Former News of the Area sports reporter joins AFL Northern NSW team Coffs Coast Sport Sport by News Of The Area - Modern Media - January 12, 2022 Former News Of The Area journalist Brad Greenshields is joining the AFL Northern NSW team. FORMER Coffs Coast News Of The Area sports reporter Brad Greenshields has been appointed to the role of Competition Coordinator for AFL Northern NSW. He brings to the role of competition coordinator a great skill set that will be utilised across tasks such as fixturing, competition management within the PlayHQ system, rule development and interpretation, and club consultation and management. A life-long Aussie Rules fan, Greenshields grew up as a junior player at Bayswater in the Eastern FNL in Melbourne. His footy odyssey took in a number of stops in country Victoria before he landed in Coffs Harbour in the late 1990s and linked with the North Coffs Kangaroos where he was a multiple premiership winning player, one of those as captain-coach. He was also named in the AFL North Coast Team of the Decade for 2000 to 2009. Greenshields spent 13 years with the Coffs Coast Advocate newspaper in numerous journalist and editorial roles, and has spent the last three years running his own business which included writing for, and managing, the AFL North Coast socials last year. He was also the initial sports reporter when Coffs Coast News Of The Area was first published in 2020. Greenshields said he was looking forward to helping grow the game in Northern NSW. “I’m thrilled to be given the opportunity to work for AFL NSW/ACT and I’m really looking forward to getting involved with the passionate footy community we’re so lucky to have across Northern NSW,” he said. “The game has enjoyed healthy participation numbers in our region over recent years and one of my goals is to help grow those numbers. “While I’ve already enjoyed a long involvement in the AFL North Coast community, I’m really looking forward to getting to know the North West just as well.” Paul Taylor, Community Football Manager, said that Greenshields appointment is another exciting development in the ongoing growth of AFL across Northern NSW. “The competitions on both the North Coast and in the North West have had excellent annual growth for the past six years, which will continue into 2022 with both Leagues adding new Youth Girls competitions,” he said. “With the North West clubs electing to have their League managed by AFL NSW/ACT we needed an extra staff member to share the load. “It’s exciting to have someone with Brad’s footy pedigree, skill set, and passion for the game join the team, and I know that his involvement will ensure that the competitions are run to an extremely high standard.” By: Aiden BURGESS