Ready to unleash full Force in the Hunter

All is in readiness for the North Coast Force representative program to launch an assault on the Hunter Challenge Cup across two days of the long weekend.

The event is being staged at Tuggerah on Saturday and Sunday (11 and 12 June) and will see the local rep teams up against strong Hunter Metro, Hunter Country, and Central Coast outfits.

The Hunter Challenge Cup is awarded to the representative program that has the highest percentage of wins from matches played across all age groups. In its debut at the event in 2021, the Force program exceeded expectations and finished runner-up to Hunter Metro, with strong performances from all four teams.

This year, the Under 13, Under 15, Under 17, and Youth Girls 17 teams will be joined by the first ever Youth Girls 13 team which is sure to make its mark on the carnival.

Matt Anderson, North Coast Force Coaching Co-ordinator, said the teams are well prepared.

“We’ve had a very challenging build-up as a result of the wet weather across the region. We’ve trained on synthetic pitches and in indoor halls just to make sure the players could get their hands on a footy and build connections with team mates. Often we’ve had to switch venues at short notice due to ground closures,” Anderson said.

“What this has done is taught our players resilience and to adapt to changes. This will stand them in great stead at the carnival where their resilience will no doubt be tested with a big two days of high quality matches.”

Each team will play two matches per day during the carnival. The Hunter Challenge Cup is a great opportunity for players to show not only their football ability, but also their leadership skills, and ability to contribute to a team both on and off the field.

Following the Hunter Challenge Cup, the next event for the North Coast Force teams will be the Northern NSW Championships in Coffs Harbour from 11 to 13 July. Full team lists can be found here.