Local products aim to Force their way into Southport
Mikey Luxton (Grafton), Holly Wall (Lismore Swans), Hamish Anderson (Sawtell/Toormina) and Lilli-yana Moody (Sawtell/Toormina).
Mikey Luxton (18, from Grafton) and Hamish Anderson (18, from Sawtell) will trial for a place in the Southport VFL program over the next four weeks, starting from Tuesday 15 November.
The region’s strong link to the Southport footy club will be further reinforced over the next month as four AFL North Coast products head north to trial with the Sharks.
One week later it will be the turn of Lilli-yana Moody (18, from Sawtell) and Holly Wall (17, from Casino) who will be looking to claim a spot in the Southport Women’s state league (QAFLW) team.
Both Mikey and Hamish are in their third year as members of the Northern Heat program. Hamish was also a member of the Sydney Swans NAB League team during the year and played two matches in the nation’s premier Under 18 competition.
Lilli represented the Sydney Swans Red team in the Summer Series involving Swans and Giants at the start of the season and was joint winner of the AFL North Coast Best and Fairest award for this year’s Women’s Competition.
Holly has been a member of both the North Coast Force Youth Girls representative team and the North Coast Academy of Sport AFLW program. With Lismore Swans unable to field a team in 2022, Holly joined Coolangatta earlier this season.
Paul Taylor, Community Football Manager, said that this is an exceptional opportunity for all four players.
“The Southport Sharks are an outstanding footy club that were runners-up in both the VFL and QAFLW competitions. This is a great reflection of the professionalism of their club, and the strength of their coaching, so our players know they’re going into a fantastic learning environment,” Taylor said.
“All four players have shown they want to challenge themselves to be the best players they can be, and clearly have the talent to go far. The time they spend at Southport will allow them to test themselves against quality players and take their games to the next level.”
The trial represents a huge commitment for all four players who will spend plenty of time travelling to and from sessions. Hamish and Mikey will be at Southport for four weeks, completing sessions on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and on Saturday mornings, whilst Lilli and Holly will train on Tuesdays and Thursday across three weeks.
Hamish’s older brother Angus had a similar opportunity with the Sharks in 2020, which led to further opportunities with the Sydney Swans.
Should Lilli and Holly be successful in their trial, they’ll join former North Coast players Casey Wynne, Bri McFarlane, and Georgia Breward in the Southport colours.
