The Northern Knights is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

club playing in the

NAB League The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victo ...

, the top statewide under-18 competition in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. They are based in

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

, representing the northern suburban area of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

. The Knights are one of the six original clubs set up as part of a plan by the Victorian State Football League to replace the traditional club zones with independent junior clubs. This was to help aid in player development and the process of the

AFL draft The Australian Football League draft is the annual draft of unsigned players, especially new nominations, by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League (AFL). History W ...

, which allows U18 players the opportunity to be selected by AFL clubs. Northern Knights have had many of their players drafted into the AFL, including the first two selections in the

2007 AFL Draft The 2007 Australian Football League draft consisted of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2007/08 Australian Football League off-season. These were trade week, the national draft, which was held on 24 November 2007, the pre-s ...

Matthew Kreuzer Matthew Kreuzer (born 13 May 1989) is a retired professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was selected first overall pick in the 2007 AFL Draft. He announced h ...

and

Trent Cotchin Trent William Cotchin (born 7 April 1990) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a Brownlow Medallist, an All-Australian, a three-time Richmond best and fairest ...

, and the fifth selection in the 2008 AFL Draft, Michael Hurley. Previously drafted players include

Anthony Rocca Anthony Rocca (born 15 August 1977) is a former Australian rules footballer who has played with the Sydney Swans and Collingwood in the Australian Football League. Rocca is currently serving as North Melbourne's development coach. Sydney ...

Brent Harvey Brent Harvey (born 14 May 1978), often known by his nickname "Boomer", is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He holds the record for most matches played ...

, Jack Grimes,

Lance Whitnall Lance Whitnall (born 23 August 1979) is a former Australian rules footballer, and a former captain of the Carlton Football Club. Early career (1997–1999) Debuting in 1997 as a 17-year-old, the young Whitnall was recruited in the 1996 AFL D ...

, Brent Stanton,

Heath Shaw Heath Shaw (born 27 November 1985) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club and the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). Heath grew up in Diamond Creek and played jun ...

Marcus Bontempelli Marcus Bontempelli (born 24 November 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has served as Western Bulldogs captain since the 2020 season, and was previ ...

and

David Zaharakis David Zaharakis (born 21 February 1990) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Zaharakis attended Our Lady Help of Christians Primary S ...

.Northern Knights honour roll
/ref>

Honours

*Premierships (4): 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 *Runners-up: Nil *Wooden Spoons (4): 2000, 2004, 2008, 2016

AFL Draftees History

*1992: Daniel Tramontana, Gerard Power, John Barker *1993: Shannon Gibson, Chris Johnson,

Angelo Lekkas Angelo Lekkas (born 29 June 1976) is a former Australian rules footballer who played his entire professional career with the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). After a stellar year playing in the TAC competition wit ...

Adam Simpson Adam Simpson (born 16 February 1976) is a former Australian rules footballer who is the current premiership coach of the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). A left-footed midfielder, his playing career for spanned fro ...

, Justin Mallon *1994:

Daniel Harford Daniel Harford (born 19 March 1977) is the senior coach of the Carlton Football Club in the AFL Women's league and a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club and Carlton Football Club in the Australian Footbal ...

, Blake Caracella, Stuart Mangin,

Michael Polley Michael Robert Polley (born 4 November 1949 in Westbury, Tasmania) is a Labor Party politician and former member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly in the Division of Lyons. First elected in 1972 at age 22 he was the longest-serving member of ...

, Matthew Collins,

Gary Moorcroft Gary Moorcroft (born 16 April 1976) is a former Australian rules football player for Essendon and Melbourne in the Australian Football League (AFL). Moorcroft caught the attention of talent scouts by winning the Morrish Medal in 1994 whils ...

, Danny Stevens,

Robert Powell Robert Powell (; born 1 June 1944) is an English actor who is known for the title roles in ''Mahler'' (1974) and '' Jesus of Nazareth'' (1977), and for his portrayal of secret agent Richard Hannay in '' The Thirty Nine Steps'' (1978) and its ...

, Dean Grainer *1995: Simon Prestigiacomo, Shane Clayton,

Paul Licuria Paul Licuria (born 4 January 1978) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans and Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). AFL career Sydney Swans Licuria was drafted to in ...

Andrew Ukovic Andrew Ukovic (born 23 November 1978) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon and Collingwood in the Australian Football League (AFL). Ukovic was from West Coburg, but drafted from the Northern Knights of the TAC Cup ...

, Luke Godden, Scott Grainger,

Ewan Thompson Ewan Thompson (born 29 March 1977) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Richmond in the Australian Football League (AFL) in 1997. He was recruited from the Northern Knights in the TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also refer ...

Daniel Lowther Daniel Lowther (born 19 April 1977) is the coach of the Geelong AFLW team, and is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong in the Australian Football League (AFL). Lowther was originally from Diamond Creek, but drafted out ...

*1996: Lucas Fleming,

Jim Plunkett James William Plunkett (born December 5, 1947) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for sixteen seasons. He achieved his greatest professional success during his final eight seasons with the ...

, Andrew Eccles *1997:

Nick Stevens Nick Stevens (born 3 January 1980) is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League and former coach of South Australian National Football League club Glenelg. He played in four pre-season premierships, with Port Adel ...

, Lionel Proctor, Trent Hoppner, Troy Kirwen, Frankie Raso *1998: Brad Oborne, Nicolas Lowther *1999:

Rhyce Shaw Rhyce Shaw (born 16 October 1981) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club and Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the former senior coach of the North Melbourne ...

, Paul Wheatley,

Ben Johnson Ben, Benjamin or Benny Johnson may refer to: In sports Association football * Ben Johnson (footballer, born 2000), English footballer * Ben Johnson (soccer) (born 1977), American soccer player Other codes of football *Ben Johnson (Australian foot ...

*2000: - *2001:

Shane Harvey Shane Harvey is a former Australian rules footballer. Career He was drafted by the Essendon Football Club in the 2001 AFL Draft at pick 18 in the first round from the Northern Knights. He played 11 games with Essendon before being delisted a ...

Leigh Montagna Leigh “Joey” Montagna (; born 2 November 1983) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A two time All-Australian, Montagna finished his career 7 ...

, Ben Finnin, Brent Colbert, Mark McKenzie *2002: Tim Walsh *2003: Brent Stanton, Brayden Shaw,

Ricky Dyson Ricky Dyson (born 28 September 1985) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Originally from the Epping Football Club, and drafted at number 44 in ...

*2004: Adam Pattison, Ryan Willits *2005:

Ben McKinley Benjamin "Ben" McKinley (born 4 March 1987) is an Australian rules footballer who previously played for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the West Coast Eagles. Early life McKi ...

Jack Anthony Jack Anthony may refer to: *Jack Anthony (hurler) (1886–1964), Kilkenny sportsperson *Jack Anthony (jockey) (1890–1954), Welsh champion jockey * Jack Anthony (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter, composer and musician *Jack Anthon ...

, Ryan Jackson, Cathal Corr, Paul Currie, Andre Gianfagna *2006: Daniel Currie *2007:

Patrick Veszpremi Patrick Veszpremi (born 1 September 1989) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Sydney Swans and Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Originally from Bundoora, Victoria, Veszpremi was drafted by Sydne ...

, Jack Grimes, Brett Meredith *2008: Michael Hurley,

, Michael Still, Luke Stanton *2009:

Sam Grimley Sam Grimley (born 3 January 1991) is a former Australian rules football player who played for the Hawthorn Football Club and Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League. After Hawthorn won the 2008 premiership, the Hawthorn rec ...

Dylan Grimes Dylan Grimes (born 16 July 1991) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a three-time premiership player with the club, winning in 2017, 2019 and 2020. In 2019 ...

, Jaryd Cachia *2010:

Josh Caddy Joshua Nicholas Caddy (born 28 September 1992) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who last played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Gold Coast Football Club fr ...

, Tom Hill *2011: Billy Longer,

Jack Newnes Jack Newnes (6 June 1895 – 3 February 1969) was a Welsh professional footballer who played as a half-back. He played amateur football while working as a collier and a steel worker prior to entering professional football with Bolton Wanderers ...

, Michael Mascoulis *2012:

Nick Vlastuin Nicholas Alexander Leendert Vlastuin (; born 19 April 1994) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a three-time premiership player with the club, winni ...

Aidan Corr Aidan Corr (born 17 May 1994) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having previously played for the Greater Western Sydney Giants . The Giants d ...

Nathan Hrovat Nathan Hrovat (born 7 June 1994) is a former Australian rules footballer who most recently played in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the North Melbourne Football Club. He previously played for the Western Bulldogs from 2013 to 2016. He ...

*2013:

Ben Lennon Ben Lennon (born 5 July 1995) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was an under-18 All Australian before becoming a first round AFL draft p ...

*2014: Kyle Langford, Reece McKenzie,

Jayden Short Jayden Short (born 24 January 1996) is an Australian rules footballer currently playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was a premiership player with Richmond in 2019 and 2020, and in 2020 won the club ...

Jason Castagna Jason Castagna ( ; born 12 July 1996) is a former professional Australian rules football player for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a triple premiership player with Richmond. Castagna announced his reti ...

*2015:

Jade Gresham Jade Gresham (born 24 August 1997) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted as pick 18 in the 2015 AFL draft. AFL career 2016 season He made his deb ...

, Brayden Fiorini, Brayden Sier, Tyrone Leonardis,

Darcy Macpherson Darcy Macpherson (born 29 October 1997) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Gold Coast Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the son of former player, Stephen Macpherson. He was drafted by the Gold Coast ...

*2016: Patrick Lipinski, Matthew Signorello *2017:

Nick Coffield Nicholas John Coffield (born 23 October 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by St Kilda with their second selection and eighth overall ...

, Patrick Naish,

Jack Petruccelle Jack Petruccelle (born 12 April 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). Petruccelle attended Marymede Catholic College. He was recruited by West Coast with t ...

*2018:

Justin McInerney Justin McInerney (born 18 August 2000) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life McInerney was raised in the northern suburbs of Melbourne and participated ...

, Tom McKenzie *2019:

Sam Philp Sam Philp (born 4 August 2001) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by the Carlton Football Club with the 20th draft pick in the 2019 AFL draft. Ea ...

*2020:

Nik Cox Nikolas Cox (born 15 January 2002) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Essendon Bombers in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by Essendon with the 8th draft pick in the 2020 AFL draft. He is the son of for ...

Liam McMahon Liam McMahon (born 1976) is a Northern Irish actor. His work includes roles in ''Hunger'', ''The Secret (2016)'' and ''Without You (2011)''. He won critical acclaim for his role in the 2008 film ''Hunger'', which was directed by '' Steve McQueen ...

References

NAB League clubs Australian rules football clubs established in 1992 1992 establishments in Australia Australian rules football clubs in Melbourne NAB League Girls clubs Sport in the City of Darebin {{AFL-team-stub