THE link in the AFL chain from promising junior to AFL draftee is being strengthened with new entity South Coast Thunder joining the Sydney AFL Division One under 19s competition this season.
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The AFL South Coast-backed Thunder replace the Illawarra Lions who withdrew from Sydney AFL at the end of last season, after the Lions 19s played finals the previous two years.
With the support of AFL South Coast rather than one club, the Thunder are a more viable longterm option in developing the regions top youngsters and giving them a shot at playing AFL.
Thunder 19s coach David Forst says some of the top Sydney clubs will be more experienced and have a greater mix of players in the 18-19 years age band, but the Thunder will be very competitive.
‘‘This year we will have a bigger group of 16 and 17-year-olds compared to many other sides, but bringing them through and getting the experience into them will be a great benefit next year,’’ Forst said.
‘‘I see us in the mix to play finals and being very competitive. This is a new program and it’ll be a bit of a development year but it’s still a great opportunity for the top young players.
‘‘At the end of the day the Thunder is about promoting our best young players and having that pathway from juniors to senior football.
‘‘We’d love to develop another Aidan Riley and have a third player make the AFL from our area.’’
The Illawarra South Coast has a strong base of talented juniors and before the Lions withdrew from the Sydney AFL 19s comp in 2014, the Lions made the preliminary final in 2013 and grand final in 2012 in the elite 19s First Division.
The Thunder will be a mix of rep juniors from South Coast and Illawarra, including the Illawarra Storm program, plus players in the Sydney Swans Academy.
Last year five Illawarra juniors played for the Swans reserves, up from three or four players just a couple of years earlier.
‘‘The pathway is all geared towards reaching the next level in a junior’s career, from under 12s through to the Swans Academy and the Thunder and hopefully being drafted into the AFL,’’ said Forst.
Among the top young Thunder players is promising forward Samuel Wilson who played in the Lions senior team as a teenager, plus onballer Callum McFadden - a Figtree Kangaroos junior - who last year won the Kieren Jack Trophy as the best young player in Sydney AFL.
The Thunder begin their season away to last season’s grand finalists North Shore on Saturday week, April 11 at Gore Hill Oval.
AFL South Coast aspire to have a senior side return to the Sydney AFL competition as early as next year.
Officials believe the structure of having a regional entity will be more viable longterm than entering a single club like the Illawarra Lions.