THE first intake of the AFL’s newest initiative – Next Generation Academies – are six months away from potentially realising their AFL dream. Eleven players are listed from five AFL clubs with each of the participants exposed to their designated clubs’ coaching, facilities and expertise across health, fitness and personal development.

The talent academies are for the 14 clubs outside New South Wales and Queensland, with each club designated a region in their state, with some clubs also designated a region in Northern Territory, or in North Melbourne’s case, Tasmania.

The AFL Club Next Generation Academies are a joint initiative between the AFL and AFL clubs aimed at increasing the opportunities for young people to learn about and play the game of Australian Rules football. The program is targeted at Multicultural and Indigenous communities who may not have had as much opportunity to be involved in football programs, or have limited understanding of the game and how it is played.

Among those currently in AFL Next Generation Academies are Northern Knights’ Ethan Penrith, an exciting, pacy player who become an important cog in the Knights’ side, as well as Gippsland’s Changkuoth Jiath (CJ), who is zoned to Hawthorn. The pair will be subject to the same bidding process as father-son and northern academy players if a rival club places a bid on him during the NAB AFL Draft held later this year in Sydney.

Of the 11 players eligible to be drafted in 2017, nine of them come from three clubs, with Hawthorn (four), Richmond (three) and Carlton (two), while Essendon and Geelong both have one player each. Richmond, Hawthorn and Carlton all seem to have been early winners out of the initiative with an additional 25 players between them listed over the coming years.

Fremantle (two), North Melbourne (two) and Western Bulldogs (one), all have future Next Generation Academy players named. At this stage, Adelaide, Collingwood, Melbourne, Port Adelaide, St Kilda and West Coast have not listed any Next Generation Academy eligible players at this stage. See the full list below:

NEXT GENERATION ACADEMY – ELIGIBLE PLAYERS

CARLTON
2017 Draft eligible:
Ethan Penrith, Reservoir (club), Indigenous (background)
Artan Cabdi, Heidelberg Heights, Multicultural
Others:
Nick Riebelt (2018), Eltham, Multicultural
Sunny Brazier (2018), North Fitzroy, Multicultural
Mitchell Wild (2018), South Morang, Indigenous
Michael Bozikis (2019), Fairfield, Multicultural
Paul Sidhu (2019), Mernda, Multicultural
Tochukwu Oparaocha (2019), Wollert, Multicultural
Cameron Wild (2019), South Morang, Indigenous

ESSENDON
2017 Draft eligible:
Daniel Hanna (2017), East Keilor, Multicultural
Others:
Lucas Cooper (2018), Maningrida, Indigenous

FREMANTLE
2017 Draft eligible:
Nil.
Others:
Jason Carter (2018), Wyndham, Indigenous
Liam Henry (2019), Derby, Indigenous

GEELONG
2017 Draft eligible:
Titak Nyak (2017), Corio, Multicultural
Others:
Nil.

HAWTHORN
2017 Draft eligible:
Tony Olango (2016/17), Marrara, Multicultural
Changkuoth Jiath (2017), Morwell, Multicultural
Bol Jok (2017), Pakenham, Multicultural
Tyrone Hayes (2017), Lakes Entrance, Indigenous
Others:
Stephen Kapahnke (2018), Macclesfield, Multicultural
Irving Mosquito (2018), Briagolong, Indigenous
Marcus Toussaint (2019), Inverloch, Multicultural
Todd Garner (2019), Gruyere, Indigenous
Tot Jok (2019), Pakenham, Multicultural
Charles Power (2019), Heathmont, Multicultural
Sebastian Reyneke (2019), Park Orchards, Multicultural
Harrison Pepper (2019), Morwell, Indigenous

NORTH MELBOURNE
2017 Draft eligible:
Nil.
Others:
Tarryn Trindall (Thomas) (2018), Hadspen, Indigenous
Leiwyn Jones (2019), Launceston, Indigenous

RICHMOND
2017 Draft eligible:
Derek Smith (2016/17), Mildura, Indigenous
David Smith (2017), Shepparton, Indigenous
Anthony Walker (2017), Kialla, Indigenous
Others:
Ajak Dang (2018), Mooroopna, Multicultural
Kyle Clarke (2018), Shepparton, Indigenous
Phillip Moi Moi (2018), Robinvale, Multicultural
Kailen Walker (2018), Red Cliffs, Indigenous
Hugo Ingham (2019), Shepparton, Multicultural
Peter Clarke (2019), Mildura, Indigenous
Kobe Brown (2019), Mildura, Indigenous
Masang Dang (2020), Mooroopna, Multicultural
Abel Conners (2020), Shepparton, Multicultural
Nathan Louw (2023), Swan Hill, Multicultural

WESTERN BULLDOGS
2017 Draft eligible:
Nil.
Others:
Buku Khamis (2018), St Albans, Multicultural