Merry Christmas to our footy family!

On behalf of the entire team at AFL NSW/ACT we’d like to wish our Northern NSW footy family a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

2021 turned out to be another challenging season as a result of the pandemic. Unlike 2020, we started as planned and were already used to operating under restrictions. We made it through the home and away season with relatively limited issues, but then local outbreaks and the state-wide lockdown hit whilst we were on the cusp of Finals and it was a case of so near, yet so far.

Whilst it was hugely disappointing not to be able to finish the season there were also a number of major highlights. These included:

• Having the same number of Men’s and Women’s teams, meaning the draws for each could mirror one another
• The focus placed on Women’s footy with the decision to determine Finals venues based on the Women’s ladder every second year, as well as the first ever Women in Sport round
• The Celebrating Volunteers round which placed a focus on the key role played by volunteers
• Community focused events such as Pancare Round, Kevin Pay Memorial Round, and Jacob Vallender Heart Foundation Memorial
• Indigenous themed celebrations with the Moree Suns leading the way

These things couldn’t have been achieved without the unwavering dedication of volunteer committees, coaches, and umpires which provide us with the platform to see players display their love of the game.

AFL is a team sport, and it takes a huge team effort to deliver full rounds of matches on a weekly basis across a full season. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who makes a positive contribution to not only running clubs, preparing teams, and staging matches, but also to growing the game in our region.

We already know that next year we’ll see further growth with the exciting development of a Youth Girls age group (Under 17), together with the expectation of more teams in both the Under 14 and Under 17 grades.

As we head towards another big season of footy within AFL North West NSW please stay safe and healthy, and enjoy this special time with your family.

We can’t wait to see you all back at the footy in 2022 for a huge year of local AFL.