MEDIA RELEASE FROM AFL [NSW/ACT] – Northern NSW
Almost 300 of the states best junior Australian Footballers will arrive in Coffs Harbour this week to battle it out for the 2008 PSSA AFL State Championship.
Primary school students from right across NSW will represent their regional teams in a series of round robin games on Tuesday and Wednesday which will culminate in a final series on Thursday. Matches will be held at BCU International Stadium and the Coffs Coast Leisure Park.
Excited about the coming days, PSSA Australian Football North Coast Convenor Dean Burkitt explained; “It should be a fantastic carnival, with the 300 best primary school footballers in NSW playing for their region. The carnival will also bring a big number of visitors to town with all but a few of the players travelling to Coffs with their parents and families.”
The event will showcase the growing talent pool of young Australian footballers within NSW. AFL(NSW/ACT) sees the carnival as opportunity to introduce players to the AFL(NSW/ACT) Talented Players Program. “There is clearly defined pathway from school and club football to participating at the elite level, with professional and age appropriate development programs along the way in our sport” AFL(NSW/ACT) Nth NSW Regional Manager, Shane McAloon explained. “Carnivals like these give the AFL an opportunity to make contact with talented players who are keen to pursue a dream of playing at the highest level and explain to them the pathway to reach that goal” McAloon said.
Two teams that local AFL Development staff will be keen to keep an eye on will be North Coast and Polding, both teams having a number of local Coffs Coast players in their ranks.
North Coast is made up from players representing NSW Public Schools from Tweed Heads to Camden Haven, whilst the Polding team will consist of players from Catholic Primary Schools in the Northern half of NSW.
All the action kicks off at BCU International Stadium from 9:00am on Tuesday and will conclude with the Final on Thursday at 1:00pm.
Last Modified on 19/05/2008 18:40