BRISBANE Lions champion Luke Power has been named the new coach of the NAB AFL Academy, taking over the role from Brenton Sanderson.
Power, who has been an assistant coach at Greater Western Sydney since 2013, will head up the prestigious talent program after beating out a number of credentialed applications for the position.
The three-time premiership player comes into the role with an excellent reputation, having worked with the defensive and midfield groups in his time at the Giants.
This year he took on a slightly different position at the club as list coordinator, where he was heavily involved in scouting, recruiting and as a conduit between Melbourne-based academy prospects and the Giants.
However, the strong lure of a hands-on coaching role with the country's best young talent is believed to have pushed him towards the AFL Academy job, where he will oversee the development of 60 of the top-rated teenagers in the land.
The next AFL Academy camp will be in Darwin after next month's national draft, before the level two squad (those eligible for the 2017 draft) head to America for a training camp in January.
The squad will have a week of training in Florida at the IMG Academy before another week of sessions in Los Angeles under the watchful eyes of club recruiters.
Sanderson, the former Adelaide coach, held the Academy role for two seasons before finishing in the post in October to take on a senior assistant position at Collingwood.
Power played 282 games for the Lions before playing another 20 games for the Giants in their debut season in 2012. He was the Lions' co-captain in 2007-08 and was named an All Australian in 2004.
His appointment comes as the AFL reshapes its talent model, with former Essendon football manager Paul Hamilton taking on a newly created position as Victorian talent manager.
North Melbourne premiership player and former Melbourne assistant Brett Allison will be the new Metro talent pathway manager, while ex-Murray Bushrangers region manager Lee Fraser has taken on the Country role.
