WHILE the AFL North Coast competitions may have taken the long weekend off, the North Coast’s best junior players were in action in the Hunter region.

The North Coast Force junior representative teams took part in the Hunter Challenge Cup which was the first carnival on this year’s rep calendar.

The North Coast Force’s under 13’s, under 15’s, under 17’s, and Youth Girls took on other regions including Hunter Metro, Hunter Country, and the Central Coast during the two-day carnival.

The Force finished second at the carnival with the North Coast teams winning nine of their 16 games.

North Coast Force representative coordinator Nic Morgan said that everyone involved with the program was ecstatic with the results in the Hunter.

“Our teams have only trained twice together prior to the carnival due to the size of our region and the distances they have to travel to get together,” he said.

“Considering this, the way the teams gelled, the quality of our play, and the results achieved were fantastic.

“Our players will learn so much from playing against these quality opponents, not just about playing at this higher standard, but also about preparing and managing their bodies for peak performance during a carnival.

“We know that our teams will be even stronger in Coffs and can’t wait to see them in action again.”

Morgan said the Hunter carnival was great preparation for when the Force play the next carnival in Coffs Harbour.

“The Hunter Challenge Cup is a new addition to the representative calendar so we’re excited to have that opportunity and play more rep footy than in any previous year,” he said.

“It’s also a great way for our teams to tune up for our own Coffs Harbour carnival next month which will have more teams from more regions than ever before.”

North Coast Force teams will be in action next during the Coffs Harbour carnival on July 6-7 at the Coffs Coast Sport & Leisure Park.

Paul Taylor said the North Coast region continued to produce quality Australian Rules juniors with the potential to play at the highest levels.

“The standard of club footy on the North Coast rises year on year and this has a positive impact on the quality of performance by the Force representative teams,” he said.

“With a number of male and female players in this year’s Sydney Swans Academy Top End program the region continues to make its mark as a producer of talented players with the potential to play state level footy and beyond.”

 

By Aiden BURGESS