Expansion 62 AFL listed NSW Players

[Professor Knowall]

For those interested, I did a thread like his for a few years some 10 years back, listing players in expansion states, under SoO rules (thus place of birth is completely irrelevant but rather their place of residence and/or junior club when aged from 11-17). I have also included the comparatively few Canberra players in the list. Obviously this can be used to pick a pretty handy SoO team if you want.

For NSW, the AFL listed number have about doubled since the introduction of GWS (my first list back then had 33), and if all these played in NSW there would be enough players for 1.5 club lists before any imported players are added. These numbers reflect the big growth in grass roots numbers in NSW (I count 24 from outside the strong Australian Football area of the Riverina and far west) and seem to justify the existence of a second club in what is the most populous market in the country.

Finally, there's little chance such a large list is without some error or omission. I'll edit any errors pointed out accordingly (or alternatively argue the case). Anyway, here it is -

1 Taylor Walker Adel North Broken Hill

2 Paul Hunter Adel Warners Bay (Newcastle)

3 Ben Davis, Adel UNSW-Eastern Suburbs (Sydney)

4 Elliott Himmelberg GWS Mangoplah-Cookardinia (near Wagga Wagga)

5 Matthew Kennedy Carl Collingullie (near Wagga Wagga)

6 Harrison Macreadie Carl Henty (Riverina)

7 Michael Gibbons Carl Lavington (Albury)

8 Will Setterfield Carl Scots (Albury)

9 Sam Murray Coll Henty (Riverina)

10 Max Lynch Coll Jindera (near Albury)

11 Kobe Mutch Ess Gol-Gol (western NSW)

12 Michael Hartley Ess Penrith (Sydney)

13 Tom Hawkins Gee Finley (Riverina)

14 Anthony Miles GCS North Albury

15 Jarrod Witts GCS St Ives (Sydney)

16 Phil Davis GWS Marist College (Canberra)

17 Jacob Hopper GWS Leeton-Whitton (Riverina)

18 Isaac Cumming GWS North Broken Hill

19 Harrison Himmelberg GWS Mangoplah-Cookardinia (near Wagga Wagga)

20 Zach Sproule GWS Albury

21 Zach Williams GWS Narrandera (Riverina)

22 Matthew Flynn GWS Narrandera (Riverina)

23 Jeremy Finlayson GWS Culcairn (Riverina)

24 Kieren Briggs GWS Pennant Hills (Sydney)

25 Nick Shipley GWS St George (Sydney)

26 Harry Perryman GWS Collingullie (near Wagga Wagga)

27 Daniel Lloyd GWS Killarney Vale (Central Coast)

28 Jake Stein GWS Penrith (Sydney)

29 Jack Buckley GWS UNSW-Eastern Suburbs (Sydney)

30 Isaac Smith Haw Temora (central west NSW)

31 Daniel Howe Haw Rennie (Riverina)

32 Luke Breust Haw Temora (central west NSW)

33 Will Langford Haw UNSW-Eastern Suburbs (Sydney)

34 Matthew Walker Haw Albury

35 Jacob Koschitzke Haw Albury

36 Charlie Spargo Mel Scots (Albury)

37 Aaron Vandenburg Mel Tathra (South Coast)

38 Todd Marshall Port Deniliquin (Riverina)

39 Dougal Howard Port East Wagga-Kooringal

40 Jacob Townsend Rich Leeton-Whitton (Riverina)

41 Ryan Garthwaite Rich Corowa (Riverina)

42 Derek Eggmolesse-Smith Rich Wentworth (western NSW)

43 Ivan Soldo Rich Canberra

44 Jack Steele StK Belconnen (Canberra)

45 Logan Austin StK Belconnen (Canberra)

46 Josh Bruce StK Eastlake (Canberra)

47 Doulton Langlands StK North Albury

48 Sam Rowe StK North Albury

49 Jarrod McVeigh Syd Pennant Hills (Sydney)

50 Isaac Heeney Syd Cardiff (Newcastle)

51 Harry Cunningham Syd Turvey Park (Wagga Wagga)

52 Callum Mills Syd Mosman (Sydney)

53 Kieren Jack Syd Pennant Hills (Sydney)

54 Nick Blakey Syd UNSW-Eastern Suburbs (Sydney)

55 Dane Rampe Syd UNSW-Eastern Suburbs (Sydney)

56 James Bell Syd Shell Harbour (Wollongong)

57 Sam Naismith Syd Gunnedah (Northern NSW)

58 Samuel Wicks Syd Manly-Warringah (Sydney)

59 Jarrod Brander WCE Wentworth (western NSW)

60 Matt Suckling WB East Wagga Wagga

61 Taylor Duryea WB Corowa (Riverina)

62 Sam Lloyd WB Deniliquin (Riverina)

 

[Guardian Hawk]

Rushed go at a 22...

B: D.Rampe, J.Finlayson, C.Mills
HB: J.McVeigh, P.Davis, Z.Williams
C: I.Smith, J.Steele, I.Cumming
HF: M.Suckling, J.Bruce, S.Lloyd
F: H.Himmelberg, T.Hawkins, L.Breust
R: J.Witts, J.Hopper, I.Heeney
I: T.Walker, A.Miles, D.Howe, T.Duryea

Would probably give SA a run for its money at the moment

 

[raymond35]

Love the ruck division, Witts Hopper Heeney. 3 players in killer form.

 

[RUNVS]

Rushed go at a 22...

B: D.Rampe, J.Finlayson, C.Mills
HB: J.McVeigh, P.Davis, Z.Williams
C: I.Smith, J.Steele, I.Cumming
HF: M.Suckling, J.Bruce, S.Lloyd
F: H.Himmelberg, T.Hawkins, L.Breust
R: J.Witts, J.Hopper, I.Heeney
I: T.Walker, A.Miles, D.Howe, T.Duryea

Would probably give SA a run for its money at the moment

I personally think that team would beat South Australia. Damned good rebound defenders with Willams and Rampe too.

 

[scoman]

Is a very strong squad possibly the best depth NSW has had to pick a hypothetical side from. Wowsers.

 

[ShadeyP]

Rushed go at a 22...

B: D.Rampe, J.Finlayson, C.Mills
HB: J.McVeigh, P.Davis, Z.Williams
C: I.Smith, J.Steele, I.Cumming
HF: M.Suckling, J.Bruce, S.Lloyd
F: H.Himmelberg, T.Hawkins, L.Breust
R: J.Witts, J.Hopper, I.Heeney
I: T.Walker, A.Miles, D.Howe, T.Duryea

Would probably give SA a run for its money at the moment

Was the first thing i thought of as well looking through the list .... would be a good even battle , slight edge to NSW .
My SA team below :

B: R.Laird .... T.Jonas ... M.Redman
HB: B.Smith ... S.Hurn .... R.Burton
C: W.Milera .... L.Neale .... J.Polec
HF: O.Fantasia . A.Francis .. C.Rozee
F: S.Edwards .. S.Lycett ... C.Wingard
R: B.Grundy .... G.Hewett ... J.Redden
I: B.Ebert .... C.Daniel ... L.McCarthy ... J.Westhoff

Probably missed someone as but overall a well balanced team with plenty of pace , skill and x-factor .

 

[fridgeman]

Good to see the growth in numbers and without looking in more detail it seems a significant increase in numbers in the 19-21 age and hoping to see those players stay in the AFL system and I think in 5 years time the number will increase by another 20 and not all down to the academies but they are certainly helping develop the players and show teenagers and parents the path to a high level in the sport.
1 thing I am noticing this year in the NEAFL is the number of ex academy players starting to play starring roles in the non afl teams which will increase the standard but also ex AFL listed players joining the league and this is important for the development of the players and game in the northern states

 

[DERRINALPHIL]

Can't help thinking that all the players south of Wagga are really Northern Victorians. People from the Riverina play Aussie rules more than League and travel to Melbourne rather than Sydney. I would like to know if the number of NSW players from the rest of NSW has increased since GWS came into the AFL.

 

[Gigantor]

62 footballers from NSW is a fantastic number, unthinkable even 15 years ago, it shows how much the Northern academies have contributed.

 

[basashi]

Does anyone know the difference between the determinations on Betts and Hawkins? Both were in Victoria for schooling for a large part of the SoO period requirements. Schooling residence is meant to be discounted, as it is with Hawkins. Betts treated differently even though his family home started in Kalgoorlie and switched to SA. Discounting out his schooling residence in Victoria, shouldn't he be SA SoO? (Not that it is going to matter any time soon!)

 

[Professor Knowall]

Can't help thinking that all the players south of Wagga are really Northern Victorians. People from the Riverina play Aussie rules more than League and travel to Melbourne rather than Sydney. ...

Having lived for a bit some years back in Albury, I can safely say the biggest insult one can make to them is to call them Victorian!

... I would like to know if the number of NSW players from the rest of NSW has increased since GWS came into the AFL.

When I first did this list in 2008, the total NSW number was in the mid thirties with the overwhelming majority from the Riverina and Western regions. I now count 24 of the 62 from non traditional football areas such as Sydney, Newcastle etc. So yes, the number from 'the rest' has increased substantially.

 

[Professor Knowall]

Does anyone know the difference between the determinations on Betts and Hawkins? Both were in Victoria for schooling for a large part of the SoO period requirements. Schooling residence is meant to be discounted, as it is with Hawkins. Betts treated differently even though his family home started in Kalgoorlie and switched to SA. Discounting out his schooling residence in Victoria, shouldn't he be SA SoO? (Not that it is going to matter any time soon!)

Hawkins grew up in Finley in the NSW Riverina and first played for the Finley FC, so despite attending boarding school in Victoria, he clearly belongs to NSW under SoO rules. As for Betts, I note he first played junior footy at Kalgoorlie but sometime by or at the age of 15 he had moved with his mother to SA. It would depend where he spent the majority of time from age 12-17. Sounds like it would be a close call.

 

[RUNVS]

Also genuine question. If you took the top 45 players from the list above, put them all in the same AFL squad where do you think this team would be coming in the 2019 premiership season?

 

[raymond35]

Also genuine question. If you took the top 45 players from the list above, put them all in the same AFL squad where do you think this team would be coming in the 2019 premiership season?

Would be challenging Geelong for top spot i would say.

 

[RUNVS]

Would be challenging Geelong for top spot i would say.

Only slight question mark on the team would be no truly out and out star midfielders. Some very good midfielders for sure, but no All Australian quality midfielders. The rest of the team looks really really solid though.

 

[Guardian Hawk]

Was the first thing i thought of as well looking through the list .... would be a good even battle , slight edge to NSW .
My SA team below :

B: R.Laird .... T.Jonas ... M.Redman
HB: B.Smith ... S.Hurn .... R.Burton
C: W.Milera .... L.Neale .... J.Polec
HF: O.Fantasia . A.Francis .. C.Rozee
F: S.Edwards .. S.Lycett ... C.Wingard
R: B.Grundy .... G.Hewett ... J.Redden
I: B.Ebert .... C.Daniel ... L.McCarthy ... J.Westhoff

Probably missed someone as but overall a well balanced team with plenty of pace , skill and x-factor .

I think that named SA would really struggle to contain Hawkins, Himmelberg, Bruce (or Walker), etc as there are no real genuine key defenders even if the depth/bench still appears to be stronger.

 

[RUNVS]

There is no rivalry between NSW/ACT and South Australia but the AFL still need to make this match happen. It would be great to watch.

 

[ShadeyP]

I think that named SA would really struggle to contain Hawkins, Himmelberg, Bruce (or Walker), etc as there are no real genuine key defenders even if the depth/bench still appears to be stronger.

Agree , we would have to go in with a high pressure game and zone press defense to utilize our strengths to come up with the goods .

 

[35Daicos]

For those interested, I did a thread like his for a few years some 10 years back, listing players in expansion states, under SoO rules (thus place of birth is completely irrelevant but rather their place of residence and/or junior club when aged from 11-17). I have also included the comparatively few Canberra players in the list. Obviously this can be used to pick a pretty handy SoO team if you want.

For NSW, the AFL listed number have about doubled since the introduction of GWS (my first list back then had 33), and if all these played in NSW there would be enough players for 1.5 club lists before any imported players are added. These numbers reflect the big growth in grass roots numbers in NSW (I count 24 from outside the strong Australian Football area of the Riverina and far west) and seem to justify the existence of a second club in what is the most populous market in the country.

Finally, there's little chance such a large list is without some error or omission. I'll edit any errors pointed out accordingly (or alternatively argue the case). Anyway, here it is -

1 Taylor Walker Adel North Broken Hill

2 Paul Hunter Adel Warners Bay (Newcastle)

3 Ben Davis, Adel UNSW-Eastern Suburbs (Sydney)

4 Matthew Kennedy Carl Collingullie (near Wagga Wagga)

5 Harrison Macreadie Carl Henty (Riverina)

6 Michael Gibbons Carl Lavington (Albury)

7 Will Setterfield Carl Scots (Albury)

8 Sam Murray Coll Henty (Riverina)

9 Max Lynch Coll Jindera (near Albury)

10 Kobe Mutch Ess Gol-Gol (western NSW)

11 Michael Hartley Ess Penrith (Sydney)

12 Tom Hawkins Gee Finley (Riverina)

13 Anthony Miles GCS North Albury

14 Jarrod Witts GCS St Ives (Sydney)

15 Phil Davis GWS Marist College (Canberra)

16 Jacob Hopper GWS Leeton-Whitton (Riverina)

17 Isaac Cumming GWS North Broken Hill

18 Harrison Himmelberg GWS Mangoplah-Cookardinia (near Wagga Wagga)

19 Zach Sproule GWS Albury

20 Zach Williams GWS Narrandera (Riverina)

21 Matthew Flynn GWS Narrandera (Riverina)

22 Jeremy Finlayson GWS Culcairn (Riverina)

23 Kieren Briggs GWS Pennant Hills (Sydney)

24 Nick Shipley GWS St George (Sydney)

25 Harry Perryman GWS Collingullie (near Wagga Wagga)

26 Daniel Lloyd GWS Killarney Vale (Central Coast)

27 Jake Stein GWS Penrith (Sydney)

28 Jack Buckley GWS UNSW-Eastern Suburbs (Sydney)

29 Isaac Smith Haw Temora (central west NSW)

30 Daniel Howe Haw Rennie (Riverina)

31 Luke Breust Haw Temora (central west NSW)

32 Will Langford Haw UNSW-Eastern Suburbs (Sydney)

33 Matthew Walker Haw Albury

34 Jacob Koschitzke Haw Albury

35 Charlie Spargo Mel Scots (Albury)

36 Aaron Vandenburg Mel Tathra (South Coast)

37 Todd Marshall Port Deniliquin (Riverina)

38 Aidyn Johnson Port Moama (Riverina)

39 Dougal Howard Port East Wagga-Kooringal

40 Jacob Townsend Rich Leeton-Whitton (Riverina)

41 Ryan Garthwaite Rich Corowa (Riverina)

42 Derek Eggmolesse-Smith Rich Wentworth (western NSW)

43 Ivan Soldo Rich Canberra

44 Jack Steele StK Belconnen (Canberra)

45 Logan Austin StK Belconnen (Canberra)

46 Josh Bruce StK Eastlake (Canberra)

47 Doulton Langlands StK North Albury

48 Sam Rowe StK North Albury

49 Jarrod McVeigh Syd Pennant Hills (Sydney)

50 Isaac Heeney Syd Cardiff (Newcastle)

51 Harry Cunningham Syd Turvey Park (Wagga Wagga)

52 Callum Mills Syd Mosman (Sydney)

53 Kieren Jack Syd Pennant Hills (Sydney)

54 Nick Blakey Syd UNSW-Eastern Suburbs (Sydney)

55 Dane Rampe Syd UNSW-Eastern Suburbs (Sydney)

56 James Bell Syd Shell Harbour (Wollongong)

57 Sam Naismith Syd Gunnedah (Northern NSW)

58 Samuel Wicks Syd Manly-Warringah (Sydney)

59 Jarrod Brander WCE Wentworth (western NSW)

60 Matt Suckling WB East Wagga Wagga

61 Taylor Duryea WB Corowa (Riverina)

62 Sam Lloyd WB Deniliquin (Riverina)

Elliott Himmelberg only moved to Queensland in 2016, the year he was drafted, so really could only be a NSW(/ACT) player. Aidyn Johnson is an interesting one, but I believe he's from Victoria rather than NSW. In the AFL Season Guide he's said to be from "Moama (NSW), Scotch College (Vic), Bendigo U18", yet his family was living at Echuca (Vic). at the time he was drafted, he went to school at Echuca, and was said to be from there and representing Vic. Country when he was in the AFL Academy. Perhaps he just went over the border to play for Moama at one stage when he was a junior, and that has caused him to appear as if he's from NSW?

 

[CharlieMortdecai]

When I first did this list in 2008, the total NSW number was in the mid thirties with the overwhelming majority from the Riverina and Western regions. I now count 24 of the 62 from non traditional football areas such as Sydney, Newcastle etc. So yes, the number from 'the rest' has increased substantially.

I only count 20, unless you are saying Gol Gol, Wentworth and Temora are not traditional footy areas?

 

[Professor Knowall]

Elliott Himmelberg only moved to Queensland in 2016, the year he was drafted, so really could only be a NSW(/ACT) player. Aidyn Johnson is an interesting one, but I believe he's from Victoria rather than NSW. In the AFL Season Guide he's said to be from "Moama (NSW), Scotch College (Vic), Bendigo U18", yet his family was living at Echuca (Vic). at the time he was drafted, he went to school at Echuca, and was said to be from there and representing Vic. Country when he was in the AFL Academy. Perhaps he just went over the border to play for Moama at one stage when he was a junior, and that has caused him to appear as if he's from NSW?

Thank you - As per the OP, I knew I couldn't get through that many without some error/s. Pleasantly surprised that only 2 have been identified (so far). I've updated the list to include Elliott Himmelberg and exclude Johnson accordingly. I'll update the Queensland list sometime today as well.

 

[Professor Knowall]

I only count 20, unless you are saying Gol Gol, Wentworth and Temora are not traditional footy areas?

I included Gol Gol and Wentworth in the traditional footy area but not Temora, as rugby league is still probably ahead there (Temora have produced a good number of NRL players for its size) though it's now getting close. In any case, I've drilled down the numbers a bit more -
Sydney - 14
Newcastle/Central Coast - 3
Canberra - 5
At or near Albury - 10
At or near Wagga - 7
Rest of Riverina - 13
Far West - 5
The rest - 5
The rest includes the 2 Hawks from Temora plus 1 rep each from the South Coast, Wollongong and Northern NSW.