Footy training for Sydney players
Sydney footy has two AFL clubs with academies competing for the same city’s talent — which means two programs looking, and a zone line that decides which one looks at you.
One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.
Sydney is split between two AFL academies. The Sydney Swans Academy zone takes in the north, the east, the inner west and the south, with training hubs in Sydney City, North Sydney, South Sydney and the Northern Beaches. The GWS GIANTS Academy zone takes in western and south-western Sydney, and runs trials there. Senior community footy is AFL Sydney, with a new nine-club Sydney Football League starting in April 2027.
Find your part of Sydney
The AFL’s NSW/ACT zoning map draws the line between the two academies. Find your council area on the map to be sure.
Find your club in Sydney
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 |
|---|---|
| Balmain | Rozelle Parklands, Rozelle |
| Camden | Fairfax Reserve, Harrington Park |
| East Coast | Kanebridge Oval, Rouse Hill |
| Hawkesbury Jets | Bensons Lane, Richmond Lowlands |
| Inner West | Picken Oval, Croydon Park |
| Manly-Warringah | Weldon Oval, Curl Curl |
| Macquarie University | Macquarie University Oval, Macquarie Park |
| Newtown | HJ Mahoney Park, Marrickville |
| North Shore | Gore Hill Oval, St Leonards |
| Parramatta | Gipps Road Oval, Smithfield |
| Pennant Hills | Mike Kenny Oval, Cherrybrook |
| Penrith | Greygums Oval, Cranebrook |
| Randwick City | Pioneers Park, Malabar |
| South West Sydney | Bob Prenter Oval, Macquarie Fields and Rosedale Oval, Warwick Farm |
| Southern Dingoes | Lincoln Oval (Waratah Park No 4), Sutherland |
| Southern Power | Lincoln Oval (Waratah Park No 4), Sutherland |
| St George | Olds Park, Penshurst |
| Sydney University | University Oval, Camperdown |
| UNSW-Eastern Suburbs | Henson Park, Marrickville |
| UTS | Waverley Oval, Bondi Junction |
| Western Magic | Blacktown International Sportspark, Rooty Hill |
| Wollondilly | Hannaford Oval, Wilton |
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
Two AFL club academies run the talent pathway in Sydney, by zone.
- Sydney Swans Academy
- The north, east, inner west and south. Over 700 athletes aged 11 to 19 across its NSW hubs. Top End (under-16 to 19) places are invite-only.
- GWS GIANTS Academy
- Western and south-western Sydney. Under-16 to under-18 programs with trials in Western Sydney.
Both academies play selected Talent League games in the first half of the season. Players outside a zone can trial, but the GIANTS say an invitation is unlikely.
The competitions
- Sydney Football League (from 2027)
- A new premier competition with nine licensed clubs: South West Sydney Blues, St George Dragons, Sydney University, UNSW Eastern Suburbs Bulldogs, UTS Bats, North Shore Bombers, Manly Warringah Wolves, Pennant Hills Demons and East Coast Eagles. Senior men, senior women, under-19.5 men and under-20 women.
- AFL Sydney
- Community football with divisional men’s and women’s competitions, underage grades and masters.
- VFL
- The Sydney Swans and GWS GIANTS reserves sides.
Set it up for Sydney
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 — Sydney Football League (from 2027) 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 community season starts in April, 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 Sydney
- October – November
- Off-season, and academy trials — the GIANTS trialled for 2026 in early November.
- December – February
- Pre-season. Aerobic base first, then strength, then speed and power.
- March – June
- Academy games in the first half of the Talent League season, which opened on 21–22 March in 2026.
- April – September
- Community seasons. Volume comes down, weights hold.
Western Sydney summers are a different climate
Sydney’s west gets markedly hotter than the coast in summer — a session that is fine in Manly can be a heat risk in Penrith on the same afternoon. Train early or late, treat very hot days as extra load, and use the Sports Medicine Australia heat guidelines.
Coaching a side in Sydney?
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 Sydney: questions
Which AFL academy covers my part of Sydney?
What is the Sydney Football League?
What does an academy trial test?
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.
- AFL — NSW/ACT club academy zoning map
- Sydney Swans Academy — the program
- GWS GIANTS — 2026 Academy trials
- AFL — Sydney Football League established from 2027
- AFL — 2026 Talent League fixtures (academy games)
- Sports Medicine Australia — hot weather guidelines
- AFL Sydney — clubs and grounds
Spotted an error? Tell us and we will fix it.
Nearby and related
Sydney
Eight regions across ten junior districts, the SG Ball and Harold Matthews Cups, and a western Sydney summer.
OpenNewcastle & the Hunter
The Newcastle Rugby League premiership, the Knights’ SG Ball and Harold Matthews sides, and the NMR Knights.
OpenThe AFL pathway
From community level to state league and the draft — and what gets tested along the way.
OpenTurn 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.