Talent League

Coates Talent League

Current season, competition or edition: 2023 Coates Talent League season
Formerly	TAC Cup (1992–2018) NAB League (2019–2022)
Sport	Australian rules football
First season	1992
No. of teams	13
Country	Australia
Most recent champion(s)	Sandringham Dragons (5)
Most titles	Calder Cannons (6)
Official website	afl.com.au/talent-league

The Talent League (also known as the Coates Talent League under naming rights^[1] and previously as the NAB League and TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne with each team representing one of twelve Victorian regions, while a thirteenth team from Tasmania was reintroduced in 2019.

The competition is one of the primary sources of recruitment for the clubs of the Australian Football League (AFL), and it provides an opportunity for talented regional players to participate in a high standard competition without having to relocate too far from their place of origin. The competition has a very successful pathway with players missing AFL selection often being recruited by semi-professional state, country and regional leagues throughout Australia. An equivalent competition for female footballers, known as the Talent League Girls, is also contested on an annual basis.

The league was known as the TAC Cup until 2018, the NAB League in 2019 to 2022, and since 2023 it has been known as the Coates Talent League.^[1]

History

With the focus of the VFL/AFL moving rapidly toward a national competition, the former metropolitan and country zoning recruitment system for the Victorian VFL/AFL clubs was abolished, and the league's under-19 competition was shut down at the end of 1991.

A new competition, administered by the Victorian State Football League and sponsored by the Transport Accident Commission, was formed as an avenue for young Victorian under-18 players to make the transition to becoming senior League players. It commenced play on 10 April 1992, the competition consisted of five metropolitan teams and one country team: the Northern Knights, Eastern Ranges, Southern Stingrays (renamed the Dandenong Stingrays in 1995), Western Jets, Central Dragons (renamed the Prahran Dragons in 1995, then the Sandringham Dragons in 2000)^[2] and Geelong Falcons.

In 1993 an additional four country teams were included – the Murray Bushrangers, Bendigo Pioneers, Gippsland Power and Ballarat Rebels (renamed the North Ballarat Rebels in 1996, then the Greater Western Victoria Rebels in 2017). In 1995 two additional metropolitan regions were established, with the Oakleigh Chargers and Calder Cannons teams included in the competition.

In 1995, a Tasmanian-based team, the Tassie Mariners, commenced in the competition, becoming the league's first non-Victorian side. The following year, the NSW/ACT Rams were admitted. The Mariners and Rams both exited the competition as full-time members at the end of the 2002, returning the competition to twelve teams.

The Gold Coast Football Club recruited several under-18s players in the 2008/09 summer, and participated in the TAC Cup in 2009 (before playing in the VFL in 2010 and the AFL from 2011). Similarly, the Greater Western Sydney Giants fielded a TAC Cup team in 2010, two seasons prior to its introduction to the AFL in 2012.

Four interstate teams — the Tassie Mariners, NSW/ACT Rams, Queensland Scorpions and the Northern Territory Thunder — each play a handful of games each year against TAC Cup teams, particularly in the lead-up to the annual AFL Under 18 Championships; these games are counted as part of the TAC Cup premiership season, but the interstate clubs are not eligible for the premiership.^[3]

Between 1995 and 2008, the finals system was in a knock-out format. This reverted to a traditional finals system in 2009 with the introduction of the Gold Coast team.^[4] In 2010, this was extended to include 12 of the 13 clubs participating that season, with the extra matches forming an extended knockout format. In 2011 the finals system was reverted to the traditional eight-team AFL finals series. Prior to the 2014 season, the NSW/ACT Rams was reestablished as a TAC Cup team, with players from the Sydney Swans and Greater Western Sydney Giants young academy sides being picked for the NSW/ACT team.^[5]

From 2019, the newly named NAB League introduced six new teams: the AFL Academy sides of Gold Coast, GWS Giants, Sydney Swans, Brisbane Lions; the Northern Territory; and the returning Tassie Mariners, who were later renamed the Tasmania Devils.^[6] Additionally, teams were able to include more 19-year-olds – previously only three could be selected.^[7] The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021 the competition fully transitioned from under-18s to under-19s – although the draft age to senior football remained at 18.^[8] Since 2023 the league has been primarily by under-18 players, with a selection of under-19 players also listed.^[9]

Competition timeline

Age eligibility

For many years the league was primarily a competition for 18-year-olds, though exceptions were made for bottom-aged players—16- or 17-year-olds—and since 2007, over-age players—19-year-olds—to participate in the competition. In 2021 the league shifted to an under-19 level, though the entry age for the AFL Draft remains 18.^[10]

Since the beginning of the 2007 TAC Cup season, clubs have been granted permission to select up to five over-age players permitted on their lists.^{[citation needed]}

Nonetheless, age eligibility requirements remain for the AFL Draft, where players must have turned seventeen years of age by 30 April of that draft year to be eligible for selection by an AFL club.

Awards

Morrish Medal

The Morrish Medal is awarded to the best player in the competition each year. The same medal was previously awarded to the best player in the Victorian Football League Thirds/Under-19s competition, which the TAC Cup superseded.

TAC Cup Coaches Award

The TAC Cup Coaches Award is voted on by both coaches in a 5–4–3–2–1 format at the end of each game.^[11] At the end of the 2015 season, the award was discontinued.

Coverage

All matches are live streamed on the AFL app.

Former coverage included:

• The Match of the Round being broadcast live on Rumble 103, an internet radio station based in Melbourne.
• A TAC Cup show screening on Channel 9 in Melbourne and across Victoria and Inland NSW border regions on WIN TV from 1 p.m. every Sunday from late March until the end of September.
• TAC Cup news and results being seen on C31's Local Footy Show and heard on the ABC's Triple J radio station.
• TAC Cup matches were broadcast live on C31 in Melbourne, Geelong & regional Victoria in 2010.
• Radio stations SYN FM & RRR FM broadcast coverage of TAC Cup football matches every weekend during the season.

Clubs history

Colours	Team	Region(s)	Seasons	Premierships	Home ground	Training ground
	Bendigo Pioneers	Bendigo, Central Murray, North Central, Sunraysia Mallee regions	1993–present	0	Queen Elizabeth Oval, Bendigo	Golden Square Football Oval
	Calder Cannons	North Western Melbourne, Sunbury District	1995–present	6 (2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010)	Highgate Recreation Reserve, Craigieburn	Highgate Recreation Reserve
	Dandenong Stingrays	South Eastern Melbourne, Mornington Peninsula	1992–present	1 (2018)	Shepley Oval, Dandenong	Shepley Oval
	Eastern Ranges	Eastern Melbourne	1992–present	2 (2002, 2013)	Box Hill City Oval	Kilsyth Recreation Reserve
	Geelong Falcons	Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula and Barwon South West region	1992–present	3 (1992, 2000, 2017)	Chirnside Park, Kardinia Park (Stadium)	Highton Reserve
	Gippsland Power	Gippsland	1993–present	1 (2005)	Morwell Recreation Reserve, Morwell	Morwell Recreation Reserve
	Greater Western Victoria Rebels	Ballarat, Wimmera Region	1993–present	1 (1997)	Eureka Stadium, North Ballarat	Eureka Stadium
	Murray Bushrangers	Goulburn Valley, North Eastern Victoria	1993–present	2 (1998, 2008)	WJ Findlay Oval, Wangaratta Norm Minns Oval, Wangaratta Lavington Sports Ground, Albury Albury Sports Ground, Albury Deakin Reserve, Shepparton	Norm Minns Oval
	Northern Knights	Northern Melbourne, North Eastern Melbourne	1992–present	4 (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996)	Preston City Oval	Preston City Oval, La Trobe University
	Oakleigh Chargers	South Eastern Melbourne, Inner Eastern Melbourne, Central Melbourne	1995–present	5 (2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019)	Warrawee Park, Oakleigh	Warrawee Park
	Sandringham Dragons	Bayside Melbourne, Inner South East Melbourne, Frankston	1992–present	5 (1999, 2011, 2016, 2022, 2023)	Trevor Barker Beach Oval	RSEA Park, Moorabbin
	Tasmania Devils	Tasmania	1996–2002; 2019–	0	Bellerive Oval, York Park
	Western Jets	Western Melbourne, Wyndham Region	1992–present	0	Burbank Oval	W.L.J. Crofts Reserve, Altona North Brookside Oval, Caroline Springs
	Brisbane Lions Academy	Brisbane region, Sunshine Coast, Darling Downs, Wide Bay-Burnett, Outback Queensland	2019–	0	Brisbane Cricket Ground
	Gold Coast Suns Academy	Gold Coast region, Northern Queensland, Northern Rivers region (NSW)	2009; 2019–	0	Metricon Stadium
	Greater Western Sydney Giants Academy	Greater Western Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Canberra and the ACT, Broken Hill and western New South Wales, Albury, Riverina, Sunraysia and southern New South Wales	2010; 2019–	0	Spotless Stadium	Tom Wills Oval
	Sydney Swans Academy	Central Sydney, Southern Sydney, North Shore and Northern Beaches, Central Coast, Newcastle and the Hunter Valley, New England, Wollongong and the Illawarra region	2019–	0	Sydney Cricket Ground

Clubs

Northern Knights

Western Jets

Dandenong Stingrays

Sandringham Dragons

Eastern Ranges

Oakleigh Chargers

Calder Cannons

Current TAC Cup clubs (metropolitan Melbourne)

Geelong Falcons

Greater Western Victoria Rebels

Bendigo Pioneers

Murray Bushrangers

Gippsland Power

Current TAC Cup clubs (regional Victoria)

VFL Affiliations

Nine of the 12 Victorian-based NAB League clubs are affiliated with a heritage VFA/VFL club. This allows for a natural development pathway between under-18s football and state-level senior football; and top age players are permitted to play senior games under the VFL's 23rd man rule:

• Calder Cannons - Coburg Lions
• Dandenong Stingrays - Frankston Football Club
• Eastern Ranges - Box Hill Hawks
• Geelong Falcons - Werribee Tigers
• Gippsland Power - Casey Demons
• Northern Knights - Preston Football Club
• Oakleigh Chargers - Port Melbourne Borough
• Sandringham Dragons - Sandringham Zebras
• Western Jets - Williamstown Seagulls

Premiers

Total premierships by club

• 6 – Calder Cannons
• 5 – Oakleigh Chargers, Sandringham Dragons
• 4 – Northern Knights
• 3 – Geelong Falcons
• 2 – Eastern Ranges, Murray Bushrangers
• 1 – Dandenong Stingrays, Gippsland Power, Greater Western Victoria Rebels
• 0 – Bendigo Pioneers, Western Jets

NSW/ACT Rams, as of 2015, do not play a full season, and therefore cannot compete for the premiership.

Total runner-up placements by club

• 6 – Dandenong Stingrays, Eastern Ranges
• 5 -
• 4 -
• 3 – Murray Bushrangers, Calder Cannons, Gippsland Power
• 2 – Oakleigh Chargers, Geelong Falcons, Western Jets
• 1 – Sandringham Dragons, Bendigo Pioneers, NSW/ACT Rams
• 0 – Greater Western Victoria Rebels, Northern Knights

Talent League Girls

A female youth competition, the Talent League Girls, equivalent to the Talent League, was inaugurated in 2017.

External links

• Official website
• TAC Cup history

References

This page was last edited on 8 April 2024, at 06:54