The club will be in the area on Wednesday, February 20 to kick the footy around with Taree West Public School students.

At about 3pm, players will move to Johnny Martin Oval for a free community session with local junior Australian Rules football club Manning Valley Mustangs.

The Mustangs will hold a come and try session after the visit. Squad members to appear at the session are yet to be determined.

The squad will visit other towns on the North Coast that week, including Laurieton, Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Grafton, Coffs Harbour and Woolgoolga.

It’s been quite a busy off-season for the local game, with the Northern Heat under 18s squad training for the final time ahead of their clash with the Burleigh Bombers in March.

Eight players from the North Coast are involved in the game.

On February 23, AFL North Coast will launch the Youth Leadership Accelerator Program to teach up and coming players key leadership skills.

The program will be delivered in a face to face format on the day and will also include online modules to reinforce the learning, mentoring, and practical application of the skills.

AFL North Coast community football manager Paul Taylor said the code is driven to provide learning opportunities for all those involved in the sport 

“AFL on the North Coast has undergone significant growth in the past three years, with the number of participants almost doubling.

“We want to keep that positive growth happening and key to that is ensuring that people have the chance to expand their knowledge and skills. 

This applies every bit as much to administrators, coaches, umpires, and Auskick co-ordinators as it does to players and I’m really excited by the opportunities we’re offering to all of these groups in the next month,” Paul said.

For any inquiries, contact AFL Northern NSW on 6659 6000 or the Manning Valley Mustangs on their Facebook page. The AFL North Coast season kicks off in April.