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 derived as an acronym from Riverina , ACT , Murrumbidgee and Sydney , the four regions supplying the bulk of the team's squad, also evokes the rural nature of the area. The team is based at the Blacktown International Sports Park in Western Sydney and has training hubs in Canberra, Sydney, Albury, Wodonga, Newcastle and Coffs Harbour. It has both Under 16 and Under 18 squads for male and female players.
21-658: The Rams joined the TAC Cup competition in 1996 with another non- Victorian team, the Tassie Mariners and also participated in the AFL National Championships . Both sides left the competition in 2002 when the TAC Cup became a Victorian-focused competition. The Rams then played around three or four games a year, with players instead playing club football on the remaining weeks of the year. Prior to
42-469: 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 . 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
63-532: 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
84-555: Is an under-15 V-Line cup side and an under-16 side, but the club's main focus is its under-18 side, who play a longer season. In 2007, Jimmy Bartel became the first ex-Falcon to win the AFL Brownlow Medal , for the league's best and fairest player, while Jonathan Brown became the first ex-Falcon to win the Coleman Medal for the most goals in the season. Gary Ablett Jnr also became the first ex-Falcon to win
105-509: 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. At the end of the 2015 season, the award was discontinued. All matches are live streamed on
126-669: The Coates Talent League under naming rights 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
147-790: The Leigh Matthews Trophy , for being voted the Most Valuable Player by the AFL Players Association. Hawthorn half-back Luke Hodge became the first Falcon to win the Norm Smith Medal for his best on ground performance in the 2008 Grand Final against the Geelong Cats . Nick Maxwell became the first Geelong Falcons player to captain a premiership team when he led Collingwood to the 2010 AFL Premiership. Many notable players in
168-586: 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. From 2019,
189-730: 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
210-632: 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. The team played only 7 games in the competition and could not qualify for finals like the Victorian teams in the competition. NSW/ACT have claimed 8 Division 2 titles in the AFL National Championships however were dropped from both
231-530: The AFL National Championships and Talent League in 2017 in favour of a club Academy Series featuring the Sydney Swans Academy and Greater Western Sydney Giants Academy . The following former NSW/ACT Rams players have gone on to play in the Australian Football League : This article about an Australian rules football team or club is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . TAC Cup The Talent League (also known as
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#1732783567793252-422: The AFL app. Former coverage included: 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: NSW/ACT Rams, as of 2015, do not play a full season, and therefore cannot compete for
273-781: The Coates Talent League. 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 ,
294-793: The Sandringham Dragons in 2000) 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
315-446: 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. 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
336-416: 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
357-548: The competition. In 2021 the league shifted to an under-19 level, though the entry age for the AFL Draft 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 , 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
378-460: 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. 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
399-671: 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 . 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 , and in 2021
420-715: The premiership. A female youth competition, the Talent League Girls , equivalent to the Talent League, was inaugurated in 2017. 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 Warrnambool regions in order to prepare them for AFL selection. There
441-615: 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
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