  2. Book: Barfoot, Michael. History of NTFL. December 1995. 107.
  3. Book: 1976 Teal Cup Australian Football National Championship . . 1976-06-12 . Wagga Wagga, NSW . 6 . en . History of the Teal Cup.
  4. https://www.wafootball.com.au/news/19564/simply-energy-wa-u18s-squad-announced Simply Energy WA U18s squad announced
  5. https://www.afl.com.au/news/673493/update-second-wa-v-sa-u19-clash-looms-vic-season-cancelled UPDATE: Second WA v SA U19 clash looms, Vic season cancelled
  6. Web site: 2023-07-21 . 2023 AFL National Championships U18 Boys All-Australian Team announced . 2023-08-30 . . en.
  7. News: Last chance for bottom teams . . 47 . ((13,456)) . 8 June 1973 . 21 December 2021 . 19 . Trove.
  8. News: Qld seeks junior rules game . . 44 . ((12,494)) . 16 December 1969 . 21 December 2021 . 23 . Trove.
  9. News: AFL agrees to expand under-18 horizons . . 71 . 22,054 . Australian Capital Territory, Australia . 4 September 1995 . 10 April 2024 . 24 . National Library of Australia.
  10. Taylor, Kevin. The Story of the Teal Cup and AFL National Under 18 Championships – Full Points Footy. Retrieved 4 July 2013, from the Pandora Archive.