A NORTH Coast Australian Rules representative carnival scheduled for this week in Coffs Harbour has had to be postponed due to recent Covid-19 restrictions placed by the NSW Government.

The Northern NSW Challenge carnival which was scheduled to be played this week on Tuesday, 6 July, and Wednesday 7 July, has now been rescheduled for Monday, 27 September and Tuesday, 28 September, which falls in the next school holidays.

The postponed carnival was set to feature the North Coast Force junior representative teams, who recently played at the Hunter Challenge Cup against other regions including Hunter Metro, Hunter Country, and the Central Coast.

The North Coast Force’s Under 17,15, 13’s and Youth Girls teams finished second overall at the Hunter Challenge Cup winning 9 of their 16 matches.

AFL North Coast Community Football Manager Paul Taylor said those involved with the carnival had indicated the right decision had been made.

“People have been so supportive once we advised of the need to postpone the carnival,” he said.

“The players and their families have completely understood and have reinforced that we made the right decision initially.

“There may be some players who won’t be available on these new dates and I apologise to them if that’s the case.

“Council have been fantastic and have worked really hard to be able to confirm that they can provide us with grounds, despite there being other events in town at the same time.”

The AFL North Coast junior competitions resume on Sunday after their school holiday break, with Round 10 matches set to be played across the region.

 

By Aiden BURGESS