Footy training for Melbourne’s north
The Northern Knights were one of the six original clubs of Victoria’s under-18 competition, and the northern suburbs have been producing AFL players through them ever since. From Reservoir to Mernda, the pathway runs through the same club.
One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.
Juniors in Whittlesea, Nillumbik, Darebin and Banyule are in the Northern Knights’ region — the Talent League club for Melbourne’s north-east, based at Preston. The Northern Football Netball League is the region’s competition and a major source of Knights players, and many Yarra Junior Football League clubs also sit in the Knights’ zone.
Find your club in Melbourne’s north
Every club with a home ground in each council, its ground, and the league and grades it plays — pick the council you live in.
Banyule
16 clubs across Bundoora, Greensborough and Ivanhoe and more.
See the clubsDarebin
13 clubs across Reservoir, Preston and Bundoora and more.
See the clubsNillumbik
8 clubs across Eltham, Diamond Creek and Hurstbridge and more.
See the clubsWhittlesea
10 clubs across Epping, Mill Park and Bundoora and more.
See the clubsWhich club your address belongs to
The Northern Knights’ region covers the north-east of metropolitan Melbourne. Players are recruited by residential address.
- Northern Knights
- Based at Preston. Boys’ and girls’ Talent League programs.
Many Yarra Junior Football League clubs fall in the Northern Knights zone, and others in the Oakleigh Chargers zone. Your junior league can confirm which applies to your address.
The competitions
- Northern Football Netball League
- The northern suburbs’ senior and junior competition, and a major source of Northern Knights squad members.
- Yarra Junior Football League
- Junior football in the inner north and east — many of its clubs are in the Knights’ zone.
- Victorian Amateur Football Association
- Amateur clubs across the metro area.
Set it up for Melbourne’s north
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 — Northern Football Netball League 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 AFL season. If your league does not start until mid-April, set your season phase yourself and stay in pre-season a few weeks longer. 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 calendar and conditions are on the Melbourne guide.
Coaching a side in Melbourne’s north?
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 Melbourne’s north: questions
Which Talent League club covers Epping, Eltham and Heidelberg?
Where are the Northern Knights based?
What footy league is in Melbourne’s north?
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.
- Northern Knights — region
- NFNL — representation in Knights squads
- Northern Knights — club profile
- Yarra Junior Football League — talent programs
Spotted an error? Tell us and we will fix it.
Nearby and related
Melbourne
The leagues, the season and every region across Melbourne.
OpenMelbourne’s west
Footy training for Melbourne’s western suburbs — the Western Jets zone from Werribee to Melton, the WFNL and VAFA, and the VFL clubs in the west.
OpenMelbourne’s north-west
Footy training for Melbourne’s north-west — the Calder Cannons zone from Essendon to Craigieburn and the Macedon Ranges, the EDFL, and four VFL clubs.
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.