AFL Women's Under-18 Championships

Last updated

AFL Women's Under-18 Championships
Current season, competition or edition:
AFL current event.svg 2024 AFL Women's Under 18 Championships
FormerlyAFL Youth Girls National Championship
Sport Australian rules football
First season2010
Administrator Australian Football League
No. of teams10
CountryAustralia
Most recent
champion(s)		South Australia
(2023)
Sponsor(s) National Australia Bank
Related
competitions		 AFL Under 18 Championships
Tournament format Round-robin

The NAB AFL Women's Under-18 Championships are the annual national Australian rules football championships for women players aged 18 years or younger. The competition is seen as one of the main pathways towards being drafted into a team in the professional AFL Women's competition (AFLW). Originally known as the AFL Youth Girls National Championship, the competition has teams of players representing their states and territories in a round robin tournament. The tournament is currently sponsored by the National Australia Bank. The winner of the 2019 tournament was Vic Metro.

Contents

History

A 2008 series between the Queensland and Victoria teams was the predecessor to a national state-based competition for young female footballers. The inaugural competition was conducted in September 2010, in Craigieburn, Victoria. Six teams competed: Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland, a combined New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory side (NSW/ACT), and two Victorian squads. These were divided into two pools—first: an AFL Victoria Development squad combined with an East section, which consisted of NSW/ACT and Queensland players; and West, made up of players from South Australia, Western Australia, and Victoria. Teams played three regular games against the sides from the opposite pool before a finals series. [1]

Several team changes occurred in 2012 and 2013. In 2012, the Victorian team was split into Victoria Metro and Victoria Country. [2] A combined Northern Territory–Tasmania team known as the Thunder Devils and an Indigenous Australian side called the Woomeras entered the tournament in 2014. [3] [4] In 2021 the Woomeras were joined by the Medleys, a multicultural under-17 representative program. [5]

AFL Women's, a national women's league which was inaugurated in 2017, allowed the championships to become a formalised pathway competition to the national league. [6] Consequently the name of the competition was changed to AFL Women's Under 18 Championships, having previously been known as the AFL Under 18 Youth Girls Championships. Changes were also made to tournament structure. The tournament was played over two rounds; in the first round, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory played in a separate division. The best players from the states combined to form an Allies team, which competed in the second round against the other states (the Woomeras did not compete). [7] In 2018, a similar Eastern Allies team was established (made up of NSW/ACT and Tasmania players), bringing the total number of teams to 10. [8] [9]

There was no championships staged in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused the 2021 tournament to have an increased age eligibility by one year (under-19). [10] [11]

Tournaments

YearDivision 1 PremiersD1 B&FDivision 2 PremiersD2 B&FNotesRef.
2010 Flag of Victoria (Australia).svg Victoria Katie Brennan (Queensland)NoneNone [12]
2011 Flag of Victoria (Australia).svg Victoria Ellie Blackburn (Victoria)NoneNone [12]
2012 Flag of Victoria (Australia).svg Vic MetroCaitlin Williams (South Australia)NoneNone [12]
2013 Flag of Victoria (Australia).svg Vic Metro Ellie Blackburn (Vic Metro)NoneNone [13]
2014 Flag of Western Australia.svg Western Australia Hayley Miller (Western Australia) Flag of the Northern Territory.svg Woomeras Danielle Ponter (Thunder Devils) [14]
2015 Flag of Victoria (Australia).svg Vic Metro Tayla Harris (Queensland) Flag of South Australia.svg South Australia Sarah Allan (South Australia) [15]
2016 Flag of Victoria (Australia).svg Vic Metro Courtney Hodder (Western Australia) Flag of New South Wales.svg / Flag of the Australian Capital Territory.svg NSW/ACTLizzie Stokely (Tasmania)
Daria Bannister (Tasmania) [16]
2017 Flag of Victoria (Australia).svg Vic Country Madison Prespakis (Vic Metro)NoneNone [17]
2018 Flag of Victoria (Australia).svg Vic Country Madison Prespakis (Vic Metro)NoneNone [18]
Nina Morrison (Vic Country)
2019 Flag of Victoria (Australia).svg Vic Metro Georgia Patrikios (Vic Metro)NoneNone [19]
2020DNP (COVID-19) – [10]
2021 None (COVID-19)NoneNoneNoneA series of challenge matches were played, but there was no winner declared
2022 Flag of South Australia.svg South Australia Shineah Goody (South Australia)NoneNone [20]
2023 Flag of South Australia.svg South Australia Havana Harris (Queensland)NoneNone [21]

Source: List of Winners (pp. 4)

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renee Forth</span> Australian rules footballer

Renee Forth is an Australian rules footballer who played for Greater Western Sydney and Adelaide in the AFL Women's (AFLW).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libby Birch</span> Australian rules footballer

Libby Birch is an Australian rules footballer who plays for North Melbourne in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She previously played for the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne. She previously played netball and captained Victoria at the National Netball Championships. Birch is currently studying a Physiotherapy degree at La Trobe University. In 2016, Birch switched from netball to Australian rules football and was recruited by the Western Bulldogs as a rookie after having only played football for three months for the Darebin Falcons in the VFL Women's.

The 2017 NAB AFL Women's Under-18 Championships was played between May and July 2017, with six teams competing and with a further three playing in a two-match round-robin series as a de facto Division 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bree White</span> Australian rules footballer

Bree White is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW).

Jordan Zanchetta is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions and Essendon in the AFL Women's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Dargan</span> Australian rules footballer

Sarah Dargan is an Australian rules footballer who last played with Sydney in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW). She previously played three seasons with Collingwood, after being drafted to the club in the 2017 draft, and two seasons with Richmond after being traded to the club ahead of the 2021 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eloise Jones (footballer)</span> Australian rules footballer

Eloise Jones is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Jones is a two-time AFL Women's premiership player for the Adelaide Football Club, as a member of their 2019 and 2022 (S6) premiership teams.

The 2018 NAB AFL Women's Under-18 Championships was played between May and July 2018, with six teams competing in the main 'Series 2' round robin tournament and with a further four playing in a two-match on-on-one exhibition as the competition's initial 'Series 1'.

Scott Gowans is an Australian rules football coach and coach of the Sydney Swans in the AFL Women's, having previously served as the head coach of the Kangaroos in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW) between 2019 and 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordyn Allen</span> Australian rules footballer (born 2000)

Jordyn Allen is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nat Grider</span> Australian rules footballer

Natalie "Nat" Grider is an Australian rules footballer playing for Brisbane in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW).

The Talent League Girls 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 twelve Victorian regions, while a thirteenth team from Tasmania was introduced in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jade Ellenger</span> Australian rules footballer

Jade Ellenger is an Australian rules footballer playing for Brisbane in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition.

The 2016 edition of the AFL Youth Girls National Championships was held from 2 May to 6 May in Melbourne, Victoria. Nine teams competed in the round-robin tournament, divided into pool A: Queensland, Western Australia, Vic Country and Vic Metro; and pool B: the Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania, a combined New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory side (NSW/ACT) and the Indigenous Australian Woomeras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie Lynch</span> Australian rules footballer

Katie Lynch is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Gold Coast in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW). She had previously played for Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyla Hanks</span> Australian rules footballer

Tyla Hanks is an Australian rules footballer playing for Melbourne in the AFL Women's (AFLW). An inside midfielder, she played junior football in the TAC Cup Girls and VFL Women's, and competed at four AFL Women's Under 18 Championships. Hanks was recruited by Melbourne with pick 6 in the 2018 AFLW draft and debuted in the opening round of the 2019 season.

Haneen Zreika is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She is the first person of Lebanese descent, and the first Muslim, to play in the AFL Women's. Initially a rugby league player, Zreika switched to Australian rules football when she was 15 years old. Zreika played in the AFL Sydney competition before she was drafted by Greater Western Sydney in the 2017 rookie draft. She was delisted by the Giants at the end of the 2018 season, but was later re-selected in the 2018 draft after a strong season in the AFL Sydney. Zreika made her AFLW debut in the opening round of the 2019 season and was nominated for the 2019 AFL Women's Rising Star award in round 7.

Kate Bartlett is an Australian rules footballer playing for West Coast in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She played for the Peel Thunderbirds before she was drafted by the Western Bulldogs in the 2018 national draft. After a season at the club, including a final-round senior debut, Bartlett was traded to West Coast.

The 2019 NAB AFL Women's Under-18 Championships was played between May and July 2019, with six teams competing in the main 'Series 2' round-robin tournament and with a further four playing in a two-match one-on-one exhibition as the competition's initial 'Series 1' tournament.

Bella R. Smith is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for Sydney in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She played for Norwood in the SANFL Women's League (SANFLW) before she was signed to an AFLW contract by Collingwood as an undrafted free agent.

References

  1. ↑ "About the U18 AFL Youth Girls National Championships". AFL Community. SportsTG. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  2. ↑ "Youth Girls Vic Metro & Vic Country Restructure". aflvic.com.au. AFL Victoria. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  3. ↑ "AFL Youth Girls National Championships 2014 Record" (PDF). Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  4. ↑ Flanders, Kris (18 May 2016). "These Indigenous girls are the future stars of AFL". SBS Online. Special Broadcasting Service . Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  5. ↑ "U19s preview: Fixture, star players, how to stream, more". womens.afl. 11 April 2021.
  6. ↑ Lusted, Peter (3 May 2016). "Professional AFL contracts up for grabs at Youth Girls National Championships". ABC News . Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  7. ↑ "Women's Under-18 Championships kick off in Adelaide". AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  8. ↑ Arnold, Caitlin (7 June 2018). "Eastern Allies squad announced for upcoming 2018 NAB AFL Women's Under-18s Champs". aflnswact.com.au. AFL NSW/ACT . Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  9. ↑ "2018 Under 18s Teams". womens.afl. Telstra Media . Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  10. 1 2 Black, Sarah (28 September 2020). "EXPLAINER: How the new-look NAB AFLW Draft will work in 2020". AFL Media. Telstra Media. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  11. ↑ Sarah Black (11 April 2021). "U19s preview: Fixture, star players, how to stream, more". womens.afl.
  12. 1 2 3 "2021 NAB AFLW U19 Championships" (PDF). womens.afl. Australian Football League.
  13. ↑ "YOUTH GIRLS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS". AFL Victoria. SportsTG. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  14. ↑ "2014 U18 AFL Youth Girls National Championships". Western Australian Womens Football League. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  15. ↑ "Girls National Championships decided". AFL Media. Telstra Media. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  16. ↑ "2016 AFL Youth Girls National Championships Results". AFL Community. SportsTG. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  17. ↑ Black, Sarah (14 July 2017). "AFLW U18 wrap: Vic Country, Allies undefeated". AFL Media. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  18. ↑ "2018 NAB AFL Women's U18s Fixture & Results". AFL Women's. Archived from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  19. ↑ Black, Sarah (12 July 2019). "Patrikios crowned player of the U18 Championships". AFL Media. Telstra Media. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  20. ↑ Goody crowned AFLW U18s MVP as All-Australian team announced by Peter Williams 4 May 2022
  21. ↑ [https://www.afl.com.au/news/1016380/2023-afl-national-championships-u18-girls-all-australian-team-and-bf-announced 2023 AFL National Championships U18 Girls All-Australian Team and B&F announced The AFL has today announced the 2023 AFL National Championships U18 Girls All-Australian Team and best and fairest awar] 25 August 2023
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.