AFTER more than 25 years of its affiliation with the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) as its major sponsor, the premier Under 18s competition in Australia will now be known as the NAB League. National Australia Bank (NAB) has taken over the naming rights of the competition previously known as the TAC Cup, and with it comes a host of new initiatives to increase the promotion of the league.

The most notable promotion change from the previous competition is the addition of a NAB League app, which will feature live information, game stats, match vision and highlights, all accessible from a smart device. It gives draft watchers a more indepth look at the new NAB League, with a structure change also occurring.

In 2019, the Tasmania Devils join the competition as a full-time participant after previous years playing a handful of matches ahead of the National Under 18 Championships. Instead, it will be the four northern Academies – Brisbane, Gold Coast, GWS GIANTS and Sydney that will play matches against each other and some NAB League opponents ahead of Allies selection. The Allies then take on Vic Country, Vic Metro, South Australia and Western Australia in the National Under 18 Championships that stretch over June and July.

The NAB League boys competition begins on March 23, while the girls kick-off tomorrow with two triple headers at Craigieburn (tomorrow) and Frankston (Sunday), allowing fans to see as much of the future tlent as possible. Tasmania will also compete in the girls competition later in the season, taking on Eastern Ranges and Western Jets over a weekend, before facing the fifth placed side on semi-finals day.

At Draft Central, we will be even bigger in 2019, with more news, reports, interviews and videos covering the NAB League boys and girls competitions as well as the National Under 18 Championships and AFL Women’s Under 18 Championships.

A new era has arrived, and Draft Central is excited to bring you the best possible coverage in 2019 and beyond.