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.
Current season, competition or edition: 2024 AFL National Championships | |
| Formerly | Teal Cup (1953–1995) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Australian rules football |
| First season | 1953 |
| Administrator | Australian Football League |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Most recent champion(s) | Vic Metro (2024) |
| Most titles | (D1) Vic Metro (19) (D2) Tasmania (8) |
| TV partner(s) | Fox Footy |
| Sponsor(s) | National Australia Bank |
| Related competitions | AFL Women's Under 18 Championships |
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
editOriginally 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
editIndividual awards
editThe 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
edit| Year | Division 1 Premiers | Larke Medal | Division 2 Premiers | Hunter Harrison Medal | Host/s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Brisbane, Queensland | ||||
| 1954-1962 | Not contested | ||||
| 1963 | |||||
| 1964 | |||||
| 1965 | |||||
| 1966 | |||||
| 1967 | |||||
| 1968 | |||||
| 1969 | Brisbane, Queensland | ||||
| 1970 | |||||
| 1971 | |||||
| 1972 | |||||
| 1973 | Sydney, New South Wales | ||||
| 1974 | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory | ||||
| 1975 | Brisbane, Queensland | ||||
| 1976 | Mick Woods (Vic) | Wagga Wagga, New South Wales | |||
| 1977 | Rodney Watts (Vic) | Melbourne, Victoria | |||
| 1978 | Mark Weideman (SA) | Brisbane, Queensland | |||
| 1979 | Grant Campbell (WA) | Hobart, Tasmania | |||
| 1980 | Darryl Murphy (ACT) | Perth, Western Australia | |||
| 1981 | Paul Salmon (Vic) | Melbourne, Victoria | |||
| 1982 | Michael Phyland (NSW) | Brisbane, Queensland | |||
| 1983 | Greg Anderson (SA) | Darwin, Northern Territory | |||
| 1984 | David Condon (NSW) | Sydney, New South Wales | |||
| 1985 | Jason Kerr (NSW) | Perth, Western Australia | |||
| 1986 | Stephen Lawrence (Qld) | Adelaide, South Australia | |||
| 1987 | Steven Kolyniuk (Vic) | Hobart, Tasmania | |||
| 1988 | Robbie Wright (NSW) | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory | |||
| 1989 | Ray Windsor (Qld) | Melbourne, Victoria | |||
| 1990 | Paul Williams (Tas) | Brisbane, Queensland | |||
| 1991 | Robert Neill (ACT) | Darwin, Northern Territory | |||
| 1992 | Daniel Southern (WA) | Michael Voss (Qld) | Melbourne, Victoria | ||
| 1993 | Shaun McManus (WA) | Mark Ryan (NT) | Adelaide, South Australia | ||
| 1994 | Daniel Harford (Vic M.) | Michael Martin (Tas) | Perth, Western Australia | ||
| 1995 | Luke Godden (Vic M.) Ben Setchell (Vic C.) |
Steven Koops (NT) | |||
| 1996 | Pat Steinfort (Vic M.) | Matthew Bernes (Tas) | |||
| 1997 | Tim Finocchiaro (Vic M.) | Fred Campbell (NT) | |||
| 1998 | Garth Taylor (WA) | Shane Young (Qld) Derek Murray (NSW/ACT) | |||
| 1999 | Paul Hasleby (WA) | Brad Green (Tas) | |||
| 2000 | Kayne Pettifer (Vic C.) | Ian Callinan (Tas) | |||
| 2001 | Sam Power (Vic M.) Steven Armstrong (WA) |
Tom Davidson (Tas) | Melbourne, Victoria | ||
| 2002 | Byron Schammer (SA) | Anthony Corrie (NT) | Melbourne, Victoria | ||
| 2003 | Kepler Bradley (WA) | Jake Furfaro (Qld) | Melbourne, Victoria | ||
| 2004 | Jesse Smith (Vic M.) | Richard Tambling (NT) | Melbourne, Victoria | ||
| 2005 | Marc Murphy (Vic M.) | Grant Birchall (Tas) | Melbourne, Victoria | ||
| 2006 | Tom Hawkins (Vic M.) | Ricky Petterd (Qld) | Melbourne, Victoria | ||
| 2007 | Cale Morton (WA) | Craig Bird (NSW/ACT) | VIC, WA, SA, NSW | ||
| 2008 | Jack Watts (Vic M.) | Mitch Robinson (Tas) | VIC, WA, SA, TAS | ||
| 2009 | David Swallow (WA) Andrew Hooper (Vic C.) |
Dylan McNeil (NSW/ACT) | National (excluding ACT) | ||
| 2010 | Harley Bennell (WA) | Sam Darley (Tas) | National (excluding ACT) | ||
| 2011 | Stephen Coniglio (WA) | John McKenzie (Tas) | National (excluding ACT) | ||
| 2012 | Lachie Whitfield (Vic C.) | Jake Neade (NT) | National (excluding ACT) | ||
| 2013 | Dom Sheed (WA) | Liam Dawson (Qld) Kade Kolodjashnij (Tas) Toby Nankervis (Tas) |
National (excluding ACT) | ||
| 2014 | Christian Petracca (Vic M.) | Isaac Heeney (NSW/ACT) | VIC, WA, SA, NSW | ||
| 2015 | Josh Schache (Vic C.) | Ben Keays (Qld) | VIC, WA, SA, QLD | ||
| 2016 | Jack Graham (SA) | Jack Bowes (Qld) | National (excluding ACT) | ||
| 2017 | Oscar Allen (WA) | (Replaced by Academy Series) | Nick Blakey (Syd A.) | VIC, WA, SA, NSW | |
| 2018 | Sam Walsh (Vic C.) | Tarryn Thomas (Tas) | VIC, SA, QLD | ||
| 2019 | Deven Robertson (WA) | Connor Budarick (GC A.) | VIC, NSW, SA | ||
| 2020 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[4] | ||||
| 2021 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[5] | ||||
| 2022 | Will Ashcroft (Vic M.) | (Replaced by Academy Series) | Jaspa Fletcher (Bris A.) | National (excluding Tasmania) | |
| 2023 | Ryley Sanders (Allies) | Ethan Read (GC A.)[6] | VIC, WA, SA, QLD | ||
| 2024 | Harvey Langford (Vic Metro), Leo Lombard (Allies) | ||||
Participating teams
editCurrent
editDivision 1
edit/
/
/
/
Division 2
edit(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)
/
New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory (New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory)
/
/
/
Full List
edit| Currently participating |
| Team | Years participating | Region/s represented | Div 1 Premierships | Div 1 Premiership Year/s | Div 2 Premierships | Div 2 Premiership Year/s | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allies | 2016- | Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania | 1 | 2023 | See also Allies team | ||
| Australian Capital Territory | 1973-1995 | [7][8] (later combined within New South Wales) | |||||
| Brisbane Lions | 2017- | (club) | See Brisbane Lions Academy | ||||
| Gold Coast Suns | 2017- | (club) | See Gold Coast Suns Academy | ||||
| GWS Giants | 2017- | (club) | See GWS Giants Academy | ||||
| New South Wales | 1953-1995 | 2 | 1974-75 | 1 | 1993 | Previously governed by NSWAFL. Combined with ACT in 1996 by AFL NSW/ACT. | |
| New South Wales-Australian Capital Territory | 1996-2016 | 8 | 1998, 2000, 2002-03, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2016 | [9] Governed by AFL NSW/ACT | |||
| Northern Territory | 1979-2016 | 2 | 2004, 2012 | Governed by AFL Northern Territory | |||
| Papua New Guinea | 1979 | See also Papua New Guinea underage national team | |||||
| Queensland | 1953-2016 | 12 | 1953, 1963-73 | 4 | 1997, 1999, 2006, 2015 | Governed by AFL Queensland | |
| South Australia | 1976- | 8 | 1978-80, 1991, 1995, 2013–14, 2018 | See also South Australian state team. Governed by the South Australian National Football League | |||
| Sydney Swans | 2017- | (club) | See Sydney Swans Academy | ||||
| Tasmania | 1976-2016 | 8 | 1996, 2001, 2005, 2008, 2010–11, 2013, 2018 | Governed by AFL Tasmania | |||
| Victoria | 1975-1988 | 9 | 1976-77, 1981–84, 1986–88 | See also Victorian state football team. Split into Vic Metro and Vic Country in 1989 | |||
| Victoria Metro | 1989- | 19 | 1990, 1992–94, 1996–98, 2001–02, 2004–06, 2008, 2011–12, 2016–17, 2022, 2024 | Governed by AFL Victoria | |||
| Victoria Country | 1989- | 5 | 1989, 2000, 2003, 2010, 2015 | 2 | 1992, 1994 | Governed by AFL Victoria Country | |
| Western Australia | 1978- | 5 | 1985, 1999, 2007, 2009, 2019 | 1 | 1995 | See also Western Australian state team. Governed by the West Australian Football Commission |
Sponsors
editThe tournament is currently sponsored by the National Australia Bank, having previously been sponsored by Caltex and the Commonwealth Bank.[10]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Bruce Andrew’s remarkable football life By Michael Roberts for collingwoodfc.com.au 15 April 2021
- ^ Barfoot, Michael (December 1995). History of NTFL. p. 107.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "History of the Teal Cup". 1976 Teal Cup Australian Football National Championship (PDF). Wagga Wagga, NSW: City of Wagga Wagga. 12 June 1976. p. 6.
- ^ Simply Energy WA U18s squad announced West Australian Football Commission 18 September 2020
- ^ UPDATE: Second WA v SA U19 clash looms, Vic season cancelled By Callum Twomey 3 September 2021
- ^ "2023 AFL National Championships U18 Boys All-Australian Team announced". AFL.com.au. 21 July 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
- ^ "Last chance for bottom teams". The Canberra Times. Vol. 47, no. 13,456. 8 June 1973. p. 19. Retrieved 21 December 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ "Qld seeks junior rules game". The Canberra Times. Vol. 44, no. 12,494. 16 December 1969. p. 23. Retrieved 21 December 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ "AFL agrees to expand under-18 horizons". The Canberra Times. Vol. 71, no. 22, 054. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 4 September 1995. p. 24. Retrieved 10 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ 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.
References
edit- Lovett, Michael, ed. (2005). AFL Record Guide to Season 2005. Australian Football League Publishing/Geoff Slattery Publishing Pty Limited. p. 764. ISBN 0-9580300-6-5.