Talent League

Talent League

Current season, competition or edition: 2024 Talent League Boys 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 (6)
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 based in Melbourne and run by the Australian Football League (AFL). 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 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.^[2] 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.^[1]

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)^[3] 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.^[4]

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.^[5] 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.^[6]

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.^[7] Additionally, teams were able to include more 19-year-olds – previously only three could be selected.^[8] 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.^[9] Since 2023 the league has been primarily by under-18 players, with a selection of under-19 players also listed.^[1]

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.

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.

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.

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.

Club	Colours	State	Home venue	Est.	Seasons		Premierships
					First	Total	Total	Recent
Bendigo Pioneers		VIC	Queen Elizabeth Oval	1993	1993	32	0	−
Brisbane Lions (A)		QLD	Brighton Homes Arena	2010	2019	6	Not eligible
Calder Cannons		VIC	Highgate Recreation Reserve	1995	1995	30	6	2010
Dandenong Stingrays		VIC	Shepley Oval	1992	1992	33	1	2018
Eastern Ranges		VIC	Kilsyth Recreation Reserve	1992	1992	33	2	2013
Geelong Falcons		VIC	Chirnside Park	1992	1992	33	3	2017
Gippsland Power		VIC	Morwell Recreation Reserve	1993	1993	32	1	2005
Gold Coast Suns (A)		QLD	Carrara Stadium	2010	2019	6	Not eligible
Greater Western Sydney Giants (A)		NSW	Sydney Showground Stadium	2010	2019	6	Not eligible
Greater Western Victoria Rebels		VIC	Eureka Stadium	1993	1993	32	1	1997
Murray Bushrangers		VIC	Norm Minns Oval, Wangaratta	1993	1993	32	2	2008
Northern Knights		VIC	Preston City Oval	1992	1992	33	4	1996
Northern Territory Thunder		NT	Marrara Oval	1979	2000	22	Not eligible
Oakleigh Chargers		VIC	Warrawee Park	1995	1995	30	5	2019
Sandringham Dragons		VIC	Trevor Barker Beach Oval	1992	1992	33	6	2024
Sydney Swans (A)		NSW	Sydney Cricket Ground	2010	2019	6	Not eligible
Tasmania Devils		TAS	Bellerive Oval; York Park	2019	2019	6	0	−
Western Jets		VIC	Burbank Oval	1992	1992	33	0	−

• (A) − Academy team for AFL club

Club	Colours	State	Home venue	Est.	Seasons		Premierships
					Years	Total
Gold Coast Suns (S)		QLD	Carrara Stadium	2009	2009−2009	1	0
Greater Western Sydney (S)		NSW	Sydney Showground Stadium	2010	2010−2010	1	0
NSW/ACT Rams		NSW & ACT	Various	1996	1996−2009; 2011−2011; 2013−2016	14	0
Queensland Scorpions		QLD	Gabba Ground	1953	2000−2008; 2010−2016	16	Not eligible
Tassie Mariners		TAS	Bellerive Oval, York Park	1976	1995−2016	22	0

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

Nine of the 12 Victorian-based Talent League clubs are affiliated with a Victorian Football League (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
• Dandenong Stingrays - Frankston
• Eastern Ranges - Box Hill
• Geelong Falcons - Werribee
• Gippsland Power - Casey Demons
• Northern Knights - Northern Bullants
• Oakleigh Chargers - Port Melbourne
• Sandringham Dragons - Sandringham
• Western Jets - Williamstown

• 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.

• 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

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

• Official website
• TAC Cup history