Current season or competition: 2011 TAC Cup |
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Sport | Australian rules football |
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Inaugural season | 1992 |
No. of teams | 12 |
Country(ies) | Australia |
Most recent champion(s) | Sandringham Dragons |
TV partner(s) | C31 Melbourne |
Official website | www.taccup.com.au |
The TAC Cup is an under 18 Australian rules football representative competition held in Victoria, Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne with each team representing 12 Victorian regions.
The competition is one of the primary sources of recruitment for AFL clubs and fills a similar recruiting function to the way that college football system in the United States feeds the NFL. The TAC Cup provides an opportunity for talented regional players to participate in a very high standard competition without having to relocate too far from their place of origin. The competition has a very successful pathway with players missing AFL selection often being recruited by semi-professional state, country and regional leagues throughout Australia.
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With the focus of the VFL/AFL moving rapidly towards national competition, the old metropolitan and country Victorian zoning recruitment method for VFL/AFL clubs was phased out and at the start of 1992 the league's Under 19 competition was disbanded.
A new competition, sponsored by the Transport Accident Commission was formed as an avenue to where many young Victorian under-18 players make their transition to becoming senior Australian Football League players. In 1992 the competition consisted of five metropolitan teams and one country team. The initial teams were the Northern Knights, Eastern Ranges, Southern Stingrays (renamed the Dandenong Stingrays), Western Jets, Central Dragons and Geelong Falcons.
In 1993 an additional four country teams were included – the Murray Bushrangers, Bendigo Pioneers, Gippsland Power, and North Ballarat Rebels. In 1995 two additional metropolitan regions were established with the Oakleigh Chargers and Calder Cannons teams included in the competition. The Tassie Mariners also commenced in the competition in 1995, becoming the league's first non-Victorian side. Finally, in 1996, the NSW/ACT Rams were admitted to the TAC Cup. The Mariners and RAMS both exiting the competition at the end of the 2002 (have been played four games a year from 2003–2004 and three game a year since 2005) resulting in the current 12 team competition. Other Non-Victorian clubs Queensland and Northern Territory played two games a year in 2003 and 2004 and three games a year since 2005.
The Gold Coast Football Club recruited several under-18s players in the 2008/09 summer, and participated in the TAC Cup in 2009 (before playing in the VFL in 2010 and the AFL from 2011). Similarly, the Greater Western Sydney Football Club fielded a TAC Cup team in 2010, two seasons prior to its introduction to the AFL in 2012.
Between 1995 and 2008, the finals system was in a knock-out format. This reverted to a traditional finals system in 2009 with the introduction of the Gold Coast team.[1] In 2010, this was extended to include 12 of the 13 clubs participating that season, with the extra matches forming an extended knockout format. In 2011 the finals system was reverted back to the traditional 8 team AFL finals series.
Although primarily a competition for 18 year olds, exceptions are made for bottom-aged players—16 or 17 year olds—and since 2007, over-age players—19 year olds—to participate in the competition.
Since the beginning of the 2007 TAC Cup season, clubs have been granted permission to select up to five over-age players permitted on their lists.
Nonetheless, age eligibility requirements remain for the AFL Draft, where players must have turned 17 by 30 April of that draft year to be eligible for selection by an AFL Club.
The Morrish Medal is awarded to the best player in the competition.
The Match of the Round is broadcast live on Rumble 103, an internet radio station based in Melbourne.
There is a TAC Cup show screening on GTV Channel 9 in Melbourne and across Victoria and Inland NSW border regions on WIN Television from 1pm every Sunday from late March until the end of September.
TAC Cup news and results can be seen on C31's Local Footy Show and heard on the ABC's Triple J radio sation.
TAC Cup matches will be live broadcast on Channel C31 Melbourne television in Melbourne, Geelong & regional Victoria in 2010.
Radio stations SYN FM & RRR FM will broadcast coverage of TAC Cup football matches every weekend during the season.
DATE | HOME TEAM | SCORE | AWAY TEAM | SCORE | GROUND |
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25 September 2009 | Dandenong Stingrays | 14.14.98 | Calder Cannons | 17.10.112 | Etihad Stadium |
TAC Cup Grand Final | |||||
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19 September, 10:30am | Calder Cannons | def. | Gippsland Power | Etihad Stadium | Report |
5.2 (32) 9.7 (61) 16.11 (107) 17.14 (116) |
Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
2.1 (13) 5.4 (34) 7.5 (51) 8.10 (58) |
TAC Cup Medal: Mitchell Wallis |
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L. Mitchell 5, A. Kefford 3, D. Meli 2, J. Schroder 2, T. Sullivan, D. Prestia, D. Murphy, T. Sheridan, B. Grenfell | Goals | J. Lamb 2, S. Marusic 2, T. Northe, D. MacDonald, C. Smith, H. Hector | |||
M. Wallis, L. Mitchell, D. Prestia, C. Guthrie, A. Kefford, J. Schroder | Best | M. Ross, T. Northe, L. Todd, C. Smith, S. Marusic, J. Staley | |||
# | TEAM | P | W | L | D | B | % | PTS |
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1 | Calder Cannons | 17 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 133.59 | 52 |
2 | Sandringham Dragons | 17 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 140.56 | 50 |
3 | Gippsland Power | 17 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 130.93 | 44 |
4 | Dandenong Stingrays | 17 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 121.50 | 40 |
5 | Western Jets | 17 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 108.54 | 40 |
6 | North Ballarat Rebels | 17 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 104.50 | 40 |
7 | Oakleigh Chargers | 17 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 117.77 | 36 |
8 | Geelong Falcons | 17 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 97.43 | 36 |
9 | Northern Knights | 17 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 84.54 | 30 |
10 | Eastern Ranges | 17 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 75.93 | 24 |
11 | Murray Bushrangers | 17 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 80.22 | 16 |
12 | Bendigo Pioneers | 17 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 52.31 | 4 |
Qualifying Finals | |||||
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Saturday, 3 September(11:15 am) | Calder Cannons 8.11 (59) | def. by | Dandenong Stingrays 10.2 (62) | Visy Park | |
Saturday, 3 September (2:00 pm) | Sandringham Dragons 19.12 (126) | def. | Gippsland Power 13.4 (82) | Visy Park | |
Elimination Finals | |||||
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Sunday, 4 September (11:45 am) | Western Jets 16.8 (104) | def. | Geelong Falcons 12.14 (86) | Visy Park | |
Sunday, 4 September (2:30 pm) | North Ballarat Rebels 10.12 (72) | def. by | Oakleigh Chargers 13.14 (92) | Visy Park | |
Semi Finals | |||||
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Sunday, 11 September(11:15 am) | Calder Cannons 12.15 (87) | def. | Western Jets 11.6 (72) | Visy Park | |
Sunday, 11 September(2:00 pm) | Gippsland Power 7.2 (44) | def. by | Oakleigh Chargers 17.10 (112) | Visy Park | |
Preliminary Finals | |||||
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Saturday, 17 September(11:00 am) | Sandringham Dragons 10.13 (73) | def. | Calder Cannons 8.16 (64) | Visy Park | |
Saturday, 17 September(1:45 pm) | Dandenong Stingrays 11.12 (78) | def. by | Oakleigh Chargers 13.9 (87) | Visy Park | |
Grand Final | |||||
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Sunday, 25 September(10:30 am) | Sandringham Dragons | def. | Oakleigh Chargers | Etihad Stadium | |
6.1 (37) 7.6 (48) 10.10 (70) 17.11 (113) |
Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
2.2 (14) 9.4 (58) 14.6 (90) 16.9 (105) |
TAC Cup Medal: Jack Viney (Oakleigh Chargers) |
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Roberts 5, Williams 2, Coleman 2, Paine 2, Richards 2, Sumner, Anastasio, Fallon, Ong |
Goals | Murphy 5, Mascitti 2, Gotch 2, Hammond, Jong, Greene, Soriano, Wooffindin, Heath, Arnot |
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Roberts, Darrou, Paine, Heagney-Steart, Williams, Woodward |
Best | Viney, Harris, Tomlinson, Murphy, Greene, Purcell |
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Team | Region(s) | Seasons | Home Ground | Training Ground |
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Northern Knights | Northern Melbourne and North Eastern Melbourne | 1992–present | NAB Oval | NAB Oval; La Trobe University |
Eastern Ranges | Eastern Melbourne | 1992–present | Box Hill City Oval | Kilsyth Recreation Reserve |
Dandenong Stingrays | South Eastern Melbourne and Mornington Peninsula | 1992–present | Shepley Oval | Shepley Oval |
Western Jets | Western Melbourne and Wyndham Region | 1992–present | Burbank Oval | W.L.J. Crofts Reserve, Altona; Brookside Oval, Caroline Springs |
Sandringham Dragons | Bayside Melbourne | 1992–present | Trevor Barker Beach Oval | Princes Park Oval #1, Caufield |
Geelong Falcons | Geelong and Western Region | 1992–present | Chirnside Park, Skilled Stadium | Highton Reserve |
Murray Bushrangers | Riverina (NSW), Goulburn Valley & North Eastern Victoria | 1993–present | WJ Findlay Oval, Wangaratta; Norm Minns Oval, Wangaratta; Lavington Sports Ground, Albury; Albury Sports Ground, Albury; Deakin Reserve, Shepparton | WJ Findlay Oval |
Bendigo Pioneers | Bendigo, Central Murray, North Central, Sunraysia and Mallee regions | 1993–present | Queen Elizabeth Oval, Bendigo | Golden Square Football Oval |
Gippsland Power | Gippsland | 1993–present | Morwell Recreation Reserve, Morwell | Morwell Recreation Reserve |
North Ballarat Rebels | Ballarat and Wimmera Region | 1993–present | Eureka Stadium, North Ballarat | Eureka Stadium |
Oakleigh Chargers | South Eastern Melbourne | 1995–present | Warrawee Park | Warrawee Park |
Calder Cannons | North Western Melbourne and Sunbury District | 1995–present | ABD Group Stadium | Highgate Recreation Reserve |
Former clubs: | ||||
Tassie Mariners | Tasmania | 1996–2002 | Bellerive Oval; Aurora Stadium | |
NSW/ACT Rams | New South Wales and ACT | 1995–2002 | ||
Gold Coast Football Club | QLD and PNG | 2009 | Carrara Stadium | |
Greater Western Sydney | Western Sydney district | 2010 | Blacktown Olympic Park | Blacktown Olympic Park |
Season | Premiers | GF Score | Runner-up | Best-on-ground |
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1992 | Geelong Falcons | 18.16 (124) – 12.10 (82) | Western Jets | Daniel Fletcher |
1993 | Northern Knights | 32.10 (202) – 18.11 (119) | Western Jets | Shannon Gibson |
1994 | Northern Knights | 16.21 (117) – 15.17 (107) | Geelong Falcons | Anthony Rocca |
1995 | Northern Knights | 12.20 (92) – 7.21 (63) | Eastern Ranges | Brent Harvey |
1996 | Northern Knights | 15.15 (105) – 14.6 (90) | NSW/ACT Rams | Matthew Harrison |
1997 | North Ballarat Rebels | 16.15 (111) – 10.16 (76) | Dandenong Stingrays | Adam Goodes |
1998 | Murray Bushrangers | 17.18 (120) – 12.12 (84) | Geelong Falcons | Michael Stevens |
1999 | Sandringham Dragons | 16.8 (104) – 8.6 (54) | Gippsland Power | Dylan Smith |
2000 | Geelong Falcons | 18.16 (124) – 15.12 (102) | Eastern Ranges | Amon Buchanan |
2001 | Calder Cannons | 16.14 (110) – 10.13 (73) | Bendigo Pioneers | Jordan Barham |
2002 | Eastern Ranges | 10.5 (65) – 9.10 (64) | Calder Cannons | Stephen Dinnell |
2003 | Calder Cannons | 16.14 (110) – 2.6 (18) | Murray Bushrangers | Brock McLean |
2004 | Calder Cannons | 19.20 (134) – 9.10 (64) | Eastern Ranges | Jesse D. Smith |
2005 | Gippsland Power | 12.9 (81) – 10.6 (66) | Dandenong Stingrays | Dale Thomas |
2006 | Oakleigh Chargers | 19.16 (130) – 16.7 (103) | Calder Cannons | Dean Kelly |
2007 | Calder Cannons | 14.20 (104) – 7.12 (54) | Murray Bushrangers | Ashley Arrowsmith |
2008 | Murray Bushrangers | 21.16 (142) – 9.7 (61) | Dandenong Stingrays | Steele Sidebottom |
2009 | Calder Cannons | 17.10 (112) – 14.14 (98) | Dandenong Stingrays | Jake Melksham |
2010 | Calder Cannons | 17.14 (116) – 8.10 (58) | Gippsland Power | Mitchell Wallis |
2011 | Sandringham Dragons | 17.11 (113) - 16.9 (105) | Oakleigh Chargers | Jack Viney |
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