Andrew Wiles – @andrewjwiles
On Friday afternoon, as a curtain raiser to the NAB Challenge match between the Lions and Swans, The under 18’s Hyundai Help For Kids Lions Academy will take on the Sydney Swans Academy.
The match at C.ex International Stadium in Coffs Harbour, tipped to be played in near perfect conditions, will get underway at 4.10pm ESDT.
Lions Academy Manager, Luke Curran said the NAB Challenge fixture allowed the boys the perfect opportunity to play a new opposition on a bigger stage.
“With the release of the NAB Challenge draw we thought it would be a great opportunity to not only play different opposition but at a really high standard which the boys will get exposed to,” Curran said.
“The more exposure they get to this type of game and this standard, the better off they will be throughout the course of this year, leading into the games against the Gold Coast and into the Queensland under 18 program”
In what will be their first match for the year, the coaching staff are keen to see how structures they have worked on over summer fall into place when the ball is bounced.
“We are looking forward to seeing the boys play, we haven’t had any practice games in the lead up, we have just been focusing on our training programs so this will give us the indication of how well the boys have learnt the coaching information and how well they will execute it.
“They have been training for four months now so they are ready to play,” he said.
Following their clash with the Swans, the Lions attention will immediately shift to their game against the Gold Coast Academy the following Saturday.
“We head back [Saturday] to prepare for our game against the Gold Coast Academy on March 14,” Curran said.
“It will be a light week on the track, we will do a game review Monday, have a light run on Wednesday and then Gold Coast on Saturday.
“The boys are pretty keen to take on the Suns, there is a friendly rivalry there, the boys are good mates off the field but they are pretty keen to take them on, on the field.”
The game against the Gold Coast will take place at Southport Football Club.
