North Coast Force juniors to play in Northern NSW Championships

AFL North Coast’s best juniors will devote some of their school holidays to representing their region.

North Coast Force’s Under 17s , Under 15s, and Under 13s Boys teams, and the Youth Girls 17s, Youth Girls 15s, and Youth Girls 13s teams will take part in this year’s Northern NSW Championships in Coffs Harbour.

This year’s Northern NSW Championships are being held from Tuesday, 8 July to Thursday, 10 July at the C.ex Coffs International Stadium, and the Coffs Coast Sport and Leisure Park.

The annual event sees the North Coast Force teams taking on teams from the Central Coast, Hunter Metro, Hunter Country, North West, and Illawarra.

Illawarra won the Simon Smyth Cup at last year’s Northern NSW Championships, by virtue of having the most wins at the carnival.

The Under 15 Boys were the best performing of the North Coast Force teams at last year’s Championships, winning five of their six games.

Players were selected to the North Coast Force teams after trialling in March.

Some North Coast Force players also take part in the Northern Heat Development AFL program, which comprises the best male and female players from both the North Coast and North West regions in the Under 17 age group.

This off-season program exists to extend the representative pathway for the players of the regions and provide them with a further avenue to build their game ahead of transitioning towards senior footy.

The program finishes with practice matches against Gold Coast opposition.

By Aiden BURGESS