NEAFL to enhance talent pathway

The AFL on Wednesday launched the new North East Australian Football League Eastern Conference, bringing teams together from the ACT, NSW, Queensland and Northern Territory into one competition.

In a landmark occasion for the AFL, the new Eastern Conference will provide local AFL Canberra players with national exposure. Games will be played in the ACT, NSW, NT and Queensland and will include the Sydney Swans, GWS GIANTS, Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast Suns reserves sides as well as AFL Queensland clubs.

The new NEAFL competition will further enhance the quality and profile of second tier football in the ACT to rival the stronger state leagues like the VFL, WAFL and SANFL. The competition will also provide more opportunities for businesses and fans to get involved in the game.

Manager – AFL Canberra Jack Masters told a large crowd at the season launch in Canberra of the importance of the new NEAFL competition.

“This truly is a watershed moment for AFL in the ACT,” Masters said.

“Not only are we celebrating a centenary of football this year in the nation’s capital but we now have a competition that will give local players every opportunity to be drafted by an AFL club.

“This is a chance to add to the great history of the AFL Canberra competition.

“We hope to make second tier football stronger, we hope in time, the NEAFL, over the next five or so years, becomes in comparative terms equal to the WAFL, VFL and SANFL.

“There has never been a better time to be playing or supporting AFL in Canberra especially with the establishment of the GWS GIANTS Academy and the club playing 40 matches in Canberra over the next ten years.”

AFL NSW/ACT Planning and Operations Manager and former Geelong captain Tom Harley attended the season launch held at the Hellenic Club in Woden.

Harley, who progressed through South Australia’s SANFL football system, said the NEAFL competition now provides a defined pathway for players.

“There is a genuine energy and excitement for the opportunity that lies ahead for the five AFL Canberra based clubs as well as the Sydney Swans and GWS GIANTS,” Harley said.

“To have the opportunity and game experience of travelling up to Queensland and the Northern Territory, it’s invaluable.

“NEAFL, and the new GIANTS Academy based in Canberra, gives footballers a clear pathway and now enhances their prospects of being drafted.”

ACT Minister for Sport, Andrew Barr, said NEAFL is the perfect way to celebrate a centenary of football in the ACT.

“With AFL in Canberra turning 100 this year, it is fitting that the sport embark on the next 100 years in such a great position and with a unique partnership unlike any other that currently exists in the AFL,” Barr said.

“The NEAFL promises local players an even higher standard of competition and increased opportunities to display their abilities against AFL-listed players and in front of AFL recruiters.”