U16 All Australian and QBE Sydney Swans Academy U16 MVP Monte Cairns in action at the recent U16 Championships.

There's been plenty happening in the QBE Sydney Swans Academy, here's the latest from the week that was.

We are thrilled to announce four QBE Sydney Swans Academy athletes were named as All Australians this week.

Lachlan Carmichael was named in the U18 All-Australian team after a strong National Championships for the Allies which saw the defender win the team's MVP Award.

The club also had three players named as All Australians following the conclusion of the recent U16 National Championships. Congratulations to Monte Cairns (who was also the QBE Swans Academy MVP, Duke Marshall - Orr and Charles McClennan on their selection.

Lachy Carmichael in action for the Allies.

On Friday five Under 18 Top End Male athletes lined up in the Swans VFL side that were 28-point victors  against an in-form GWS outfit. Congratulations Kaiden McNamara and Max King who both kicked 2 goals apiece and debutants Lachlan Carmichael, Noah Chamberlain and Harry Kyle for their impact in the game. 

Max King celebrates a goal in the VFL game against GWS. Image: Keith McInnes

The fixtures against our cross-town rivals continued on Saturday, with our Top End Male and Female U17 Futures teams defeating GWS in their matches at Blacktown.

Our coaches were extremely impressed by every athlete's individual development throughout the season which led to both teams producing convincing wins.

Scores as follows:

U17 FUTURES BOYS 

QBE SWANS ACADEMY 19.9.123 

GWS 6.6.42 

U17 FUTURES GIRLS

QBE SWANS ACADEMY 11.5.71

GWS 1.3.9

There was also strong red and white representation on Sunday, with nine of our Top End Under 18 and 17 Females playing in the final Allies Game against QLD.

In a performance which made Allies and QBE Academy coach Tanya Hetherington proud, the Allies were 5-point victors against a strong QLD outfit at Brighton Homes Arena in Brisbane. Congratulations to our athletes, Madeleine Quinn, Molly Thomas, Lucinda Watson, Grace Parsons, Alex Neyland, Grace Tracey, Frances Walsh, Charlotte Tidemann and Kiera Yerbury who co-captained the side in the final game.

Our QBE Sydney Swans Allies representatives.

In other news, 44 ARA First Nations Boys and Girls were apart of our recent trip to the Northern Territory.  Players were selected following games between the QBE Swans Academy and the ARA First Nations Academy earlier this year with the program a key component of the club’s First Nations strategy. To read and see more about this trip click HERE.

We also had several visitors to the club last week. We welcomed AFL Graduate Program student Bella Logie-Smith from AFL House in Melbourne to the team. Bella did a one week immersion with our program and got a sense of all the different aspects that make up the QBE Sydney Swans Academy.

We also welcomed students from the University of Florida into Swans HQ, and educated them on all things AFL and strength and conditioning. The students got a tour of our facility, learnt all about the high-performance measures we have in place for our Top End athletes and tried their hand at kicking a footy.... it wasn't as easy for them as our athletes make it look!

With two more weeks left of our Youth program, focus will now go to our upcoming assessment trials.

If you or someone you know wants to be a part of the 2026 QBE Sydney Swans Academy and is born between 2010 - 2015, you could be eligible to participate in our upcoming Open Assessment or Talent Assessment trials. 

Click HERE for the trial information.

Make sure you're following the QBE Sydney Swans on Instagram to stay up to date with all the news on the next generation of footy talent!