The National Touch League is touted as pitting 'the best against the best' and Gunnedah Touch Association president Paul Brady can attest to that.
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This will be Brady's sixth year playing in the competition for the Northern Eagles.
He is one of 12 local players to be selected for the Northern Eagles - another three players who played for Gunnedah, but aren't from town, were also selected - across four different age groups.
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Brady said the Eagles would be taking on "the best touch players in your age division right across Australia" at the NTL in March.
"For some, this is the first time playing in the NTL and it's a massive stretch for them outside of their comfort zone to go from Gunnedah to a competition like this," Brady said.
Brady added: "NTL is the pinnacle of touch football outside of representing NSW and Australia."
The 2021 contingent of Gunnedah players selected for the Eagles is the biggest the association has ever had, Brady said.
It was a reflection of the work being put into the representative program.
"We put a lot of effort into that the last 3-5 years and the flow-on effect of that is two-fold," Brady said.
"We have a bigger representation at a regional level, which we are seeing right now but as people develop and improve on their technical skill, they take it back to their local team.
"They transfer those skills not only into games but onto players in their teams. In A grade men's, women's and mixed in the local competition, the quality is quite strong. Probably stronger than it ever has been before."
Brady also said the friendships sparked through representing Gunnedah was a huge benefit.
"It's a community association, a community sport and overall that's what we're trying to enhance - the overall experience," he said.
The group from Gunnedah selected from Eagles won't just be playing, either.
Simone Brady and Dean Whitton will both play for the mixed seniors with Brady also the assistant coach of that side while Whitton is assistant coach for the mixed open side.
"It's good to see those people be recognised for their coaching as well," Brady said.
The Northern Eagles had training camps last weekend in Port Macquarie and Macksville where the players had "fairly solid hitouts".
The sides will likely have two more camps before the National Touch League which will be held on March 10-13.
The Gunnedah players selected for the Northern Eagles are:
Womens Open: Maddi Buhagiar, Piper Rankmore, Carys Griffiths
Mixed Seniors: Simone Brady, Aaron Donnelly, Dean Whitton, Natalie Louis, Jacqui Jones, James Perrett
Mens 40s: Paul Brady
Womens 40s: Beck Dowe, Vanessa McInnes
Ben Jaffrey
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
