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The Talent League (also known as the Coates Talent League under
naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...
and previously as the NAB League and TAC Cup) is an under-19
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
representative competition based in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
and run by the
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
(AFL). It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victoria and metropolitan
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
with each team representing one of twelve Victorian regions, while a thirteenth team from
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
was reintroduced in 2019. The competition is the primary sources of recruitment for the clubs of the AFL with around three quarters of all players selected from its ranks in each
AFL draft The Australian Football League draft is the annual draft (sports), draft of unsigned players, especially new nominations, by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League ( ...
. It provides an opportunity for talented young 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.


History

With the focus of the VFL/AFL moving rapidly toward a national competition, the former metropolitan and country
zoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...
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 The Victorian State Football League (VSFL) was an Australian rules football governing body. The VSFL was established at the end of 1991 to take over administration of football in Victoria from the Australian Football League, which was now becom ...
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) and
Geelong Falcons The Geelong Falcons is a youth Australian rules football representative club in the Talent League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition in Victoria, Australia. The club takes in talented junior players from the Geelong, Colac and Warr ...
. In 1993 an additional four country teams were included – the
Murray Bushrangers The Murray Bushrangers is an Australian rules football team playing in Victorian statewide under-18s competition, presently known as the Talent League, since 1993 based in Wangaratta. The team trains on Norm Minns Oval, Wangaratta. The Under 1 ...
,
Bendigo Pioneers The Bendigo Pioneers is an Australian rules football team in the statewide Victorian under-18s league, the Talent League. History The Bendigo Pioneers is an Australian rules football team playing in Talent League since 1993 based in Bendigo, Vic ...
,
Gippsland Power The Gippsland Power is an Australian rules football team in the Talent League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. Honours *Premierships (1): 2005 *Runners-up (3): 1999, 2010, 2012 *Minor Premiers (3): 2005, 2007, 2 ...
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 The Oakleigh Chargers is an Australian rules football club playing in the Talent League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. They are based at Warrawee Park in Oakleigh, Victoria, representing the ...
and
Calder Cannons The Calder Cannons is an Australian rules football club from Melbourne, Australia. The club competes in the Talent League, the Victorian Statewide Under-18s competition, and fields squads in the Under-15s, Under-16s and Under-18s. The club was f ...
teams included in the competition. In 1995, a Tasmanian-based team, the
Tassie Mariners The Tassie Mariners is an under-18 Australian rules football club representing the state of Tasmania. They currently play in the AFL Under 18 Championships and also played in the Victorian statewide under-18s competition (then known as the TAC ...
, commenced in the competition, becoming the league's first non-Victorian side. The following year, the
NSW/ACT Rams NSW/ACT (also known as NSW-ACT and nicknamed the 'Rams'), is an underage Australian rules football representative team managed by AFL NSW/ACT. The team represents New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and its moniker, partly derive ...
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 The Gold Coast Suns, officially the Gold Coast Football Club, are a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club is based on Queensland's Gold Coast in the suburb of Carrara. The ...
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 The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS or Giants) are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney Olympic Park which repres ...
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 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 primar ...
; these games are counted as part of the TAC Cup premiership season, but the interstate clubs are not eligible for the premiership. 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. 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 NSW/ACT (also known as NSW-ACT and nicknamed the 'Rams'), is an underage Australian rules football representative team managed by AFL NSW/ACT. The team represents New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and its moniker, partly derive ...
was reestablished as a TAC Cup team, with players from the
Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a Austral ...
and
Greater Western Sydney Giants The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS or Giants) are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney Olympic Park which repres ...
young academy sides being picked for the NSW/ACT team. From 2019, the newly named NAB League introduced six new teams: the AFL Academy sides of Gold Coast,
GWS Giants The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS or Giants) are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney Olympic Park which repres ...
,
Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a Austral ...
,
Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. Brisbane are the ...
; the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
; and the returning Tassie Mariners, who were later renamed the Tasmania Devils. Additionally, teams were able to include more 19-year-olds – previously only three could be selected. The 2020 season was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, and in 2021 the competition fully transitioned from under-18s to under-19s – although the draft age to senior football remained at 18. Since 2023 the league has been primarily by under-18 players, with a selection of under-19 players also listed.


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 The Australian Football League draft is the annual draft (sports), draft of unsigned players, especially new nominations, by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League ( ...
remains 18. 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. Nonetheless, age eligibility requirements remain for the
AFL Draft The Australian Football League draft is the annual draft (sports), draft of unsigned players, especially new nominations, by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League ( ...
, 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 The Morrish Medal is an award presented to the best and fairest player in the premier Victorian underage Australian rules football competition during the home-and-away season. Boasting an uninterrupted lineage from 1947 onwards, the medal is cu ...
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 The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...
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.TAC Cup Coaches Award details
/ref> 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 Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...
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


Current clubs

* (A) Denotes that the club is the academy team of a senior club of the
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...


Former clubs

*(S) − Senior side of a club that later joined the AFL


Timeline

ImageSize = width:1200 height:580 PlotArea = width:800 height:500 left:130 bottom:50 AlignBars = late BarData= bar:NT text:Northern Territory bar:NS text:NSW/ACT Rams bar:SS text:Sydney Swans Academy bar:BL text:Brisbane Lions Academy bar:WS text:GWS/Academy bar:GC text:Gold Coast Suns/Academy bar:TM text:Tassie Mariners/Devils bar:OC text:Oakleigh Chargers bar:CC text:Calder Cannons bar:GW text:GW Victoria Rebels bar:MB text:Murray Bushrangers bar:GP text:Gippsland Power bar:BP text:Bendigo Pioneers bar:WJ text:Western Jets bar:SD text:Sandringham Dragons bar:NK text:Northern Knights bar:GF text:Geelong Falcons bar:ER text:Eastern Ranges bar:DS text:Dandenong Stingrays Colors = id:grey value:gray(0.4) id:lgrey value:gray(0.8) id:vlgrey value:gray(0.95) id:premier value:brightblue legend:Premier id:spoon value:rgb(0.7,0.3,0.3) legend:Last_place id:rup value:powderblue legend:Runner_Up id:minor value:orange # legend:Minor_Premier # need more data id:rup&minor value:lightpurple # legend:R-Up&Minor_Premier # need more data DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1992 till:2025 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:1992 gridcolor:lgrey ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1992 gridcolor:vlgrey PlotData= color:lgrey width:12 bar:NK from:1992 till:end bar:ER from:1992 till:end bar:DS from:1992 till:end bar:WJ from:1992 till:end bar:SD from:1992 till:end bar:GF from:1992 till:end bar:MB from:1993 till:end bar:BP from:1993 till:end bar:GP from:1993 till:end bar:GW from:1993 till:end bar:OC from:1995 till:end bar:CC from:1995 till:end bar:GC from:2009 till:2010 bar:GC from:2019 till:end bar:TM from:1995 till:2002 bar:TM from:2019 till:end bar:NS from:1996 till:2002 bar:WS from:2010 till:2011 bar:WS from:2019 till:end bar:BL from:2019 till:end bar:SS from:2019 till:end bar:NT from:2021 till:end color:premier width:12 bar:GF from:1992 till:1993 bar:NK from:1993 till:1997 bar:GW from:1997 till:1998 bar:MB from:1998 till:1999 bar:SD from:1999 till:2000 bar:GF from:2000 till:2001 bar:CC from:2001 till:2002 bar:ER from:2002 till:2003 bar:CC from:2003 till:2005 bar:GP from:2005 till:2006 bar:OC from:2006 till:2007 bar:CC from:2007 till:2008 bar:MB from:2008 till:2009 bar:CC from:2009 till:2010 bar:CC from:2010 till:2011 bar:SD from:2011 till:2012 bar:OC from:2012 till:2013 bar:ER from:2013 till:2014 bar:OC from:2014 till:2015 bar:OC from:2015 till:2016 bar:SD from:2016 till:2017 bar:GF from:2017 till:2018 bar:DS from:2018 till:2019 bar:OC from:2019 till:2020 bar:SD from:2022 till:2025 color:rup width:12 bar:WJ from:1992 till:1994 bar:GF from:1994 till:1995 bar:ER from:1995 till:1996 bar:NS from:1996 till:1997 bar:DS from:1997 till:1998 bar:GF from:1998 till:1999 bar:GP from:1999 till:2000 bar:ER from:2000 till:2001 bar:BP from:2001 till:2002 bar:CC from:2002 till:2003 bar:MB from:2003 till:2004 bar:ER from:2004 till:2005 bar:DS from:2005 till:2006 bar:CC from:2006 till:2007 bar:MB from:2007 till:2008 bar:DS from:2008 till:2009 bar:DS from:2009 till:2010 bar:GP from:2010 till:2011 bar:OC from:2011 till:2012 bar:GP from:2012 till:2013 bar:DS from:2013 till:2014 bar:CC from:2014 till:2015 bar:ER from:2015 till:2016 bar:MB from:2016 till:2017 bar:SD from:2017 till:2018 bar:OC from:2018 till:2019 bar:ER from:2019 till:2020 bar:DS from:2022 till:2023 bar:ER from:2023 till:2024 bar:GW from:2024 till:2025 color:spoon width:12 bar:SD from:1992 till:1993 bar:BP from:1993 till:1994 bar:BP from:1994 till:1995 bar:TM from:1995 till:1996 bar:SD from:1996 till:1997 bar:WJ from:1997 till:1998 bar:WJ from:1998 till:1999 bar:NS from:1999 till:2000 bar:NK from:2000 till:2001 bar:TM from:2001 till:2002 bar:WJ from:2002 till:2003 bar:GP from:2003 till:2004 bar:NK from:2004 till:2005 bar:BP from:2005 till:2006 bar:BP from:2006 till:2007 bar:SD from:2007 till:2008 bar:NK from:2008 till:2009 bar:SD from:2009 till:2010 bar:BP from:2010 till:2011 bar:BP from:2011 till:2012 bar:ER from:2012 till:2013 bar:GW from:2013 till:2014 bar:BP from:2014 till:2015 bar:BP from:2015 till:2016 bar:NK from:2016 till:2017 bar:BP from:2017 till:2018 bar:BP from:2018 till:2019 bar:GF from:2019 till:2020 bar:NK from:2022 till:2023 bar:MB from:2023 till:2024 bar:OC from:2024 till:2025 Legend = left:50 top:20 columnwidth:90


VFL affiliations

Nine of the 12 Victorian-based Talent League clubs are affiliated with a
Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...
(VFL) club. This allows for a development pathway between under-18s football and state-level senior football, with top-age players permitted to play senior VFL games under the 23rd man rule: * Calder Cannons -
Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...
* Dandenong Stingrays - Frankston * Eastern Ranges - Box Hill * Geelong Falcons -
Werribee Werribee is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the local government area of the City of Wyndham. Werribee recorded a population of 50,027 at the 2021 census. Werrib ...
* Gippsland Power -
Casey Demons The Casey Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East, Victoria, Cranbourne East. The club, which was previously known as the Springvale Football Club (1903–2005) ...
* Northern Knights -
Northern Bullants The Northern Bullants are a semi-professional Australian rules football club that currently competes in the Victorian Football League (VFL). The club, which is based in the Melbourne suburb of Preston, plays its home games at Preston City Ov ...
* Oakleigh Chargers -
Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of the Melbourne central business district, located within the Cities of City of Melbourne, Melbourne and City of Port Phillip, Port Phillip Local government ...
* Sandringham Dragons -
Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places Australia * Sandringham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Sandringham, Queensland, a rural locality * Sandringham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station * ...
* Western Jets - Williamstown


Premiers


Total premierships by club

*6 – Calder Cannons, Sandringham Dragons *5 – Oakleigh Chargers *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 – Greater Western Victoria Rebels, Sandringham Dragons, Bendigo Pioneers, NSW/ACT Rams *0 – 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 websiteTAC Cup history


References

{{Aussie Rules in Victoria Australian rules football competitions in Victoria (state) Recurring sporting events established in 1992 1992 establishments in Australia Sports leagues established in 1992 Articles which contain graphical timelines Youth sport in Australia