Trials for the Northern Heat Under 15 and Under 16 teams to compete at AFL NSW/ACT’s State Zone Trials were held last weekend in Newcastle. Players were vying with Central Coast and Hunter teams for selection in the team to compete in Sydney from April 12-16 in front of AFL recruiting staff and State selectors.
In Northern NSW’s best ever showing, nine players from the North and Mid North Coast were selected in the Under 16 side.
Under 16 players selected were:
Nick Bailey (North Coffs)
Angus Burkitt (Sawtell/ Toormina)
Patrick Gillingham(Sawtell/ Toormina)
Alex Gillman (Port Macquarie)
Nathan Harris (North Coffs)
Brayden Kennedy (Port Macquarie)
Brendan Norton (North Coffs)
Keiran Tomalin (Sawtell / Toormina)
Jack Wilson (Port Macquarie)
AFL (NSW/ACT) Regional Manager will join the Under 16 team for the week as Assistant Coach.
Five Northern NSW players were selected in the Under 15 side, including Tamworth’s Lachlan Maloney who travels to Singleton weekly to play his club football.
Under 15 players selected were:
Damien Attwood (South Coffs Harbour)
Darren Holten (Macleay Valley)
Lachlan Moloney (Tamworth)
Cody Papley (North Coffs)
Drew Stanley (Port Macquarie)
The depth of selection reveals a continuing trend of an increase in the number of talented players in the region as a result of the growth in overall AFL participants.
Using local talented coaches Scott Abercrombie & Craig Carroll (Port Macquarie) and Darren Funston & Peter Chadwick (Coffs Harbour) has also been instrumental in preparing players for the demands of the trials.
Players from both squads will attend a fitness testing and training session at Newcastle University this Sunday. They will then travel to Newcastle for a final preparation session on April 11 before travelling to St Ignatius College, Riverview for the trials.
With the Sydney Swans introducing their new Academy and all AFL clubs having one final chance to sign two NSW players under the NSW Scholarship Scheme there will be plenty of interested eyes on the Northern Heat’s performance in Sydney.
Last Modified on 26/03/2010 18:54