The 2026 Toyota AFL Open starts today -- Australia's national inclusive AFL competition. NSW captain Damon leads the team into the weekend, which runs 12 to 14 October at La Trobe University Sports Precinct in Bundoora. All matches stream live on AFL.com.au, Kayo Sports and Kayo Freebies.
To mark the opening, AFL NSW/ACT has released a short film featuring Damon and our Director of Sport & Recreation Greg Brown. It traces Damon's path from a quiet nine-year-old to captain of the state side.
Watch the AFL NSW/ACT film
Short film from AFL NSW/ACT. Approx 3 minutes.
The NSW pathway in practice
Damon has captained NSW since 2018. Greg traces the journey:
Damon first came into the program in around 2016. He was such a quiet, lovely boy but let his AFL do the talking. Now in 2026, here he is leading the team.
Damon on what representative sport means:
I've been captain for New South Wales since 2018. Leadership is my challenging mental wall. It is just a new experience when AFL Open comes in: inclusion and wheelchair tournaments combined, as all disabilities come in.
Greg on the pathway and committed athletes
Greg's message to athletes considering representative sport:
If you're going to go down this pathway and you're going to make sport your life, then you have to totally commit. You can see what it means to him to be involved in the sport. He's got that whatever it is that makes someone different. You can see that's their calling, that's their passion.
Damon's view from the other side of the pathway:
If you're going to go down this pathway and you're going to make sport your life, you have to go through certain pathways to higher heights.
That's what the state chapter work exists for: building the pathway that athletes like Damon climb.
What AFL Open represents
AFL Open brings inclusion and wheelchair tournaments together -- athletes with all disabilities competing at the national level. Greg frames it:
Everyone should have the opportunity. This competition creates opportunities for these people.
NSW's participation in AFL Open is one strand of a broader representative pathway Sport Inclusion NSW & ACT supports -- alongside the Futsal Premier League, State Team Tryouts feeding the 2027 National Futsal Championship, and the Vawdon Cup in touch football.
Thinking about representative sport?
If you're an athlete with intellectual impairment considering the pathway from club sport to state and national representation, get in touch and we'll talk you through eligibility and next steps.