North East Australian Football League

North East Australian Football League
Upcoming season or competition: 2016 NEAFL season

Sport	Australian rules football
Founded	November 2010
Inaugural season	2011
No. of teams	10
Country	Australia
Most recent champion(s)	WSU Giants
Most titles	Brisbane Lions, NT Thunder (2)
TV partner(s)	NITV
Official website	NEAFL.com.au

The North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) is an Australian rules football league in New South Wales, Queensland, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. The league was formed in November 2010, and its inaugural competition was in 2011.^[1] It is a second tier league, sitting below the national Australian Football League (AFL) and features the reserves teams of the region's four AFL clubs playing alongside six non-AFL affiliated NEAFL senior teams.

History

The NEAFL was formed at the end of 2010 primarily as an amalgamation of the two major football leagues in Australia's north-east - the Queensland Australian Football League, based in South-East Queensland and including one team from the Northern Territory, and AFL Canberra, based around ACT, and including one team from Sydney (the reserves team of the AFL's Sydney Swans). The two leagues were converted to NEAFL conferences: the Northern Conference, serving Queensland and the Northern Territory, and the Eastern Conference, serving New South Wales and the ACT. Teams from the two conferences played matches against each other throughout the home-and-away season, before each conference staged a separate finals competition to determine both a northern premier and an eastern premier. The two premiers then played each other in the NEAFL Grand Final.

Two new teams also joined the competition for its inaugural season in 2011: the reserves team of Gold Coast Football Club (whose senior team joined the AFL in the same season); and the senior team of the Greater Western Sydney Giants, which was preparing to join the AFL in 2012. These two clubs would have joined the QAFL and AFL Canberra respectively, had the NEAFL not been formed.

In 2012, two more clubs joined the Eastern Conference from the AFL Sydney competition: Sydney Hills and Sydney University. With Greater Western Sydney's senior team joining the AFL, its NEAFL side became a reserves team in partnership with, and under the name of the University of Western Sydney.

On 11 May 2013, the NEAFL Northern Conference played an interstate game against South Australia who represent the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). The game, played at the City Mazda Stadium in Adelaide resulted in a 21.14 (140) to 9.4 (58) win over the NEAFL North, with SA's higher fitness level the main difference between the two sides.

On 8 June 2013, the NEAFL Eastern Conference played an interstate game against Tasmania who represent the TSL (Tasmanian State League). Tasmania won 15.11 (101) - 8.13 (61).

A major restructure of the league was announced for the 2014 season. Five clubs left the competition and the conference system was abolished. Broadbeach, Labrador, Morningside and Mt. Gravatt joined a re-constructed Queensland Australian Football League, while Tuggeranong went back to the AFL Canberra Division One competition.^[2] The possibility of a North Queensland side entering the competition for 2014 was considered but ruled out.^[3]

Due to the financial challenges of participating in the competition and a proposal from the AFL for the existing Canberra clubs to contribute to a single Canberra team, Belconnen, Queanbeyan and the Sydney Hills Eagles chose to leave the NEAFL at the end of the 2014 season.^[4]^[5] The ongoing desire by the AFL for a single Canberra team led Ainslie to withdraw at the end of the 2015 season. Both Canberra clubs - Ainslie and Eastlake - had a NEAFL licence until the end of 2016, but Ainslie withdrew from the competition after the AFL rejected their proposal to be Canberra's sole team from 2017. The AFL wanted Canberra's team to be either a combined Ainslie-Eastlake side or a representative team funded largely by all the local clubs in the Canberra area.^[6]

Two teams changed their names prior to the 2016 season. Eastlake's NEAFL side started to play as the Canberra Demons in an attempt to be seen as Canberra's representative team in the NEAFL competition. The club wishes to provide a clear AFL pathway for local talent and to get rid of the baggage between other clubs in the ACT. As part of this decision the team also adopted a blue and gold guernsey for home games, reflecting the territory's traditional colours. The team still wears Eastlake's red and black colours in away matches.^[7] The Greater Western Sydney reserves team became known as the Western Sydney University Giants to reflect the re-branding of the University of Western Sydney.^[8]

Clubs

Current clubs

Club	Nickname	Location	Home ground	Formed	First season	Premierships
Aspley	Hornets	Brisbane, Queensland	Graham Road	1964	2011	2014
Brisbane Lions *	Lions	Brisbane, Queensland	Giffin Park	1997	2011	2012, 2013
Canberra	Demons	Canberra, Australian Capital Territory	StarTrack Oval	1926	2011	—
Gold Coast *	Suns	Gold Coast, Queensland	Metricon Stadium	2010	2011	—
NT Thunder	Thunder	Darwin, Northern Territory	TIO Stadium	2008	2011	2011, 2015
Redland	Bombers	Brisbane, Queensland	Tidbold Park	1966	2011	—
Southport	Sharks	Gold Coast, Queensland	Fankhauser Reserve	1961	2011	—
Sydney *	Swans	Sydney, New South Wales	SCG	1982	2011	—
Sydney University	Students	Sydney, New South Wales	Henson Park	1863	2012	—
Western Sydney University *	Giants	Sydney, New South Wales	Spotless Stadium	2011	2011	2016

*AFL reserves team

Former clubs

Club	Nickname	Location	Home ground	First season	Last season
Ainslie	Tricolours	Canberra, Australian Capital Territory	Alan Ray Oval	2011	2015
Broadbeach	Cats	Gold Coast, Queensland	H & A Oval	2011	2013
Belconnen	Magpies	Canberra, Australian Capital Territory	Kippax Oval	2011	2014
Labrador	Tigers	Gold Coast, Queensland	Cooke-Murphy Oval	2011	2013
Morningside	Panthers	Brisbane, Queensland	Esplen Oval	2011	2013
Mount Gravatt	Vultures	Brisbane, Queensland	Dittmer Park	2011	2013
Queanbeyan	Tigers	Queanbeyan, New South Wales	Dairy Farmers Park	2011	2014
Sydney Hills	Eagles	Sydney, New South Wales	Bruce Purser Reserve	2012	2014
Tuggeranong	Hawks	Canberra, Australian Capital Territory	Greenway Oval	2011	2013

League awards

Current league awards have been instituted since 2014.^[9]

Premiers

Season	Premier	Runner-up	Score	Margin	Venue
2011	NT Thunder	Ainslie	16.18 (114) - 13.14 (92)	22 points	Traeger Park, Northern Territory
2012	Brisbane Lions	Queanbeyan	11.9 (75) - 22.12 (144)	69 points	Manuka Oval, Australian Capital Territory
2013	Brisbane Lions	Sydney Swans	12.9 (81) - 10.13 (73)	8 points	Graham Road Oval, Queensland
2014	Aspley	Sydney Swans	15.12 (102) - 15.10 (100)	2 points	Graham Road Oval, Queensland
2015	NT Thunder	Aspley	11.15 (81) - 11.14 (80)	1 point	Marrara Oval, Northern Territory
2016	WSU Giants	Sydney Swans	11.16 (82) - 11.12 (78)	4 points	Blacktown International Sportspark, New South Wales

NEAFL MVP award

Season	Player	Club	Votes
2014	Matthew Payne	Aspley	102
2015	Tom Young	Sydney University	86

NEAFL Rising Star

Season	Player	Club
2014	Paul Hunter	Redland
2015	Matt Uebergang	Redland

NEAFL leading goal kicker

Season	Player	Club	Goals
2014	Cleve Hughes	Redland	79
2015	Darren Ewing	NT Thunder	87

NEAFL coach of the year

Season	Player	Club
2014	Xavier Clarke	NT Thunder
2015	Brett Hand	UWS Giants

Former league awards

Grogan Medal (2011–2013)

Main article: Grogan Medal

Awarded to the best and fairest players in the Northern Conference.

Season	Winner	Club	Votes
2011	Matthew Payne Cameron Ilett	Southport NT Thunder	23
2012	Ryan Davey Fraser Pope Tom Salter	Labrador Southport Redland	14
2013	Haydn Kiel^[10]	Southport	21

Mulrooney Medal (2011–2013)

Main article: Mulrooney Medal

For the best and fairest players in the Eastern Conference.

Season	Winner	Club	Votes
2011	Daniel Currie Jarred Moore	Sydney Swans Sydney Swans	16
2012	Shane Harris	Belconnen	16
2013	James Bennett^[11]	Belconnen	21

NEAFL (Northern) Rising Star award (2011–2013)

Awarded to an outstanding young player in the Northern Conference.

Season	Winner	Club
2011	Ross Tungatalum	NT Thunder
2012	Andrew Boston^[12]	Broadbeach
2013	Josh Smith^[13]	Morningside

NEAFL (Eastern) Rising Star award (2011–2013)

Awarded to an outstanding young player in the Eastern Conference

Season	Winner	Club
2011	Hayden Armstrong	Eastlake
2012	Liam Flaherty^[14]	Eastlake
2013	Brent Macleod^[15]	Tuggeranong

Ray Hughson Medal (2011–2013)

Highest goalkicker award for player in Northern Conference

Season	Winner	Club	Goals
2011	Darren Ewing	NT Thunder	115
2012	Tom Kavanagh	Queanbeyan	92
2013	Darren Ewing^[10]	NT Thunder	94

Most successful clubs

Club	Year Established	Leagues	Premiership Years	Premierships (Total)
Southport Football Club	1961	GCAFL 1961–1982 QAFL 1983–2010 NEAFL 2011–	Gold Coast Australian Football League: 1961, 1962, 1966, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980 Queensland Australian Football League: 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2008	21
Eastlake Football Club	1926	CANFL 1926–1974 ACTFL 1975–1999 AFLC 2000–2010 NEAFL 2011–	Canberra Australian National Football League: 1928, 1930, 1933, 1934, 1937, 1942, 1945, 1948, 1957, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1972 Australian Capital Territory Football League: 1976, 1978 AFL Canberra: 2001	19
Aspley Football Club	1964	SQAFA 1964–1992 BAFL 1993–2008 QAFL 2009–2010 NEAFL: 2011–	South Queensland Australian Football Association: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992 Brisbane Australian Football League: 2002 North East Australian Football League: 2014	9
Sydney University Football Club	1948	NSWANFL 1948–1957, 1962–1968 SFA 1971–1987, 1995–2006 SFL 1988–1994 SAFL 2007–2011 NEAFL 2012–	Sydney Football Association: 1981, 1986, 1987, 1997, 2003, 2005 Sydney Football League: 1992	7
Redland Football Club	1966	SQAFA 1966–1992 BAFL 1993–1999 QAFL 2000–2010 NEAFL 2011–	South Queensland Australian Football Association: 1975, 1987 Brisbane Australian Football League 1998, 1999	4
Sydney Swans (reserves)	1874	VFL 1877–1990 VSFL1991–1999 SAFL 2000 AFLC 2003–2010 NEAFL 2011–	AFL Canberra: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008	4
Brisbane Lions (reserves)	1998	QAFL 1998–2010 NEAFL 2011–	Queensland Australian Football League: 2001 North East Australian Football League: 2012, 2013	3
Northern Territory Football Club	2008	QAFL 2009–2010 NEAFL 2011–	North East Australian Football League: 2011, 2015	2
Gold Coast Football Club (reserves)	2011	NEAFL 2011–	nil	0
Greater Western Sydney Giants (reserves)	2011	NEAFL 2011–	North East Australian Football League: 2016	1

References

↑ Archived 14 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
↑ "New look NEAFL announced". North East Australian Football League. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
↑ "No North Queensland team for NEAFL". North East Australian Football League. 30 September 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
↑ "Three teams to leave the NEAFL". North East Australian Football League. 6 August 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
↑ Gaskin, Lee (5 August 2014). "Canberra down to two teams in the NEAFL after Queanbeyan and Belconnen pull out". The Canberra Times.
↑ Polkinghorne, David (17 September 2015). "Ainslie withdraws from NEAFL". The Canberra Times.
↑ Polkinghorne, David (15 January 2016). "Eastlake back Canberra Demons as ACT's only NEAFL team". The Canberra Times.
↑ "Western Sydney University GIANTS". GWS Giants. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
↑ "North East Australian Football League: NEAFL awards night wrap". Neafl.com.au. 2014-08-25. Retrieved 2015-08-29.
1 2 "North East Australian Football League: Southport's Kiel wins Grogan". Neafl.com.au. Retrieved 2015-08-29.
↑ "Bennett wins Mulrooney Medal". Afl Nsw/Act. Retrieved 2015-08-29.
↑ "North East Australian Football League: Boston to make AFL debut". Hosting4.sportingpulse.com. Retrieved 2015-08-29.
↑ "North East Australian Football League: Southport's Kiel wins Grogan". Neafl.com.au. Retrieved 2015-08-29.
↑ "North East Australian Football League: Shane Harris Caps of an Impressive first NEAFL Season". Neafl.com.au. Retrieved 2015-08-29.
↑ "North East Australian Football League: Hawk Brent Macleod wins NAB Rising Star Award". Neafl.com.au. 2013-09-17. Retrieved 2015-08-29.

External links

Australian rules football

Leagues and competitions	National: Australian Football League, AFL Women's Second-tier: Victorian Football League, South Australian National Football League, West Australian Football League, North East Australian Football League Junior: TAC Cup, AFL Under 18 Championships Other: Northern Territory Football League, Queensland Australian Football League, Sydney AFL, Tasmanian Football League

History	History of the VFL/AFL Origins Marn Grook AFL finals series Australian rules football during the World Wars Interstate football

Variations	Relationship between Gaelic football and Australian rules football Auskick Rec Footy International rules football Lightning football Metro Footy Superules VFA rules (1938–1949) Women's Footy

International	Countries playing Australian rules football Australian Football International Cup Tournaments

Awards	Brownlow Medal (Winners) Coleman Medal All-Australian team Norm Smith Medal Australian Football Hall of Fame AFL Rising Star AFL Players Association awards – Leigh Matthews Trophy Best and fairest Goal of the Year Mark of the Year Michael Tuck Medal Sandover Medal Magarey Medal AFL Coaches Association awards

Major recurring events	AFL Grand Final International Rules Series Anzac Day clash The Showdown QClash Western Derby Dreamtime at the 'G Queen's Birthday clash

Culture	Australian popular culture Terms and jargon Footy tipping Australian rules football families Banner AFL Record Video games Mascot Manor Television shows

Related articles	VFL/AFL premiers VFL/AFL coaches VFL/AFL records After the siren kicks First kick/first goal 300 game players 500 goal players

North East Australian Football League

Seasons	2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Teams	Aspley Brisbane Lions Canberra Gold Coast NT Thunder Redland Southport Sydney Swans Sydney University Western Sydney University Giants

Former teams	Ainslie Belconnen Broadbeach Labrador Morningside Mount Gravatt Queanbeyan Sydney Hills Eagles Tuggeranong

Main grounds	Blacktown International Sportspark Fankhauser Reserve Giffin Park Graham Road Oval Henson Park Metricon Stadium SCG Spotless Stadium StarTrack Oval Tidbold Park TIO Stadium

Australian rules football in the Australian Capital Territory

Governing bodies	AFL Canberra AFL NSW/ACT

Leagues	North East Australian Football League

Women's leagues	ACTWAFL

Principal venues	Manuka Oval

NEAFL team	Canberra

Awards	Mulrooney Medal

Australian rules football in Queensland

Governing body	AFL Queensland

Professional clubs	Brisbane Lions Gold Coast Football Club

Major leagues	North East Australian Football League Queensland Australian Football League Queensland Football Association Queensland Amateur Football Association

Regional leagues	Cairns Capricornia Darling Downs Mackay Mount Isa Townsville Wide Bay

Former leagues	League Championship Cup (2011-2014) Bundaberg (1972-1986) Central Highlands (1983-1997) Gold Coast (1961-1996) Maryborough (1981-1983) Sunshine Coast (1970-1992) Wide Bay (1985-1986)

Women's leagues	Queensland Women's Queensland Youth Girls Competition Cairns Women's Capricornia Women's Mackay Women's Townsville Women's

Principal venues	The Gabba Carrara Stadium Cazaly's Stadium

Major events	QClash Broadbeach Vs. Southport

NEAFL teams	Aspley Brisbane Lions Gold Coast Redland Southport

QAFL teams	Broadbeach Labrador Morningside Mt Gravatt Palm Beach Currumbin Sandgate Surfers Paradise UQ Red Lions Western Magpies Wilston Grange

QFA teams	Alexandra Hills Aspley Bond University Burleigh Caloundra Coolangatta Coomera Coorparoo Kenmore Maroochydore Mayne Moreton Bay Nambour & Hinterland Noosa Robina Springwood Yeronga South Brisbane

QAFA (A) teams	Beenleigh Carrara Griffith Moorooka Ipswich Kedron Park Ridge Pine Rivers Redcliffe South East Victoria Point Wynnum

QAFA (B) teams	Ballina Bribie Island Byron Bay Collingwood Park Glasshouse Greater Springfield Gympie Jimboomba Lismore Maroochydore Northshore Noosa Pomona Tweed Coast Woodsmen UQ Red Lions Yeronga-South Brisbane Zillmere

Former major teams	Coorparoo Kedron Grange Locomotives Maroochy Northshore Sherwood South Brisbane Sunshine Coast Valley Windsor Zillmere Wynnum Yeronga

List of clubs	List of Australian rules football clubs in Queensland

Australian rules football in New South Wales

Governing body	AFL NSW/ACT

AFL clubs	Greater Western Sydney Sydney Swans

NEAFL clubs	Sydney Swans reserves Sydney University Western Sydney University (GWS reserves)

Major leagues	NEAFL

Metropolitan leagues	Sydney AFL

Regional leagues	Black Diamond Broken Hill Canberra Central Murray Central West Farrer Golden Rivers Hume Millewa Murray Newcastle North Coast Northern Riverina Ovens & Murray Picola & District QAFA (Northern Rivers) Riverina Sapphire Coast South Coast Sunraysia Tamworth Upper Murray

Women's leagues	Sydney Women's AFL

Defunct leagues	Coreen & District (1909-2007)

Principal venues	Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney Showground Stadium

Related	Sydney Derby List of clubs

Australian rules football in the Northern Territory

Governing body	AFL Northern Territory

Representative team	Northern Territory Football Club

Darwin league	NTFL

Regional leagues	TEAFA CAFL Barkly & District Big Rivers Gove Tiwi Islands

Women's league	Northern Territory Women's Aussie Rules Football Association

NTFL teams	Darwin Nightcliff Palmerston Southern Districts St Mary's Tiwi Bombers Wanderers Waratah

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/15/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.