Senior rep footy returns to the coast

This year’s representative clash between North Coast and North West is the most eagerly anticipated in many years.

In the Men’s match, North West find themselves in the unusual position of being the holders of the shield after a highly impressive performance in 2017 led to a strong win on home soil.

The Women’s match is the first true representative fixture between the two Leagues, with North West forming a competition last season and North Coast following suit this year.

AFL North Coast has announced two extremely talented teams that will fly the flag proudly for the Force in Saturday’s matches.

Paul Taylor, Community Football Manager, said that anticipation was high right across Northern NSW. “The folks in the North West are still buzzing from winning both matches last season but important lessons were learnt and the North Coast Force teams will be much stronger in 2018.

“In the Men’s team we’ve got a great balance of experience and youth. Players like Luke Matthews, Luke Stanford, and Matt Flynn bring a wealth of footy smarts and big game experience, whilst young guys like Fraser Carroll, Lachie Glover, Ronan Leslie, Isaac King, and Nick Stanlan-Velt are the form players of the competition.

“Last year we fielded a Women’s team even though we didn’t have a local competition, with the majority of Women having only played once before. This season we have an incredible crop of ladies that have come from other sports. They’re already performing at an extremely high level but are also improving each time they play or train.”

The representative matches will be played at C.ex Coffs International Stadium on Saturday 23 June. A Masters (Over 35) match gets the day underway at 11:15am before things turn serious with the Women’s match at 1:15pm and the Men’s scheduled for 3:00pm. The later start for the men means that the last quarter will be played under lights which will add further spectacle to this grudge match.

Gates open at the Stadium from 11:00am. Entry fee for adults is just $5.00, Under 18 and pensioners is $3.00, whilst admission is free for children 12 years and under.

The forecast is for good weather. All is in readiness for a great day of representative footy!

Details of the selected teams can be viewed here.