Merry Christmas to our footy family!

On behalf of the entire team at AFL NSW/ACT we’d like to wish our Northern NSW footy family a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

2021 turned out to be another challenging season as a result of the pandemic. Unlike 2020, we started as planned and were already used to operating under restrictions. We made it through the home and away season without any real issues, but then the state-wide lockdown hit whilst we were in Finals and it was a case of so near, yet so far.

Whilst it was hugely disappointing not to be able to finish the season – the first time this has happened in our 40 seasons of history – there were also major highlights. These included:

• Lismore Swans and Casino Lions joining the competition
• Northern Beaches Blues and Nambucca Valley Lions stepping up to the Senior Grade
• Grafton Tigers and Port Macquarie Magpies both fielding Reserve Grade and Women’s teams
• Port Macquarie Magpies re-establishing a Youth Girls team after several seasons
• Northern Beaches Blues having their first Under 15 team in many years
• The return of Junior rep footy (even though it was interrupted)
• The continued growth in numbers across both competitions

These things couldn’t have been achieved without the unwavering dedication of volunteer committees, coaches, and umpires which provide us with the platform to see players display their love of the game.

AFL is a team sport, and it takes a huge team effort to deliver full rounds of matches on a weekly basis across a full season. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who makes a positive contribution to not only running clubs, preparing teams, and staging matches, but also to growing the game in our region.

We already know that next year we’ll see further growth with the exciting development of a second Youth Girls age group (Under 14), together with more teams in most ages, including Under 17.

As we head towards another big season of footy within AFL North Coast please stay safe and healthy, and enjoy this special time with your family.

We can’t wait to see you all back at the footy in 2022 for a huge year of local AFL.