Sapphire Coast AFL have assembled six representative teams to contest a junior carnival and senior rep fixtures this weekend in Nowra.
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The league will put forward a senior men's and women's squad as well as four teams for the Shoalhaven junior carnival starting Friday with an under 17s boys squad, under 17s youth girls, under 15s boys and an under 13s mixed roster.
The senior squads have been coached by Luke Taylor, while Adam Blacka has taken the reins of the women's roster with both squads to showcase the strongest talent the Sapphire Coast has to offer.
Taylor believes the senior line-up could be one of the best yet with a fairly even spread of players from the four clubs across the local draw.
"I think it's as good as any I've been involved in. Squads from 2005 and 2016 stand out - but this one rivals that I reckon, everyone has put their hand up," Taylor said.
Almost 30 players were named for the squad with the final trimmed down 22-man roster to be decided this week, but the depth of talent looks promising.
"You want the best players wanting to play and this year we've got that, it's a real opportunity for the league to put this - and the other rep squads - on show."
Taylor says he has aimed for a mix of the 'level-headed and experienced players', but is also keen to see what some of the rising juniors and newcomers to SCAFL can put on the field.
The roster includes tried and tested players like 'Red Dog' Luke Talty of Narooma while Jake Taylor of the Panthers and Digger Dylan Jordan share the captaining duties.
"I'm most bullishly excited about the guys having their first crack at it, Zach Wilson, Goose Philips, Lachie Small from Pambula who has dominated the first half of the competition," Taylor said.
"It's a really exciting group and I can't fault the guys on their efforts at training and in communication and I'm looking forward to game day."
The women's squad features a lion's share of players out of the dominant Tathra roster with some of the biggest names from Merimbula, Bermagui and Eden to round out the roster.
Some players were part of the squad in 2019 that secured a win over the Western Region and the roster will be hoping to back up from that success this weekend.
With six teams in the mix between rep fixtures and the junior carnival, Taylor is hoping SCAFL will be able to showcase its talent and give other regions something to think about.
He also hopes teams can take away a good experience from the weekend to pass on to the next generation of rising rep contenders. Junior fixtures start on Friday with senior play Saturday.