It has been some years since these two neighbours met and that was back in 2002 when the TAFL was thrashed at BCU International Stadium.

I coached that side and I would have to rate it as possibly the best representative side that I have seen come out of this area.

From memory, the Coast won by 20 odd goals and if it had not have rained heavily later in the game that margin would have been much bigger.

Young legs the key

But that is history and the side in 2010 does not have the big names of that era, and will rely on the skill and running of the local youth to carry this one off.

Peter Chadwick is the coach and has had the usual challenges assembling the team, including injuries and unavailability.

I spoke with Peter this week and he agreed that getting 22 fit players who want to represent their patch is the key ingredient.

Peter has enlisted the help of Tristan Snow and Paul Sheldon, who will support the coach.

“‘Snowy’ brings a wealth of experience and is terrific to have around the group” Peter said.

Short on height

The side will lack height with the late withdrawal of Port Macquarie giant Michael Kemp.

This puts a lot of responsibility on the young shoulders of Ben Miller (Swans) and Aaron Clarke (Nambucca), who look likely to carry the rucking duties.

The defence looks tight and is lead by the former Nambucca coach Jim Angel, with Dean Nankevill (Port), Justin Darby (Grafton) and Daniel Pritchard (Sawtell) all having played at this level before.

The midfield has some new faces with Nambucca’s dynamic duo Jed Ellis-Cluff and Monty Schmidt being selected for their first game, along with the Swans coach Kris Rundell.

There is plenty of pace in that trio, while the experience of Brad Giri (Norths), Luke Benson (Nambucca) and Matt Lill (Port) adds the toughness that is required for these fixtures.