With the eyes of the AFL community increasingly turning to NSW, six Northern NSW players will be excited to read their name as a part of the U18 Northern Heat squad. A record eighteen players from NSW/ACT were added to AFL lists at the recently held National & Rookie Drafts, demonstrating a strong pathway for talented players inn the area.

Selection Trials were conducted in searing heat at Nelson Bay on Sunday 10^th December, bringing talented players from the Central Coast, Hunter, Mid North Coast & North Coast together. The selected team will now travel to Coffs Harbour for the State Championships at BCU International Stadium from January 17-20, 2011.

They will be joined by another 144 players from the 6 other zones that NSW/ACT is broken into.

Players selected from Northern NSW are:

Liam Carroll (Port Macquarie)

Nick Bailey (North Coffs Kangaroos)

Patrick Gillingham (Sawtell/Toormina)

Brendan Norton (North Coffs Kangaroos)

Mick Corcoran (Inverell Saints)

Levi Sands (North Coffs Kangaroos)

Adding to the Northern NSW representation, the Heat will have the same coaching staff as in 2010 with AFL Regional Manager, Mark Heaney coaching the side and MNC coach, Scott Abercrombie being an Assistant Coach.

The squad will have two training sessions beginning at Wauchope this Sunday, before meeting again in Newcastle in early January.

These players will also be invited along with other local Northern Heat representatives from other age groups to train with the Sydney Swans when players including Shane Mumford and Adam Goodes visit Coffs harbour and Lewis Roberts Thomson & Mike Pyke visit Port Macquarie as part of the Telstra Community Camps in February.