Swans Academy selects our talented juniors
THE QBE Sydney Swans Academy has selected a pair of AFL North West players to be part of its Academy squads in 2025.
Lauren Appleby and Sullivan Pine are set to benefit from the Academy’s professional, age-appropriate development program in 2025.
Appleby, who will turn 18 in March, currently plays for the Tamworth Kangaroos after starting her footy with the Moree Suns.
She has been a member of the Swans Academy for the past five years and once a fortnight travels seven hours one way from Moree to Moore Park in Sydney to train with the Academy.
In 2024, as well as being a member of the AFL North West’s women’s representative team, Appleby played three matches for the Academy in the Coates Talent League against Tassie Devils, Eastern Ranges and Gippsland Power.
This is the first time that Pine has been selected in a Sydney Swans Academy squad.
Pine turned 12 last month and this year the New England Nomads utility finished third in the AFL North West’s League Best & Fairest for the Under 12 age group. He also played half a dozen matches in the Under 14 age group.
This is a tremendous achievement for both of the young footballers and a pat on the back for the local football community and the emerging amount of young talent that is being produced in the area.
