Northern Knights x Carlton College of Sport: Supporting elite pathways
The Northern Knights play a crucial role in the AFL talent pathway as a successful club in the Coates Talent League. Based at Preston City Oval, and utilising Parade College’s elite training facilities, the Knights provide a home for the best AFL talent coming through the northern suburbs of Melbourne. Current players Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs), Kyle Langford (Essendon), Gabby Newton (Fremantle) and Lulu Beatty (Carlton) have all been the beneficiaries of the Knights pathway which continue to produce high level AFL and AFLW players yearly.
The Carlton College of Sport (CCoS) is a partnership between La Trobe University and the Carlton Football Club which provides a unique, hands-on insight into the sport industry whilst studying a higher education diploma delivered by La Trobe University at IKON Park, the home of the Carlton Football Club. It is the access to the inner workings of the sport industry that gives students the opportunity to deepen their understanding and skills in the industry to better support their career development.
A crucial part to the Carlton College of Sport is the Football Development Program which harnesses key AFL and AFLW staff at Carlton Football Club, to deliver a high-performance football program to selected CCoS students as they study and further their career in sport.
The Carlton College of Sport and the Northern Knights have been working in partnership for several years. In particular, the last 18 months have seen strong growth and connection between the organisations. Many former Knights players have commenced studying at CCoS and equally CCoS students have enjoyed inner sanctum industry experience within the Northern Knights programs.
Natalie Grindal , the Regional Talent Operations Lead for the Northern Knights, has seen firsthand the positive outcomes of the partnership.
“Our partnership with CCoS continues to go from strength to strength. Not only do Carlton College students gain hands-on experience within our program but our players are fortunate enough to have had numerous opportunities to access the world class, elite facilities at IKON Park, exposing them to what their sporting life might be in the future. We look forward to this partnership continuing well into the future”.
High performance work experience
Current Carlton College of Sport student, Lachlan Wilson, has been thrilled with his placement experience at The Knights working closely with the U18 Boys program, learning acutely about the athlete development program. Lachie has been heavily involved in Tuesday evening training supporting their strength and conditioning program and football training component. Lachie has been a big asset to their program since commencing his placement, so much so, that he has recently assumed match-day runner duties giving him a wonderful learning and unique experience to support his growth in the industry .
Whilst studying the higher education diploma of Sport Coaching and Development, Lachie is also a fully qualified personal trainer, running his own personal training business with aspirations to work in athlete high performance. He sees his time with the Northern Knights as a critical steppingstone in his journey in sport.
As part of the partnership, CCoS students can select from a variety of roles at the Knights including training and match day operations as well as gaining experience working alongside some of the best development coaches in the industry, Allana Dickie (Female Head Coach) and Anthony Rocca (Male Head Coach). Football operations roles include duties such as set up and pack down, game statistics, ground and umpire safety, player hydration and nutrition, strength and conditioning support and the match-day runner amongst other things.
Elite pathway success stories
Former Northern Knights captain (2023), Evie Lee, recently debuted in Carlton Football Club’s VFLW team during a thrilling win over Geelong in round 7. Evie is currently studying Sport Coaching and Development at the Carlton College of Sport whilst also partaking in the CCoS Football Development Program.
CCoS Football Development Coach and AFLW Captain, Kerryn Peterson, has been working closely with Evie
“Evie’s journey from the Knights to training with the AFLW squad is a testament to her dedication and hard work, but also the strength of the partnership between the Northern Knights, the Carlton College of Sport and the broader football club. Within the space of 12 months, Evie has had the opportunity to play in the elite underage competition, debut for the Carlton VFLW team and now experience training alongside some of the AFLW’s best players, all whilst pursing her academic studies through the Carlton College of Sport.”
Playing alongside Evie in the Round 7 win were former CCoS Football Development students Georgia Tait and Isabelle Khoury who’ve both moved into the VFLW program with success.
Evie has loved her time so far at The Carlton College of Sport and is thriving studying and training at IKON Park.
“Studying at CCoS and participating in the footy development program has been great in improving my athletic abilities. The additional training sessions have helped to refine my football skills on the field. The program's academic support and resources have helped me progress in various aspects of my game. As a result, I've had some opportunities to play some VFLW games, enhancing my experience on-field”.
Heath Ramshaw has also flourished since his time at CCoS in the Football Development program moving seamlessly into Carlton Football Club's VFL team and making an impact. Ramshaw joined the Reserves in 2021, making four appearances in the side in 2022 in its run to September. Cementing his spot in the side, the 19-year-old played 16 matches with the Blues’ VFL side last season. After an outstanding season in the Navy Blue, Ramshaw was awarded the Best Young Player Award. His talent was on full display in the Round 12 match against Essendon where he amassed 33 disposals and kicked a major.
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