Townsville Aussie rules: Region’s top 64 junior rising stars revealed

The next generation of Townsville rising Aussie rules talents who could enter the AFL or AFLW with a bang have been identified from every junior club. See the full list of junior stars.

Top Townsville junior Aussie rules talents. Pictures: John Zohn, Picasa, Jess Susan Photography and Facebook.

The Townsville region is continuing to shine in the sport of Aussie rules football with a number of junior stars impressing at a club, school and representative level.

From Curra to the Northern Beaches, players are wearing their guernseys with pride as they hope to continue their on-field success.

Townsville AFL participation manager Joel Newman said there had been rapid growth in the region’s junior competitions every year for the past five years.

“The most exciting areas of growth are in junior female, Auskick and school competitions,” Newman said.

“I think this is due to the commitment of our clubs who work hard to ensure the environment around training and match days are positive for the kids.

Kirwan playing Mercy College in the NQ AFL Schools Cup.

“The AFL brand is becoming much more recognisable in Townsville as most kids now have a favourite AFL team.

“With the success of the two Queensland-based clubs we hope this support of the elite competition will continue to grow.”

Newman said he was proud of the efforts and achievements that these junior players had achieved, crediting the work of Townsville’s affiliation with the Gold Coast Suns.

“We have had some terrific achievements through our talent pathways,” he said.

“We are extremely lucky to be a part of the Gold Coast Suns Academy zone which allows our kids to be exposed to the same drills and information that elite AFL players receive.

“This is an amazing pathway that will hopefully see a few Townsville-based kids move on to big things over the next five years.”

Click on the stories below to see the full list of junior stars.

Originally published as Townsville Aussie rules: Region’s top 64 junior rising stars revealed