By Lance Jenkinson
The AFL has announced that its elite underage pathway competitions will be known as the NAB Leagues.
The league’s long association with the TAC for naming rights to the competition was terminated at the end of last season.
The newly branded leagues will be called the NAB League boys and NAB League girls.
It will now include teams from Victoria, Tasmania, Northern Territory, NSW/ACT and Queensland.
Tristan Salter, the AFL’s head of talent pathways and state league competitions, welcomed the investment from NAB to assist in the next chapter of growth in the under 18 talent pathway.
“NAB has been a fantastic supporter of our AFL talent pathways for 18 years now and it is exciting that they will extend their support and be naming rights partner for this new era,” Salter said.
“Over 1,000 AFL and AFLW players, including the likes of Dustin Martin, Chloe Molloy, Gary Ablett Jnr and Madison Prespakis, have been drafted from Victoria’s under 18 competitions with 2018 producing more than 50 per cent of the boys (62%) and girls (59%) talent at the NAB AFL and AFLW drafts.
“We welcome Tasmania to the competition in what will be the start of the team’s journey towards a return to the VFL competition.”
The NAB league will also revamp the digital platforms that compliment their competitions.
A new app to be launched later this month will offer followers of the competitions more information than ever before.
“The dedicated NAB League app will provide our audience with live information at their fingertips, from stats to game vision and match highlights,” Salter said.
“The increased digital access to the competition and its players will help our audience learn more about our draft prospects across the entire season, not just around draft time.”
The NAB League girls season will open tomorrow at 9.15am, when local rivals Calder Cannons and Western Jets face off at RAMS Arena.
Northern Knights will be in action in the third game of the RAMS Arena triple header at 12.45pm when it locks horns with Murray Bushrangers.
