AFL Under 18 Championships
The NAB AFL Under 18 Championships are the annual national Australian rules football championships for players aged 18 years or younger. The competition is seen as one of the main pathways towards being drafted into a team in the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). Originally known as the Teal Cup, the competition began in 1953 between Queensland and New South Wales, but now features teams from each Australian state and mainland territory. Since 2017, the division 2 competition has been replaced by the Under 18 Academy Series, with teams from the 4 Queensland and NSW AFL clubs' academies in addition to Northern Territory and Tasmania state teams. The best players from the academy competition then combine to form an 'Allies' team in conjunction with South Australia, Western Australia and two Victoria teams, Metro (Melbourne Metropolitan Area) and Country to contest the division 1 tournament. The tournament is currently sponsored by the National Australia Bank, having previously been sponsored by Caltex and the Commonwealth Bank.[1] The winner of the 2019 division 1 tournament was Western Australia.
| Most recent season or competition: 2019 AFL Under 18 Championships | |
| Formerly | Teal Cup (1953–1995) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Australian rules football |
| Inaugural season | 1953 |
| Administrator | Australian Football League |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Most recent champion(s) | (D1) Western Australia (2019) |
| Most titles | (D1) Vic Metro (17) (D2) Tasmania (8) |
| TV partner(s) | Fox Footy (Div. 1 games) |
| Sponsor(s) | National Australia Bank |
| Related competitions | AFL Women's Under 18 Championships |
Winners and awards
The Larke Medal is awarded to the best player in Division 1 of the competition. It is named in honour of a junior footballer, Michael Larke, who was killed in a bus crash while attending a trial match for New South Wales. The Hunter Harrison Medal is awarded to the best player in Division 2 and is named in honour of the former president and life member of the Northern Territory Football League, Hunter Harrison, who played a major role in the development of the AFL youth championships.[2]
Past winners
| Year | Division 1 Premiers | Larke Medal | Division 2 Premiers | Hunter Harrison Medal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 |  Queensland | |||
| 1963 | Queensland | |||
| 1971 | Queensland | |||
| 1972 | Queensland | |||
| 1973 | Queensland | |||
| 1974 |  New South Wales | |||
| 1975 | New South Wales | |||
| 1976 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Victoria | Mick Woods (Vic) | ||
| 1977 | Victoria | Rodney Watts (Vic) | ||
| 1978 |  South Australia | Mark Weideman (SA) | ||
| 1979 | South Australia | Grant Campbell (WA) | ||
| 1980 | South Australia | Darryl Murphy (ACT) | ||
| 1981 | Victoria | Paul Salmon (Vic) | ||
| 1982 | Victoria | Michael Phyland (NSW) | ||
| 1983 | Victoria | Greg Anderson (SA) | ||
| 1984 | Victoria | David Condon (NSW) | ||
| 1985 |  Western Australia | Jason Kerr (NSW) | ||
| 1986 | Victoria | Stephen Lawrence (Qld) | ||
| 1987 | Victoria | Steven Kolyniuk (Vic) | ||
| 1988 | Victoria | Robbie Wright (NSW) | ||
| 1989 | Vic Country | Ray Windsor (Qld) | ||
| 1990 | Vic Metro | Paul Williams (Tas) | ||
| 1991 | South Australia | Robert Neill (ACT) | ||
| 1992 | Vic Metro | Daniel Southern (WA) | Vic Country | Michael Voss (Qld) |
| 1993 | Vic Metro | Shaun McManus (WA) | New South Wales | Mark Ryan (NT) |
| 1994 | Vic Metro | Daniel Harford (Vic Metro) | Vic Country | Michael Martin (Tas) |
| 1995 | South Australia | Luke Godden (Vic Metro) Ben Setchell (Vic Country) | Western Australia | Steven Koops (NT) |
| 1996 | Vic Metro | Pat Steinfort (Vic Metro) |  Tasmania | Matthew Bernes (Tas) |
| 1997 | Vic Metro | Tim Finocchiaro (Vic Metro) | Queensland | Fred Campbell (NT) |
| 1998 | Vic Metro | Garth Taylor (WA) | / NSW/ACT | Shane Young (Qld) Derek Murray (NSW/ACT) |
| 1999 | Western Australia | Paul Hasleby (WA) | Queensland | Brad Green (Tas) |
| 2000 | Vic Country | Kayne Pettifer (Vic Country) | / NSW/ACT | Ian Callinan (Tas) |
| 2001 | Vic Metro | Sam Power (Vic Metro) Steven Armstrong (WA) | Tasmania | Tom Davidson (Tas) |
| 2002 | Vic Metro | Byron Schammer (SA) | / NSW/ACT | Anthony Corrie (NT) |
| 2003 | Vic Country | Kepler Bradley (WA) | / NSW/ACT | Jake Furfaro (Qld) |
| 2004 | Vic Metro | Jesse Smith (Vic Metro) |  Northern Territory | Richard Tambling (NT) |
| 2005 | Vic Metro | Marc Murphy (Vic Metro) | Tasmania | Grant Birchall (Tas) |
| 2006 | Vic Metro | Tom Hawkins (Vic Metro) | Queensland | Ricky Petterd (Qld) |
| 2007 | Western Australia | Cale Morton (WA) | / NSW/ACT | Craig Bird (NSW/ACT) |
| 2008 | Vic Metro | Jack Watts (Vic Metro) | Tasmania | Mitch Robinson (Tas) |
| 2009 | Western Australia | David Swallow (WA) Andrew Hooper (Vic Country) | / NSW/ACT | Dylan McNeil (NSW/ACT) |
| 2010 | Vic Country | Harley Bennell (WA) | Tasmania | Sam Darley (Tas) |
| 2011 | Vic Metro | Stephen Coniglio (WA) | Tasmania | John McKenzie (Tas) |
| 2012 | Vic Metro | Lachie Whitfield (Vic Country) | Northern Territory | Jake Neade (NT) |
| 2013 | South Australia | Dom Sheed (WA) | Tasmania | Liam Dawson (Qld) Kade Kolodjashnij (Tas) Toby Nankervis (Tas) |
| 2014 | South Australia | Christian Petracca (Vic Metro) | / NSW/ACT | Isaac Heeney (NSW/ACT) |
| 2015 | Vic Country | Josh Schache (Vic Country) | Queensland | Ben Keays (Qld) |
| 2016 | Vic Metro | Jack Graham (South Australia) | / NSW/ACT | Jack Bowes (Qld) |
| 2017 | Vic Metro | Oscar Allen (Western Australia) | Nick Blakey (Sydney) | |
| 2018 | South Australia | Sam Walsh (Vic Country) | Tasmania | Tarryn Thomas (Tasmania) |
| 2019 | Western Australia | Deven Robertson (WA) | Connor Budarick (Qld) |
See also
Notes
- Taylor, Kevin. The Story of the Teal Cup and AFL National Under 18 Championships – Full Points Footy. Retrieved 4 July 2013, from the Pandora Archive.
- Barfoot, Michael (December 1995). History of NTFL. p. 107.
References
- Lovett, Michael, ed. (2005). AFL Record Guide to Season 2005. p. 764. ISBN 0-9580300-6-5.