Taking homegrown talent to the top: the AFL’s enhanced Pacific pathway

The future of Australian Rules Football is looking bright for both female and male players across the Pacific with the announcement of a new four-year program of support, delivered by the AFL and funded by the Australian Government through PacificAus Sports.  

The program will identify skilful players, coaches and umpires across the Pacific and nurture their talent through high-performance training and development opportunities. A new Talent Academy will also be launched in Vanuatu, building on the existing network of academies across Papua New Guinea (PNG), Nauru and Fiji.

The partnership was announced at the AFL Round 6 Brisbane Lions vs Geelong Cats match at the GABBA in Brisbane. The event was attended by Nauru Foreign Minister, the Hon Lionel Aingimea; Nauru Minister for Sport, the Hon Jesse Jeremiah; Nauru Deputy Minister for Sport, the Hon Maverick Eoe; Nauru High Commissioner to Australia, Her Excellency Camilla Solomon; Papua New Guinea Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science & Technology & Sports, the Hon Don Polye; Papua New Guinea High Commissioner to Australia, the Hon John Ma’o Kali; and CEO of PNG Sports Foundation, Albert Veratau.

“The Australian Government is thrilled to build on our partnership with the AFL through PacificAus Sports to continue providing talented Pacific players, coaches and umpires with pathways to high performance training and development,” says Minister for International Development and the Pacific, the Hon Pat Conroy MP. “Aussie Rules is a uniquely Australian sport, and it’s exciting to see the game continue to grow throughout the region.”

James Ceely, the AFL’s Head of Participation and International, is enthusiastic about the next phase of the game’s development in the Pacific, and confident it will play an important role in unearthing the game’s next generation of star players.  

“The AFL is proud to continue our partnership with the Australian Government through PacificAus Sports, to help identify, develop and grow the Australian rules football talent pool from the Pacific region,” he says.

Discovering stars, changing lives

Pacific players of outstanding ability may be offered the opportunity to join the Talent Academies of the Gold Coast SUNS or the Brisbane Lions, with the chance to gain elite-level competition experience in Queensland.

It’s a pathway modelled on the inspirational journey taken by Port Moresby-born Hewago Paul Oea, who features in the 2024 line-up for the SUNS. Better known as ‘Ace’, Hewago was introduced to AFL ‘Nuikick’ (the PNG version of Auskick) when he was just 12, was playing for his country at 15, and by 17 had joined the SUNS Academy. In 2022, Ace was the first player to run onto the field in a first-grade match with an Australian club, having come through a Pacific pathway. 

“I’m super thankful for the pathways that have allowed me to reach my dream of playing in the AFL,” says Ace. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of great people who helped me develop as a player in Papua New Guinea and Australia.”

The women’s game is making inroads in PNG, too, according to Zimmorlei Farquharson, a rising star of the AFLW. Zimmorlei, whose mother is from PNG, played three seasons with the Brisbane Lions, before moving to the Western Bulldogs for 2024.

“I am so excited to hear that the partnership between the AFL and PacificAus Sports is continuing, providing an incredible opportunity for future generations of players like me. Being part of program pathways like this changed my life, and now I get to live the dream of playing a sport I love for an AFL Women’s club.”

Both Ace and Zimmorlei have stories that prove the potential for the AFL’s professional development pathways to discover stars – and transform lives.

“I am very passionate about seeing more Pasifika players follow in my footsteps and be given opportunities to hopefully play alongside me in the AFL and possibly the Gold Coast SUNS one day,” says Ace. “It’s an opportunity that has changed my life. The PacificAus Sports program will give other athletes from the Pacific region the opportunity to be the best they can be as Australian rules footballers and hopefully make it all the way to the elite level.”