As the region's top senior Aussie rules talent prepare to return to the field this weekend, a crop of exciting teenagers have proven that the future of the sport in the Illawarra remains in safe hands.
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AFL South Coast sent a strong contingent of boys and girls representative teams to last weekend's Northern NSW AFL Junior Representative Carnival in Coffs Harbour. The Illawarra Storm won 21 out of 36 games played across six age groups at the competition.
The Storm secured the Simon Smyth Cup as overall champions, narrowly finishing ahead of Hunter Country by just half a game.
The three-day competition was the largest of its kind ever held, attracting almost 700 players from across the state.
The Storm's under-17s girls coach Peter Veerhuis said it was a great weekend for the Illawarra region.
"The girls in particular did incredibly well. I think what that tells me is that our girls program, while it's still evolving, we've done well to progress it in a really strong way, which is really pleasing," Veerhuis said.
"At the end of the day, success comes down to is particularly where the concentration of your top-end girls are. We've had quite a few local girls involved in the (Sydney) Swans academy program. They're not exclusively the best players, but they're getting extra training every week and extra games through the course of the season.
"I think the teams that probably do the best in these sorts of championships tend to have the higher percentage of girls involved in those talent programs."
Meanwhile, attention will now turn to the AFL South Coast's elite senior competitions following a two-week mid-season break.
In the Men's Premier Division, the Wollongong Bulldogs have set the tone in the first half of the season - winning nine games from 10 starts - and will look to re-start that momentum when they host the Shellharbour Suns on Saturday.
Defending champions, the second-placed Kangaroos will look to continue putting pressure on the Dogs when they take on Northern Districts, while the Power will aim to notch up their second win of the 2023 season against the Lions.
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
