Next Generation Players

Northern Territorian Tony Olango was mentioned in dispatches late last year as a potential ruck prospect but missed out on both the main and the rookie drafts. Now set to become a Hawk.

Hawthorn set to sign Tony Olango as Next Generation player through new AFL rule

"The league last month advised clubs of a change to the status of multicultural players living in Darwin under Next Generation academy rules.

"Darwin had not originally been allocated to a club under the Next Generation rule because of the city's history of developing AFL players, however the five clubs with Next Generation zones in the Northern Territory - Geelong, Essendon, Collingwood, Melbourne and the Hawks - are now able to nominate multicultural players living in Darwin for their respective academies. The players are then eligible to be drafted by the clubs at a 20 per cent discount, using the same bidding system in place for the NSW and Queensland clubs' academies and father-son selections."