Heat ready to crank up again

The 2018/2019 Northern Heat squad.

 

The 2019/2020 Northern Heat program has been announced comprising 12 players from both AFL North West NSW and AFL North Coast.

The program comprises 20 athletes in the Under 17 age group that were selected based on their performances at the Northern NSW Representative Carnival. Rounding out the squad are four Under 18 athletes that have been selected based upon their leadership capabilities.

The purpose of the program is to prepare players to take the full time step into the open age ranks in the 2020 season. Sessions will be conducted between October 2019 and March 2020 and will incorporate a range of strategies to fully develop the players’ capabilities including GPS tracking, strength and conditioning, and video analysis. These sessions will be conducted by experts in their field including Southern Cross University sport scientists and a former Sydney Swans strength and conditioning coach.

The program will conclude in March with a pre-season match against the strong Surfers Paradise/Southport Colts team that plays in the south east Queensland competition.

Paul Taylor, Community Football Manager, said that the program is a great preparation for Senior footy. “Our selected athletes will really benefit from training and playing with strong players from other regions and being exposed to different coaches from these regions. The Northern Heat is a great reward for the effort they’ve put in at both club and representative level.”

Training sessions will be held in each region with the first of these scheduled for Saturday 27 October. The match is expected to be played at Southport.

The selected players are:

Angus Anderson, Sawtell Toormina Saints (North Coast)

Kade Bagnall, Grafton Tigers (North Coast)

Hayden Baker, Gunnedah Bulldogs (North West)

Tim Beattie, Inverell Saints (North West)

Danny Brown, Moree Suns (North West)

Tyler Donovan, Sawtell Toormina Saints (North Coast)

Morgan Dunn, New England Nomads (North West)

Nick Fisher, Moree Suns (North West)

Bill Gibbeson, Coffs Harbour Breakers (North Coast)

Lachie Martin, Inverell Saints (North West)

Dylan Moore, New England Nomads (North West)

Hayden Proctor, Coffs Harbour Breakers (North Coast)

Alex Pyke, Sawtell Toormina Saints (North Coast)

Riley Sandral, Inverell Saints (North West)

Ronan Singleton, Sawtell Toormina Saints (North Coast)

Camden Sparke-Gaukroger, Inverell Saints (North West)

Liam Spencer, Coffs Harbour Breakers (North Coast)

Ryan Swann, New England Nomads (North West)

Noah Swarski, Grafton Tigers (North Coast)

Jasper Thomas, Gunnedah Bulldogs (North West)

Mal Troutman, Sawtell Toormina Saints (North Coast)

Des Tuckerman, Gunnedah Bulldogs (North West)

Evan Whitty, Grafton Tigers (North Coast)

Kye Wilson, Port Macquarie (North Coast)

Program coaches are:

Matt Anderson (North Coast)

Alan Martin (North West)

Matt Harrison (North West)