The AFL has confirmed that a Gold Coast team will play next year in the TAC Cup, Australia’s Melbourne-based primary U18 development nursery.

An official announcement will be made today but major metropolitan newspapers have carried the story today.

This came after parents of prospective members of the Gold Coast side were told last night, and advised officially that draft-age Queenslanders would be given the option to ‘opt out’ of the 2008 AFL National Draft and commit to the 17th club.

But there was apparent uncertainty about the term of the TAC Cup inclusion ahead of the team’s proposed entry to the AFL in 2011.

The Age suggested it was a two-year deal but The Courier-Mail, Herald Sun and Gold Coast Bulletin indicated it was only for 2008, possibly leaving the door open for the Gold Coast side to play in 2010 in the VFL alongside affiliate clubs of Melbourne-based AFL clubs.

Whatever, the decision has put an end to suggestions the Gold Coast team would play next year in the AFL Queensland State League.

AFL Game Development Manager David Matthews reportedly said the TAC Cup, from which up to 50% of AFL players are drafted each year, would give Queenslanders the best chance to maximise their development opportunities.

"It puts them against the best talent in the country and also gives the Coast the chance to assess them in that company," he said.

"We think it makes sense for Queensland juniors and the Gold Coast to represent all of the state league clubs, rather than compete against them."

Players who skip the draft will be given age exemptions to be allowed to compete in the TAC Cup.

They will play a handful of its home games as AFL curtain-raisers at the Gabba or Carrara, and at times will travel to Melbourne to play, thereby learning the travel factor that is part of AFL football these days.

Matthews insisted the ‘opt out’ option was no more than that ... an option.

“We are not looking to force anyone, but we think we can make it pretty appealing for them to consider entering a contract with the Gold Coast," he said of a move that would give young Queenslanders some degree of certainty about their immediate football future quickly without tackling the national draft in November.

The TAC Cup, sponsored by the Traffic Accident Commission in Victoria, is now in its 17th year after it replaced the old VFL U19 competition in 1992.

It is a 12-team competition featuring the Calder Cannons, Oakleigh Chargers, Northern Knights, Geelong Falcons, Western Jets, Gippsland Power, Bendigo Pioneers, Eastern Ranges, Murray Bushrangers, North Ballarat Rebels, Sandringham Dragons and Dandenong Stingrays.

Fifteen members of the current Brisbane Lions are TAC Cup products - Jed Adcock, Tim Notting, Matt Austin and Matt Tyler (North Ballarat Rebels), Jonathan Brown and Lachlan Henderson (Geelong Falcons), Travis Johnstone (Dandenong Stingrays), James Polkinghorne (Calder Cannons), Luke Power and Sam Sheldon (Oakleigh Chargers) Michael Rischitelli (Western Jets), Troy Selwood (Bendigo Pioneers), rookie Phil Smith (Calder Cannons) and  Justin Sherman and Tom Collier, who played with now defunct Tasmanian U18 side.