Gold Coast Stingrays

The Gold Coast Stingrays were formed in October 1995 as a result of the rapid development of the AFL and the lack of an elite nursery for Queensland's aspiring AFL footballers. Since then the Gold Coast Stingrays has formed part of a six team Under 18 Competition that has serviced the whole of the state with Queensland Country Kookaburras, Sunshine Coast Power, Northern Raiders, Western Taipans and South Eastern Bushrangers being the other five regions. This Competition has had many changes to its format with it originally being a full season program until finally settling on the current format. Thankfully this U18 pre-season carnival type program, gives the players a good pre-season workout, a quality match program and prepares them for Senior football. This is designed to provide the players with opportunities to improve their potential as a footballer and person. Also they have the chance to represent the Gold Coast Region with distinction and continue the standard of excellence gained over the last ten years. Underpinning the Under 18 Competition are the Under 16 and Under 14 Development Squad structures for the younger players in our region. These programs involve a ten-week training program culminating in their respective State Championships. These competitions have 8 teams, with the existing teams from the U18's plus Papua New Guinea and AFLQ colts, which is made up of players from all of the regions.