Talent partnership producing benefits

Western Australia’s most talented young footballers will benefit from a stronger partnership between the WA State Academy and NAB AFL Academy program next season.
 
From 2019, the AFL’s national Academy program will provide an opportunity for 30 West Australian players to attend high performance camps conducted in partnership with the WAFC and State Academy to provide specialised coaching to more players.
 
This will include a mixture of 17 to 19-year-old players as part of a national upgrade to the NAB AFL Academy, announced recently by the AFL.

 
West Australian Football Commission CEO Gavin Taylor welcomed the announcement and said that closer integration of State and National development programs would continue to benefit all parties.
 
“We are committed to being the nation's best State for talent development and see this as another great opportunity for talented WA players to get access to the best coaching and development resources,” he said.
 
“The WAFC launched its new Colts talent development model this year incorporating key national strategies with an additional $1million in funding support from the AFL. This strategic alignment has paved the way for a stronger partnership between WA football and the AFL. The benefits of this will only continue as we further align our approach to talent development.
 
“We also look forward to the opportunities generated by our partnership flowing into other areas of football such as promoting junior participation, engaging new participants and the upcoming launch of the WAFL women’s competition.”

Photo: AFL Academy member and WA State 18s player Ian Hill