Some of Victoria’s best young footballers were in the Latrobe Valley recently for the 2026 V/Line Cup.
The V/Line Cup is the premier representative football competition for Victorian boys and girls aged 15 and under and has seen many talented footballers come through the ranks into the elite game in recent years.
Having previously hosted the V/Line Cup from 2015 and 2018, Latrobe City welcomed more than 600 players, officials and their families to a three-day event, which took place from September 21 to 23.
First played in the Goulburn Murray region in 1949, the V/Line Cup comprises three divisions – two boys’ divisions and a girls’ division, with six AFL Talent League regions represented, including Gippsland Power.
The Gippsland boys had mixed fortunes, with the division one team losing both its matches, while division two won both its games. The Gippsland girls won one of their two matches.
The 2026 V/Line Cup was officially launched in Morwell, in the presence of past and present country footy stars.
Former Gippsland Power star and last year’s top AFL draft pick, Willem Duursma, returned to where it all began to inspire the next generation.
The Foster local was joined by Latrobe City mayor Sharon Gibson, V/Line regional manager Tim Pianta, V/Line chief operating officer Sussanah Osborne and AFL Gippsland regional manager Tim Cotter for the launch.
The youngest of four siblings who now all play footy at the highest level, Duursma represented Gippsland Power in the 2022 V/Line Cup and has since gone on to earn a Rising Star nomination and play 22 games for the West Coast Eagles in his first season on an AFL list.
