AUSTRALIA’s premier AFL talent pathway has undergone its third rebrand, with the official launch of the Coates Talent League today. Set to enter its 32nd year in 2023, the competition started out as the Victorian State Football League (VSFL) in 1992, before perhaps being most famously known as the TAC Cup, and most recently the NAB League.

The pathway, which expanded both to girls and boys leagues in 2017, plays host to 12 Victorian regions and the Tasmania Devils as mainstay clubs, while five Northern Academies (GWS, Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast, and NT Thunder) will also continue to participate for part of the upcoming season.

With the league’s launch comes key dates. In a change to the goings on in recent instalments, the girls will kick things off on a later start date of March 18, a week before the boys season gets underway on March 25.

Grand Finals for both competitions will be played on the same weekend (September 23-24), with full season fixtures to be released soon. The recent recess period initiative will also continue, so as to allow players to participate and invest further in community, school, and representative football programs.

Victorian programs in the Coates Talent League will shortly come together for preseason testing under the eye of Rookie Me. The girls are scheduled do so on March 5 at Narrandjeri Stadium, with the boys to follow on March 12 at Maribyrnong College.

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AFL Head of Talent Pathways Grant Williams says the new partnership will help ensure the “ongoing success of the competition”.

“For three decades, what is now the Coates Talent League has been an integral part of the Australian football pathway system and has produced more than 1500 AFL and more than 130 AFLW players,” Williams said.

“Players, coaches, umpires and administrators who are part of the league will continue to receive the support their development requires in high-performance environments.

“The rich history of the Coates Talent League will continue for a 32^nd year in 2023 and provide a platform for so many future stars of the AFL and AFLW to showcase their skills and develop into the best they can be, whether that’s at the elite level, state league or community football.”

Stay tuned to Rookie Me Central throughout the year for our continued unrivalled coverage on the freshly rebranded league, with round-by-round news and analysis on the top AFL/W Draft prospects to watch.