AFL WIDE BAY

Check out the preview online of "Into the Lions Den" which will screen exclsuivley on 7Mate at 11:30am this Saturday before the Lions vs. Melbourne game at 12:30pm QLD time. The gripping special showcases exclusive never before seen footage captured by LIONS TV across the pre-season, as well as interviews with Senior Coach Michael Voss, captain Jonathan Brown, vice-captain Jed Adcock, Lions No.

All games in round 1 were cancelled either due to the condition of the ground or the unavailability of other grounds. The ovals have had between 240mm and 480mm of rain this month with most of that in the last ten days. The already damaged ovals would have struggled to recover for future games if they were all damaged this weekend.

In a first for the area since 2003, the Brisbane Lions have mutiple players and a coach visiting the region to promote AFL and the LIons themselves. It is a packed out schedule with school, hospital and community visits throughout the three main centres. With the Brisbane Lions tea already sold out, it will be fantastic two days ahead and looking forward to the region supporting the trip.

All Clubs will be kicking off all together with all clubs holding a registration day on the 18th February. Clubs are available in Hervey Bay, Bundaberg and Maryborough. The full list of clubs is provided on the attached page and registrations will begin from 10am. Registrations are for Auskick, Juniors, Youth and Seniors and is one of the cheapest registrations in the Wide Bay!!

Premiership coach, Shaun Stone, will lead the new U18 team entering the A grade for it's first ever year. The appointment is a coup for the new team and the direction it is hoping to take. AFL Development Manager Rob Searle is pleased by the new appointment and believes that the new team has been lucky to have someone of Stones calibre in place early. "Shaun has had a decorated playing career and has achieved the ultimate in coaching as well. It was important that the coach was someone that had the right philosophy towards coaching and teaching the young players, as well as having been involved in the higher levels of football as recently as possible"

AFLWB Inc is calling for expressions of interest in the position of Umpires Manager in 2012. The position does have a renumeration involved and potentially could also be split into a North and South combined Managers role to cater for the distance.

In a great move for 2012, there will be an U18 team enter the A grade competition as the 6th team. The best available U18s, along with some overage assistance, will pit themselves against the rest of the competition in the same way the Gold Coast has in the AFL. We are currently seeking applications for potential coaches and assistant coaches for the new side. The new side is also looking for overage players interested in joining the side for an exciting year!

AFL WIDE BAY is now on facebook and will be askick questions as well as getting information out to the masses. Join the page today and keep up to date!

On Sunday 2nd October, the first ever youth awards for AFL Wide Bay were held at the Hervey Bay RSL. The awards will now be an annual event and will not only allow the rep players to recieve more recognition, but also allow the 15s and 17s vote count in front of a wider audience. Brenton Philp took out the U15 Association Best and Fairest while Josh Gale took out the U17 award. Both were very close counts with three players tying for third in the 17s.

The side will be named soon. Will be listed on the development page.

Three more players have been included into the Academy squad of 2011. Riley Blundell retains his spot while Nick Jackson and Lachlan McGill have been rewarded with their additions to the squad. Congratulations boys in being accepted in for 2011