Development program

A step above community football for players ready for extra training, higher-level coaching and a more competitive season.

Trials Held

Oct / Nov

Leagues

JDL - DL - SL

Club fees range

$270 - $410

Development Fees range

$800 - $950

Development football at Chatswood Rangers refers to programs designed to offer levels of football above the usual “Community” football that most players participate in.

NSFA offers three Development Leagues to provide players with a high-level version of community football. These leagues act as the top tier of community football in their respective age groups, enforcing a minimum standard of coaching (all coaches meet a minimum level of qualification) and a minimum number of training sessions per week — usually two.

Playing in a Development team is via selection trial, and requires players to pay both the coaching fees and the standard Club registration fees. It also requires a commitment to the requirements of the program, including two training sessions a week and consistent availability for matches throughout the season and pre-season. A player selected at trial and placed in a Development team may still be removed from the team — and their place offered to another player — if they don’t live up to those expectations.

Questions about any part of the program should go to the Development Football Coordinator at footballdevelopment@chatswoodrangers.com.au

Leagues and teams

For 2026, Rangers have been allocated the following teams and will trial for players to fill them, along with other Development teams.

LeagueTeams
JDLU8 JDL1 & JDL2 · U9 JDL1 & JDL2 · U10 JDL1 & JDL2 · G10 JDL1 · U11 JDL1 & JDL2 · G11 JDL1
DLG12 DL
SLU13 SL · U15 SL · U16 SL · U18 SL

Season Timeline

Sep – Oct

  • Retention offers sent to current Rangers players (not all players)
  • Trial info shared via website, Facebook and other channels
  • Players register for Development trials
  • Optional training programs may be offered (additional cost)

November

  • Development trials held
  • Player offers made — accepted via non-refundable 50% deposit
  • Team announcements

December

  • Team information session
  • Self-training and fitness work encouraged

January

  • Outstanding balance of Development fees due
  • Club registrations open mid/late January
  • Team gathering and uniforms organised

February

  • Optional pre-season training offered (additional cost)
  • Club registrations close out for unregistered players

March

  • Pre-season training begins, twice a week
  • Pre-season trial matches

April – July

  • NSFA Winter Competition runs, in-season training twice a week
  • Matches Friday to Sunday depending on league and schedule

August

  • Season ends (dates vary)
  • Finals for qualifying teams, scheduled after the last round

Club fees

Fees are determined based on registration costs from NSFA and Football NSW as well as ground hire costs and other general expenses. As these costs fluctuate from year to year, Club fees are not determined until just before registrations open.

Age group Club Fee (inc GST)
U6–U7 $270
U8–U11 $360
U12–U18 $410

Sibling discount: 50% off the 3rd child in a family, subsequent children free.

Development fees

These fees cover the additional costs associated with the Development Teams including higher team fees, coaching costs, additional ground hire, pre-season matches and other general expenses.

Age groupDevlopment Fee (inc GST)
U8–U9$800
U10–U11$900
U12–U14$950
U15–U18$950

Trials and Offers

All players wanting a place in a Development team must take part in a trial. Trials are generally held in November each year, with notice shared via the Rangers website, Facebook pages and other communications. Trials are coordinated and run by the coaches who work with the Development teams, and consist of:

Trail 1 - skills-based assessment

After this trial, a player may be told they haven’t met the minimum standard of play and won’t be required at further trials

Trial #2 — match play assessment

Following the first trial, coaches rank players and give the Club recommendations for offers; further assessment and ranking happens here.

Trial #3 — call-backs and an additional trial if needed

Only used when necessary.

Some players are made an offer after the first trial, others after the second. Final offers are based on acceptance of the initial offers and the places remaining in each team. Offers are sent via email or Team Grader and include all relevant information and reference to the details on this page. An offer must be accepted in writing, in reply to that communication, and be accompanied — within 7 days — by payment of a non-refundable deposit of 50% of the Development fee. Failing to respond and pay within that window voids the offer, and the place passes to the next player in the rankings.

Note: we generally don’t run trials for Community teams, since these are formed socially or from registrations of players who haven’t played for Rangers before.

Coaching and training

All coaches of Development teams hold the minimum coaching qualifications required by NSFA — many hold higher qualifications — and, if over 18, must hold a current Working With Children Number. Vision Football (www.visionfootball.com) coordinates the coaching of all U8–U18 Development teams.

Pre-season training

All Development teams start training earlier than Community teams, and train twice a week. Generally, JDL/SL/DL teams start pre-season training 6–8 weeks before the season begins; other Development teams generally start around 4 weeks before.

In-season training

All Development teams train twice a week, with each session running 60–75 minutes.

Optional training programs

Throughout the year, the Club may offer additional training programs outside regular team sessions. These are optional and come at additional cost on top of Development fees.

Matches and cups

Trial matches (pre-season)

All Development teams play trial matches against other NSFA teams, teams from other associations, or other Rangers teams. These are non-competition matches — they don’t form part of the NSFA Winter Season — but let coaches see players in various positions, let the players get to know each other and start building team bonds, and help the team be competition-ready for the start of the Winter Season. The cost of trial matches is included in Development fees.

In-season matches

All matches during the Winter Season are scheduled by NSFA and published on Dribl. Match length, field sizes and other competition rules can be found on the NSFA website. The Winter Season generally runs up to 18 rounds, one match per round, except in divisions with an odd number of teams where bye rounds occur.

Finals

NSFA publishes its approach to finals closer to the end of the season, once it’s clear there’s enough time to play them — if many rounds were affected by weather or other cancellations, finals may not run, or may run in a reduced format.

Additional competitions

A number of additional tournaments run through the year. Decisions to enter these are made once teams are formed. Costs such as coaching, registration and accommodation for these events aren’t covered by Development fees, so they’re an extra cost for players who take part. Some of these include:

Registration

All players across Chatswood Rangers are required to pay the Club Registration Fee in order to be eligible to play and train with the Club. Registration is carried out through the Play Football platform run by Football NSW — further information and links to the registration portal are on the Junior Football and Senior Football pages of the Rangers website.bonds, and help the team be competition-ready for the start of the Winter Season. The cost of trial matches is included in Development fees.

Development team registration

There’s no separate process to register for a Development team — registration is covered by the standard Club registration above. Once a player has accepted a place in a Development team and completed Club registration, the Club Registrar places the player in the appropriate team in Dribl.

Note: Club registration and fee only make a player eligible to play — they must also pay the Development Program fee to cover the additional costs of coaching, extra ground hire and other program running costs.

Uniforms

All players are required to wear the Chatswood Rangers playing uniform (shirt, shorts and socks). Uniform and off-fields items are available at the Club online shop.

Shirts
U6-U18 are required to purchase an official Club playing shirt from the online shop
Shorts
White (mixed and girls U6–11), blue (girls U12–18)
Socks
Club royal blue
Shin guards
Compulsory — players cannot take the field without them