Jasper Thomas, Will Mozzell, Jordan Sue-Fong, Ed George, Morgan Dunn, Lachlan Martin, Tom Maher and James Vallender will turn out for the Northern Heat next year.

Made up of players from North West, North Coast and Northern Rivers, the Heat will take on a Queensland representative side, likely as a curtain-raiser to an AFLW game, in February next year.

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They were selected after playing for North West at the 2018 Northern AFL Carnival in Coffs Harbour.

Alan Martin was the head representative coach for North West at the carnival and said the eight juniors selected were all worthy of their spots in the Heat squad.

“They’re all from various backgrounds. Some have been playing for a while and some are new to the game but they’re all quite talented,” Dunn said.

“The NIAS program we’ve been running has helped them all by giving them more experience.

“It’s going to be sensational. I’m going as a coach and I’m excited.”

While the North West teams weren’t able to register wins at the Coffs carnival, Martin said it was still beneficial.

“Even someone like Ed George, he’s been playing footy for a long time, but he just grew through the experience of the carnival,” he said.

“To be honest, it’s not about winning or losing. It’s about them [players] meeting other young people, being coached by new coaches and experiencing a higher level of footy and different coaching techniques.”