The Bendigo Pioneers is an Australian rules football team in the statewide Victorian under-18s league, the Talent League.
History The Bendigo Pioneers is an Australian rules football team playing in Talent League since 1993 based in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. The idea behind the Bendigo Pioneers is to train its players and prepare them for professional football. The team is divided into under-15s, under-16s, and under-18s. The Pioneers train at Epsom/Huntly Oval, Epsom. Their jersey colours are blue, white and yellow with blue, white and yellow socks and blue (home) or white (away) shorts. They are within the largest geographical region, from Bendigo to Broken Hill, therefore having the largest area to recruit from; but have been the least successful club in the competition, winning no premierships and finishing last on ten occasions as of 2021.
Notable players and coaches Some notable players from the Bendigo Pioneers are record holders for most games played and most goals scored within the team, which are David Favelaiki and Stephen Reaper. Favelaiki played a record 49 games with the Pioneers, and Reaper scored 132 goals.
Honours Premierships: Nil Runners-up (1): 2001 Minor Premiers: Nil Wooden Spoons (10): 1993, 1994, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018
Grand Finals Season Premiers GF Score Runner-up Best-on-ground 2001 Calder Cannons 16.14 (110) – 10.13 (73) Bendigo Pioneers Jordan Barham
Draftees Many notable players in the Australian Football League have been recruited from Bendigo. These players include: 1993: Rowan Warfe, Ashley Thompson 1994: N/A 1995: Nick Carter, Brent Frewen 1996: Nathan Brown, Damien Lock, Michael Braun 1997: Mark Alvey, Matt Blake, Jordan Doering, Paul McMahon, Dean Solomon, Chris Tarrant, Nathan Thompson 1998: Michael O'Brien 1999: Brent Guerra, Kane Munro 2000: Daniel Harris, Luke Livingston, Josh Hunt, Callan Beasy 2001: Nick Dal Santo, Daniel Elstone, Hugh Foott, Rick Ladson, Ashley Watson 2002: Adam Selwood, Josh Thewlis, Troy Selwood 2003: Andrew Walker, Colin Sylvia 2004: N/A 2005: Travis Baird 2006: Joel Selwood, Daniel Connors, Andrew Collins 2007: Eljay Connors, Scott Selwood, Robbie Tarrant, Toby Thoolen 2008: N/A 2009: Dustin Martin, Jordan Williams 2010: Ariel Steinberg 2011: Sam Kerridge 2012: Jake Stringer, Ollie Wines 2013: N/A 2014: Billy Evans, Jaden McGrath 2015: Tom Cole, Aidyn Johnson 2016: Joe Atley, Kobe Mutch, Kayle Kirby, Fergus Greene 2017: Paddy Dow, Lochie O'Brien, Jarrod Brander, Brent Daniels, Kane Farrell, Angus Schumacher, Derek Eggmolesse-Smith 2018: Jye Caldwell 2019: Brodie Kemp, Thomson Dow, Flynn Perez, Brady Rowles 2020: Seamus Mitchell, Josh Treacy, Jack Ginnivan, Will Shaw 2021: Cooper Hamilton 2022: Harvey Gallagher, Noah Long, Jason Gillbee 2023: Harley Reid 2024: Tobie Travaglia, Jobe Shanahan, James Barrat, Archer Day-Wicks 2025: N/A
External links
Official Bendigo Pioneers website Sporting Pulse summary