Force claims second place at Hunter Challenge Cup
The North Coast Force representative program has shone at the Hunter Challenge Cup to finish runners-up to Hunter Metro.
Competing for the first time at this carnival the Force teams all performed beyond expectations to set the scene for what should be a great “home” carnival in Coffs Harbour in July.
Day two proved to be tougher for all four North Coast Force teams as the battled injury, fatigue, and a tougher draw.
Both the Under 17 and Under 15 teams went into day two undefeated and pushed their main rivals Hunter Metro all the way, but were unable to claim the win. However both teams did overcome Central Coast to finish the carnival with a record of three wins from four matches and fly the flag for the Force program by finishing second in their respective age groups.
The Under 13 team started day two with a nail biter against Hunter Metro where they narrowly lost by nine points. In their last match of the carnival the team trailed the undefeated Central Coast by just two points at the first break before a combination of another injury and fatigue set in and Central Coast kicked away. Despite only winning one match for the carnival, the Under 13 team showed plenty of heart in what was the first rep carnival for most players to finish third of four teams.
The Youth Girls team started the day with another strong win over Central Coast but were unable to overcome Hunter Metro who were the dominant team in the age group. Similar to the Under 13 team, the Youth Girls had a number of players who were playing in their first rep carnival, and some who are in their first year of playing footy, and will have learnt a lot from their performances and second place finish.
Nic Morgan, Force Representative Co-ordinator, said that everyone involved with the program was ecstatic with the performances. “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. 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.”
Hunter Challenge Cup overall standings
| Rep Program | Won | Drew | Lost | Overall | Match Ratio |
| Hunter Metro* | 18 | 0 | 6 | 18/24 | 75.00% |
| North Coast Force | 9 | 0 | 7 | 9/16 | 56.25% |
| Central Coast* | 8 | 1 | 15 | 8.5/24 | 35.42% |
| Hunter Country* | 6 | 1 | 13 | 6.5/20 | 32.50% |
* Played more matches as also competed in Under 13 Youth Girls and Under 15 Youth Girls.
For full match results please click here.
The North Coast Force representative program extends a huge thanks to our volunteer coaches and managers for the effort they put in to making the carnival such a success for our teams.
