Plenty of off-field effort goes into making sports a success.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
One of New England’s own has had his name put up in lights alongside some of the state’s most influential sportspeople.
The Nomads’ Neil Dunn is a finalist in the Volunteer Director of the Year category at the NSW Sports Awards for his contribution to getting the junior North West AFL, formerly known as Tamworth AFL, competition up and running.
Dunn started a committee to form a local competition after his son expressed interest in playing Australian Rules Football only to find there was nowhere to sign up.
The annual awards ceremony on Thursday night in Sydney will feature some of Australia’s best including cricket captain Steve Smith, Olympian Jessica Fox and the NSW Swifts.
Last year, Dunn was awarded the North West AFL’s Volunteer of the Year and went on to win the NSW/ACT AFL state volunteer.
He said he was honoured to be considered alongside some of the state’s best names.
“I am going to feel quite out of place among all those elite sports people considering I have never been much of a sports person myself,” he said.
“The nomination for me highlights the fact that groups of people can work together to create something fantastic for young people in our region.
“In this case NSW AFL worked very hard to help a small junior AFL committee to create a new competition that gave approximately one hundred kids the opportunity to have a go at the great game of AFL.
“To be recognised for bringing these people together is a really nice feeling.”
Dunn is among seven nominations from AFL ACT/NSW for the awards, being staged at at Navarra Venue’s Curzon Hall in Marsfield.
In more AFL news, the Northern Inland Academy of Sport team suffered a 37-point loss in Coffs Harbour on Saturday.
The NIAS squad took on North Coast Academy of Sports in a curtain-raiser to the AFL JLT Community Series pre-season clash between Sydney Swans and North Melbourne.
NCAS prevailed 11.3 (69) to 4.8 (32), but winning coach Mathew Anderson said the final scoreline did not truly represent just how tight of a contest the match was.
“In junior games I look at the number of scoring shots a team has compared to the other team, and not the total score,” Anderson said.
“We had 14 compared to 12 (NIAS).
“Alan [Northern Stars / NIAS head coach Alan Martin] did a great job building and forming a team of boys from across the northern region.
“By the 3rd and 4th quarters they looked like a seasoned team.”
Moree talent Daniel Brown was named best-on-ground for North West, after producing a quality four-quarter display.
Armidale duo Morgan Dunn and Dylan Moore also found plenty of the footy.
Inverell’s Seb Blair was named the rising star.