THREE of the AFL North Coast’s top juniors have been selected to the Sydney Swans junior squads.

Beau Guthrie, Amaia Wain and Will Kelly have gained inclusion to the Sydney Swans Academy NAB League squads.

The NAB League is the best junior Australian Rules competition in the country, and is one of the primary sources of recruitment for AFL clubs with recruiters regularly attending matches.

Beau Guthrie (Coffs Harbour Breakers) and Will Kelly (Port Macquarie Magpies) have both been included in the Swans Academy under 18 male squad, while Amaia Wain (Bellingen Bulldogs) has been selected in the under 16 female squad.

The three players have made the initial squads of 40, and will now look to vie for selection to make the first 22 and feature in up to nine NAB League games this season.

Community Football Manager, Paul Taylor, said the three players had shown the dedication needed to go far in the sport.

“Will, Beau and Amaia made regular trips to Sydney before Christmas as part of the selection process and, since being announced in the squad, have been to Sydney on several occasions to do multiple day blocks of training,” he said.

“The commitment that these three young stars have shown is outstanding and, when combined with their obvious talent, they have the opportunity to put themselves on the pathway to a bright future in the game.

“They now have the chance to play in the nation’s premier underage competition that has been the pathway to the draft for the vast majority of current AFL and AFLW players.”

AFL North Coast is gaining a reputation as a breeding ground for quality athletes with Will, Beau and Amaia looking to follow a similar path as former locals Cambridge McCormick, who played AFLW with the GWS Giants in 2022, and Angus Anderson, who has joined Sturt in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) ahead of the 2023 season.

By Aiden BURGESS