THE 2008 NAB AFL under 18 championships begin on Wednesday, with two matches set to be played at Casey Fields in Cranbourne in Melbourne's outer south-east suburbs.

Starting at 11am, Northern Territory will play NSW/ACT and at 1.30pm Tasmania will take on Queensland.

In a first, this year's division two championships will be played as a qualifying series, with the top two teams progressing to the division one stage, commencing on Sunday, May 25.

The change is one of several recommendations adopted last year to fast track the development of players in the elite junior pathway program.

AFL Talent Manager Kevin Sheehan said the move would enable the division two teams from NSW/ACT, Northern Territory, Queensland and Tasmania to challenge the more established division one teams from Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

"The division two teams have progressed enormously in the past 12 years and it is important that they are given the opportunity to play and be assessed against the best junior talent in the nation," Sheehan said.

"These annual championships showcase the best under age football talent in Australia and every year unearths future stars of the game."

This year's championships will conclude with a triple-header at Telstra Dome on Wednesday, July 9.