COFFS Harbour Breakers and Sawtell/Toormina Saints players have been selected to the initial AFL North Coast representative squad.
The initial 40-man squad will be cut down to the 22 who will represent the AFL North Coast in the league’s first men’s representative match since 2018.
The North Coast Force team will take on the North West Blue Heelers in Gunnedah on Saturday, 28 June.
The North Coast vs North West clash has been played 13 times between 1998 and 2018.
The North Coast Force will have the chance to win back the Challenge Shield that the two leagues play for, after the North West won the past two meetings in 2017 and 2018.
North Coast Force coach Ben Watson said the squad was keen to bring the Challenge Shield back to the region.
“The squad boasts a good mixture of experience and youth,” he said.
“The early feedback is there’s a lot of enthusiasm among the group to play in the first men’s representative match the AFL North Coast will play in since 2018.
“We want to bring that Challenge Shield back to the North Coast for the first time since 2016.”
Coffs Harbour Breakers players selected include; Hayden Cekanauskas, Riley Dagger, Beau Guthrie, Tyrone Jones, Brendan Josey, David O’Dwyer, Alex Pyke, Jacob Sincock, and Aidan Wallace.
Sawtell/Toormina Saints players selected include; Chad Anderson, Aaron Clarke, Tom Grace, Jai Langenberg, Will Lloyd, Mitch Napier, Tom Neal, Tayler Perks, and Jaymus Troutman.
Players from the Grafton Tigers, Macleay Valley Eagles, Nambucca Valley Lions, and Port Macquarie Magpies, make up the other 22 members of the 40-man squad.
By Aiden BURGESS
