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 Talent League, 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 hi ...

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,

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 playe ...

, 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 Dra ...

Brent Stanton Brent Stanton (born 1 May 1986) is a retired professional Australian rules footballer who played his entire career for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Stanton attended Banyule Primary School and V ...

, Heath Shaw,

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 *Minor Premiers (1): 1994 *Wooden Spoons (5): 2000, 2004, 2008, 2016, 2022

Talent League Girls

*Premierships (1): 2019 *Runners-up (1): 2018

AFL Draftees History

*1992: Daniel Tramontana, Gerard Power, John Barker *1993:

Shannon Gibson Shannon Gibson (born 7 November 1975) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Hawthorn and Collingwood in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the 1990s. Gibson was recruited by Hawthorn with the 23rd pick of the 1993 ...

, Chris Johnson, Angelo Lekkas,

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 from ...

, Justin Mallon *1994: Anthony Rocca, Daniel Harford,

Blake Caracella Blake Caracella (born 15 March 1977) is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is currently serving as an assistant coach with the Essendon Football Club. He is the brother of Craig Caracella ...

Stuart Mangin Stuart Mangin (born 8 February 1977) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the Australian Football League (AFL). Mangin, who was from Macleod originally, was playing with the Northern Knights in the TAC Cup wh ...

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 whilst p ...

, 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 s ...

, 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, Daniel Lowther *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, 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,

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 ...

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

, 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 ...

, Heath Shaw *2004: Adam Pattison, Ryan Willits *2005: Ben McKinley,

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 Daniel Currie (born 15 February 1989) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club and Gold Coast Football Club in the Australian Football League. Currie was originally drafted to the ...

*2007:

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

, Michael Still, Luke Stanton *2009: Sam Grimley,

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 he ...

Jaryd Cachia Jaryd Cachia (born 8 May 1991) is an Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton in the Australian Football League (AFL). The grandson of Terry Benton, Cachia played school football for St Kevin's College before joining the Northern ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

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 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

Billy Longer Billy Longer is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions and St Kilda in the Australian Football League (AFL). AFL career Longer was recruited with pick 8 in the 2011 national draft by the Brisbane Lions from the ...

, Jack Newnes, Michael Mascoulis *

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

: Nick Vlastuin, Aidan Corr, Nathan Hrovat *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

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 pick ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

: Kyle Langford, Reece McKenzie, Jayden Short, Jason Castagna *

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

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 debut ...

, Brayden Fiorini, Brayden Sier, Tyrone Leonardis, Darcy Macpherson *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

: Patrick Lipinski, Matthew Signorello *

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

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 Patrick Naish (born 15 January 1999) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Box Hill Hawks Football Club, Box Hill Hawks in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Naish previously played for the West Coast Eagles and Richmond Footba ...

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 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

: Justin McInerney, Tom McKenzie *

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

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. Ear ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

: Nik Cox, Liam McMahon *

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

: Josh Ward, Darcy Wilmot, Jackson Archer, Ned Long *

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

: Cooper Harvey

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