AFL Cape York Development officers Brad Nunn and Dwayne Bosen kicked off the July No Boundaries trip, conducting AFL Clinics with year ten students at the Northern Peninsula Area (NPA) College.
The boys also ran clinics for year two through to seven students at the College’s primary school campus in preparation for the arrival of Gold Coast SUNS players and staff later that evening.
SUNS players, Nathan Bock, Daniel Gorringe, Ben Jaensch and Corey Bell and well as SUNS General Manager of marketing, Kelly Ryan and AFL General Manager of International and National Development, Andrew Dillon arrived in time for dinner with representatives from the Northern Peninsula Area Council
The following day Nathan and Daniel spoke to students and staff at the NPA senior college about healthy eating, the importance of school attendance, and what they enjoy most about football.
The SUNS players then took to the classrooms for an intimate Q & A session.
The students came up with some challenging questions for the players and were able to find out that if Nathan wasn’t playing footy he would like to be an electrician and too look for Daniel at the beach when he wasn’t at footy or university.
The day concluded with a visit to the Art Centre in New Mapoon giving the visitors an opportunity to look at some local arts and crafts.
After school the next day was when the fun really started with the players hitting New Mapoon AFL ground to take the local kids through some match play.
Andrew Dillon opened proceedings, warming the kids up with some skills and drills before splitting them into teams.
The game was a huge success with all the kids having a fantastic time and some brilliant football as well.
The local PCYC provided a BBQ dinner with a stampede of kids charging across the oval when it was time to eat.
The SUNS players enjoyed sitting with the group and having a chat about their life and football experiences as they finished their dinner.
The final day of the trip saw the players and staff taking a drive to the very tip of the Cape allowing them to experience the beautiful rain forest areas of the region.
They then returned to Bamaga to attend several primary school classes and NPA College’s secondary campus athletics carnival.
No Boundaries is a partnership program between AFL Cape York, the Gold Coast SUNS, the Federal Government and the Northern Area Peninsula Council aimed at encouraging leadership, school attendance and health lifestyles in the Peninsula region.
