Local prospects are on Swans radar

Three of the North Coast’s brightest young footy prospects have been included in the Sydney Swans summer Benchmarking program, giving them the chance to press for inclusion in Swans underage teams.

Will Kelly (17, Port Macquarie), Beau Guthrie (16, Coffs Harbour), and Amaia Wain (15, Bellingen) have been included in their respective age group programs, putting them within the top 40 to 60 prospects from across the Swans Academy zone that includes eastern Sydney, Illawarra, Hunter, and Central Coast.

The Benchmark program runs until the end of the year before the Swans Academy selects male and female teams at both the Under 16 and Under 18 age groups to compete in the prestigious NAB League competitions. The NAB League has traditionally been the pinnacle underage competition that AFL and AFLW recruiters tap into to identify potential draft selections, so the local stars will be pushing hard to gain selection within the Swans teams.

Leon Cameron, Swans Academy Coaching Director, has been impressed by the North Coast contingent.

“The regional players make a huge weekly effort to come to Sydney on a week night for a period of at least four consecutive weeks. We know they have the commitment to succeed, and they wouldn’t be here if they didn’t have the talent, so I’m looking forward to watching them progress throughout this program,” Cameron said.

Should the local players gain selection in the NAB League teams, they’ll be in line to play between six and nine matches in Sydney and interstate.