AFL Sunshine Coast Regional Manager Paul Tresise said the Sunshine Coast, Gympie and Wide Bay regions have been included in the Aspley Hornets catchment zone as part of the revamped NEAFL competition which includes teams from Queensland, Canberra, Northern Territory and New South Wales.
"The revamped NEAFL competition is an exciting opportunity for elite Sunshine Coast AFL players to join the Hornets and play against current and former AFL players including Gold Coast Suns, Brisbane Lions, Greater Western Sydney and Sydney Swans NEAFL teams.
"We’ve put a number of structures in place to support local talented players including a summer development program for elite junior players from November to February. We also field representative teams in the State Under 14 and Under 16 championships which allows players who perform well a pathway into the Lions Academy and potentially future opportunities with the senior Sunshine Coast teams and then the Hornets," Mr Tresise said.
Mr Tresise said the Hornets have a number of former Sunshine Coast players on its 2014 NEAFL roster including Ryley Buntain and Cain Tickner from Noosa and Maroochydore’s Jed Turner who had a stellar season in the former Pineapple Cup last year.
"The Hornets also have a 14 man rookie list where mature age players and juniors can be identified and developed as potential NEAFL players. It’s a fantastic learning opportunity for players to be in this system where they can hone their skills in an elite environment and ultimately be drafted to an AFL club.
"The new structure opens a whole new pathway for talented players in our region to be identified from our representative programs starting at Under 12s and then developed for a career in the AFL via the Hornets," Mr Tresise said.
Hornets Football Operations Manager Mark Perkins said the club has positioned itself as one of the leading AFL teams in Queensland.
"We have outstanding playing facilities, great coaches and training programs to guide our junior and senior players. A number of players have reaped the benefits of these resources including three of our former players who were drafted to AFL clubs last year inIsaac Conway and former Noosa Junior Jono Freeman to the Brisbane Lions and former Hornet’s junior Aliir Aliir who was recruited to the Sydney Swans," he said.
Last Modified on 28/03/2014 14:33