That weekend also marks a watershed date in the formation of a North Coast Women's AFL competition with a player draft to be held on Saturday, February 3.

This innovative approach will be the first ever time that a draft has been conducted on the North Coast for any women’s sport.

With over 60 women having played in demonstration matches during the 2017 season, and with plenty of ongoing interest, the purpose of the player draft is to distribute the talent as evenly as possible across the four teams to ensure that the competition flourishes and grows.

The competition will be open to any woman aged 16 years or older with no previous experience necessary.

Teams will operate under the banner of the existing Senior clubs, with Port Macquarie Magpies, Sawtell Toormina Saints, Coffs Breakers, and Grafton Tigers all committed to running a Women's team. Matches will be played on Saturdays in conjunction with the Under 17, Reserve, and  Senior grades.

Paul Taylor, AFL North Coast Football Operations Manager, said that all involved with local footy is excited by the introduction of a Women's competition.

"In 2017 we introduced a hugely successful Youth Girls competition and the girls loved the chance to play footy,” Paul said.

“From there we received so may calls from women wanting to play that put a plan in place to start a women's competition this season and the response has been overwhelming.

"We will now have a complete pathway for girls, starting at Auskick and going right through to Women's footy, including opportunities for talented players to pursue their dreams."

To learn more about the Women's competition, or to nominate for the draft, please contact the Northern NSW office on 6659 6000.