Footy training for Canberra players
Canberra’s footy pathway runs to the GIANTS, and their trials test exactly what a program can build: a 2km time trial, speed and power, then skills under pressure. The players who arrive fit get to show the rest.
One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.
AFL Canberra governs footy in the ACT and the Southern Tablelands of NSW, with a six-club Premier Division — Ainslie, Belconnen, Eastlake, Gungahlin, Queanbeyan and Tuggeranong Valley. The ACT is in the GWS GIANTS Academy zone: the GIANTS held 2026 Academy trials in the ACT for under-16 to under-18 players, testing a 2km time trial (1.6km for girls), skills, contests and match play.
Find your club in Canberra
The clubs in the competition’s own record, with their home grounds. Contact the club for age groups and girls’ and women’s teams.
| Club | Home ground |
|---|---|
| Ainslie | Alan Ray Oval, Ainslie |
| Batemans Bay | Hanging Rock Oval, Batemans Bay |
| Belconnen | Adero Law Nest, Holt |
| Eastlake | Kingston Oval, Griffith |
| Gungahlin | Gungahlin Enclosed Oval, Gungahlin |
| Queanbeyan | Margaret Donoghoe Sports Complex, Karabar |
| Tuggeranong Valley | Greenway Oval, Greenway |
| ADFA | ADFA Oval, Campbell |
| ANU | South Oval, Acton |
| Googong | Rockley Oval, Googong |
| Goulburn | Goodhew Park, Goulburn |
| Woden | Phillip Oval, Phillip |
| Yass | Joe O'Connor Park, Yass |
| Cootamundra | Clarke Oval, Cootamundra |
| Molonglo | Stirling Oval, Stirling |
| Murrumbateman | Murrumbateman Recreational Oval, Murrumbateman |
| Southern Cats | Snowy Oval, Cooma |
| Marist | Lindwall Oval, Pearce |
| Belconnen Cats | Holt Oval, Holt |
| Weston Creek-Molonglo | Stirling District Playing Fields, Stirling |
Checked September 2026. Clubs merge, fold and change grounds between seasons; the competition is right if this is not.
Which club your address belongs to
The ACT sits in the GWS GIANTS Academy zone on the AFL’s NSW/ACT zoning map.
- GWS GIANTS Academy
- Under-16 to under-18 programs for boys and girls, with trials in the ACT. Canberra is one of the GIANTS’ regional centres. The Academy plays selected Talent League games in the first half of the season.
Players from outside the Academy zone can attend trials, but the GIANTS say an invitation is unlikely. Check the GIANTS for this season’s trial dates.
The competitions
- AFL Canberra Premier Division
- Ainslie, Belconnen, Eastlake, Gungahlin, Queanbeyan and Tuggeranong Valley.
- AFL Canberra community and junior grades
- Across the ACT and the Southern Tablelands, including Goulburn and Yass.
Set it up for Canberra
Four things, in the order the app asks them. None of them needs a coach.
Choose footy, then your team nights
Onboarding asks “When do you train with your team?” Pick your club nights — AFL Canberra Premier Division or wherever you play — and your gym and conditioning are scheduled around them, lighter the day after a big one. Tell it your equipment and any niggles and every exercise is fitted to both.
Match the program to your league’s start
The app treats March as the start of the footy season. If your AFL Canberra season starts later, you can hold the pre-season a few weeks longer by setting the phase yourself. The phase lives in Program → Your year.
Know your numbers on day one
Your first testing session is ready immediately: 2km time trial, Bench press 1RM, Max pull-ups, Trap-bar deadlift 1RM, Running vertical jump. It is re-run every 8 weeks, and the results re-price your training weights and conditioning paces.
Put your suburb on the board
In Social → Town, set where you train. Your minutes count toward that town’s weekly conditioning and strength top-10 boards — only the town is kept, never your location.
What you start with, by the month you join
Every block is four weeks — three building, one deload — so a free month is one complete block.
The footy year in Canberra
- October
- Off-season. Rest, then rebuild general strength.
- November – February
- Pre-season, and GIANTS Academy trials. Aerobic base first — the trial starts with a 2km time trial.
- March – April
- Academy games begin in the Talent League; community seasons start.
- April – September
- Season through a cold winter. Volume comes down, weights hold.
Hot summers, frozen winter mornings
Canberra swings from hot, dry summer days to some of the coldest winter mornings of any Australian capital. Run the pre-season early to beat the heat, and in winter treat the warm-up on a frosty ground as part of the session — cold tissue is where hamstrings go.
Coaching a side in Canberra?
A club licence is A$8 per player, per month (minimum 5), and every player on it gets full Train Smart membership at no cost to them. You write the block once, it lands in each player’s app, and the console shows who actually did it.
Footy in Canberra: questions
What does the GIANTS Academy trial test?
What clubs are in AFL Canberra’s Premier Division?
Where these facts come from
Checked September 2026. Zones, grades and dates change — if something here is out of date, the governing body is right and we are wrong.
Nearby and related
Turn up to round one already fit
Pick footy, tell it your team nights, and your first block and testing session are ready before you leave the car park.
One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.