Force is building within Northern NSW

The Northern NSW Representative Carnival was acknowledged as an outstanding success by the 19 teams and 400 players that competed across the two days.

The carnival was staged at Coffs Coast Sports and Leisure Park on two outstanding grounds and in absolutely perfect weather. These ideal conditions ensured that the play in all four age groups was fast, skillful, and extremely competitive, with the quality of footy going to another level each year the carnival is staged.

North Coast Force teams recorded their best ever results at the carnival which was a reflection of the learning and development achieved throughout the program.

The Youth Girls team recorded their first ever win against the strong Hunter team, went through the round robin section undefeated, and finished second overall after going down to Hunter in the Final.

The Under 13 and under 15 teams improved on their results from 2017 with both teams going one better this year and finishing in third place after winning their play-off match.

The Under 17 team found themselves under manned after injury struck several players on carnival eve. Despite this they saved their best performance for the second morning, beating North West and forcing their way into the 3rd v 4th play-off match.

AFL NSW/ACT carnival organisers recognised the Best and Fairest player in each team with the award of a medal. North Coast Force Best and Fairest medalists were:

• Under 13 – Jaxon Mawson Gulliford (Manning Valley Mustangs)
• Under 15 – Reuben George (Sawtell Toormina Saints)
• Under 17 – Marraki Kilpatrick (Port Macquarie Magpies)
• Youth Girls – April Devine (Macleay Valley Eagles)

The North Coast Force program and Northern NSW Representative Carnivals are important steps in the athlete development pathway and have contributed to a number of local players gaining selection in state teams in the past three years. The carnival brings together the representative teams from North Coast, North West, Hunter, Central Coast, and Northern Rivers.