The North Coast's own April Devine has been selected in the Allies team to play at the NAB AFLW Under 19 Championships in Melbourne.
The Allies team is formed with 14 players from NSW/ACT alongside six from Tasmania and four from the Northern Territory.
The team will travel to Melbourne to face Western Australia on Monday 12 April and South Australia on Thursday 15 April.
April, who turns 18 a fortnight after the Championships, is from Allgomera and played her first three seasons of Youth Girls footy with the Macleay Valley Eagles team.
Last year she moved club to Coffs Harbour Breakers where she played in both the Youth Girls and Women's teams.
At a representative level, April was a member of the North Coast Force Youth Girls team in both 2018 and 2019, and has been a scholarship holder of the North Coast Academy of Sport since 2018.
From her involvement in the North Coast Academy, April was identified in late 2020 to be an inaugural member of the Sydney Swans Academy Top End Program and has been making regular trips to Sydney, Canberra and Geelong for training and matches.
Her performances in these matches has led to selection for the National Championships.
"For more than 10 years the Swans Academy has taken talented players to the elite," Swans Academy Coach and coach of the Allies team, Jared Crouch, said.
"Our six women selected in the Allies team will definitely turn heads at the NAB AFLW U19 Championships."
April continues the strong representation of North Coast players at this level, with Georgia Breward, Brianna McFarlane, and Lilly Doyle all having played for the Allies at the National Championships.
Georgia and Brianna were drafted to the AFLW by Gold Coast and Brisbane respectively, while Lilly was a member of the AIS program, so this selection is a great opportunity for April to launch her career.
