Talent League Girls

The Talent League Girls (also known as the Coates Talent League Girls under naming rights[1] and previously as the NAB League Girls and TAC Cup 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.

Coates Talent League Girls
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2023 Coates Talent League Girls season
FormerlyTAC Cup Girls (2017–2018)
NAB League Girls (2019–2022)
SportAustralian rules football
Inaugural season2017
No. of teams13
CountryAustralia
Most recent
champion(s)		Western Jets (1)
Most titlesNorthern Knights
Geelong Falcons
Calder Cannons
Oakleigh Chargers
Western Jets (1 each)
Official websiteafl.com.au/talent-league

The league is one of the leading competitions for female footballers to be recruited to AFL Women's (AFLW) clubs. An identical competition for male footballers, known as the Talent League Boys, is also contested on an annual basis.

History

The league was inaugurated in 2017, the same year as the first AFL Women's premiership season was held. All NAB League Boys clubs entered teams and shared training grounds. Reaction to the establishment was positive, with Fiona Richardson, Victorian Minister for Women, praising the league for its encouragement of women's sports. Carlton vice-captain Madeline Keryk said the competition helped equalise opportunities for boys and girls in junior football.[2]

The first season was a five-round competition. The Calder Cannons won all five of their matches and overcame the Murray Bushrangers on percentage to claim the inaugural premiership.[3] The second season was a nine-round competition culminating in a grand final.[4] The inaugural grand finalists were the Geelong Falcons and the Northern Knights. The Falcons won 32–21, completing an unbeaten season.[5] The competition has since grown in fixture length and incorporates a team from Tasmania. The 2020 season was abandoned due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The league was known as the TAC Cup Girls in 2017 to 2018, NAB League Girls in 2019 to 2022, and since 2023 it has been known as the Coates Talent League Girls.[6]

Age eligibility

The competition was originally classified as an under-18 competition, though in 2021 the competition was classified as an under-19 competition. The draft age for both the AFL and AFLW Draft is 18.[7] Since 2023 the league has been primarily by under-18 players, with a selection of under-19 players also listed.[8]

Premiers
Season Premiers Runners-up Grand Final score Venue Ref. Best on Ground
2017 Calder Cannons Murray Bushrangers None No venue [3] None
2018 Geelong Falcons Northern Knights 4.8 (32) – 3.3 (21) Avalon Airport Oval [5] Denby Taylor
2019 Northern Knights Calder Cannons 6.3 (39) – 0.6 (6) Ikon Park [9] Jess Fitzgerald
2020 No premiership awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Oakleigh Chargers Geelong Falcons 11.5 (71) – 5.4 (34) Avalon Airport Oval [10] Amanda Ling
2022 Western Jets Dandenong Stingrays 7.5 (47) – 5.11 (41) Avalon Airport Oval [11] Amber Clarke
2023 Oakleigh Chargers Eastern Ranges 6.7 (43) - 5.6 (36) Ikon Park [12] Sienna Tallariti

Best and Fairest Award
Season Winner Club Ref.
2017 Chloe Molloy Calder Cannons [13]
Bridie Kennedy Dandenong Stingrays
2018 Madison Prespakis Calder Cannons
Nina Morrison Geelong Falcons
2019 Georgie Prespakis Calder Cannons
2020 Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Georgie Prespakis Calder Cannons
2022 Amber Clarke Dandenong Stingrays [14]
2023 Sara Howley Geelong Falcons [15]

References
  1. "Coates Talent League to take off in 2023". afl.com.au. 6 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  2. Rolfe, Peter (1 March 2017). "TAC Cup Girls competition set to open doors for elite young players". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  3. "Calder TAC Cup Girls premiers". aflvic.com.au. AFL Victoria. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  4. "Greater Western Rebels to open season 2018 against Bendigo". The Courier. Fairfax Media. 22 December 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  5. Murray, Tara (21 May 2018). "Northern Knights bested in TAC Cup decider". Star Weekly. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  6. "Coates Talent League to take off in 2023". afl.com.au. 6 February 2023.
  7. "NAB League Media Release - The future of women's kicks off on Saturday". AFL.com.au. 5 February 2021. As part of the new model, age groups for all AFL Talent Pathway Programs, including the NAB League Girls and Boys and the NAB AFL / AFLW National Championships, will be re-focussed from U16 and U18 Levels to U17 and U19 in 2021.
  8. "https://www.afl.com.au/news/874297/coates-talent-league-to-take-off-in-2023". afl.com.au. 6 February 2023. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  9. "2019 NAB League Girls Grand Final". Sports TG. 25 May 2019. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  10. "2021 NAB League Girls Grand Final". SportsTG. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  11. "Flying high: Jets claim first NAB League premiership in last-gasp thriller". womens.afl. 8 April 2022.
  12. https://www.afl.com.au/news/1038580/oakleigh-chargers-win-2023-coates-talent-league-girls-premiership
  13. Rhodes, Brendan (30 September 2021). "Another Prespakis win, Chargers dominate NAB League Girls' Team of the Year". afl.com.au. Telstra Media. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  14. "Dandenong young gun beats longtime friend to win NAB League Girls B&F". womens.afl. 12 April 2022.
  15. https://www.afl.com.au/news/1036778/mckercher-and-hughes-share-morrish-medal-howley-claims-girls-bf
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