THREE Bathurst juniors will jump on a plane along with 17 Group 10 team-mates today as part of a brief tour of New Zealand led by Bathurst Panthers coach John Fearnley.
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The representative side was assembled earlier this year and competed at a junior league cluster in Leeton, and under a new initiative from Group 10 will get together once more for the trip.
They will play three matches during the week-long journey, as well as visiting some of the sights of the Shaky Isles.
St Pat’s player Will Harbrecht will lead the team while Panthers pair Brad Fearnley and Nathan Ward are also in the squad.
“We’re playing two matches in Auckland and another in Rotorua,” coach Fearnley explained.
“We’ve got 30 parents coming over with eight of them directly helping to look after the team and it’s good that we’ve got a few Bathurst boys in there.
“Every club in Group 10 is represented. They’re all pretty excited about it as you could imagine.”
For the majority of the team it will be their first experience overseas, and in almost every case their first chance to play football against a foreign opposition.
“Group 10 have spoken about the possibility of making this an annual thing and a reciprocal arrangement so that one of the New Zealand sides can come out here next year,” Fearnley said.
“The biggest thing we’re hoping to take out of it is just to give some of these kids experience and exposure. They play against the same guys and with the same guys week after week here in Bathurst or Orange, this changes things up a bit and it will almost certainly put them up against some bigger boys as well.
“Trevor Fitzgerald from Orange has done a great job organising this, it is something they’re all going to remember forever.”
While Fearnley will no doubt be encouraging his players to do their best once they hit the field, he says the emphasis will be on ensuring everyone gets a good taste of the action.
“It’s not about positions or anything like that, it is about getting as much footy into these kids as we can and giving them a good opportunity,” he said.