Essendon to replace Roos in Ballina visit
An update to our report last week that the North Melbourne AFL club would hold coaching clinics in Ballina: The Roos decision to reject a proposed move to the Gold Coast means they’re not coming.
But in their place will be the mighty Essendon Bombers!
Essendon Football Club announced this week that they will head to Queensland for the first time since early 2006 after the AFL today announced changes to its NAB pre-season fixture and community camp schedule.
Essendon will now conduct its community camp on the Gold Coast and Ballina between February 4 and 7.
Essendon’s round one NAB Cup match against the Western Bulldogs in Darwin has also been changed. The Bombers will now play Brisbane at Carrara on Saturday, February 16.
The last time Essendon played in Brisbane was Round 2 of the 2006 season when it suffered an 18-point loss to the Lions at the Gabba.
“When the fixture came out we spoke to the AFL about the idea of doing a mid-season camp on the Gold Coast in 2008,” Essendon managing director Peter Jackson said.
“With fixturing the way it has been in recent seasons we have not been in Queensland for two years and we weren’t scheduled to play there in 2008 either. We wanted to explore ways of addressing that situation.
“When the AFL came to us with this idea we saw it as a good opportunity for us to engage with our supporters in Queensland and our affiliate club the Redland Bombers.”
In announcing the changes, AFL Chief Broadcasting and Commercial Officer Gillon McLachlan said it was to enable the AFL to include a greater number of AFL teams in its matches on the Gold Coast during the 2008 season.
“This change enables the AFL to expose another team with a significant supporter base and appeal in Essendon to the rapidly growing regions in northern NSW and southern Queensland through the Gold Coast area,” McLachlan said.
“The Community Camp, which is run by our Game Development department, will provide the perfect promotional lead-in for the match in the week leading up to the start of the NAB Cup, and the match itself should be of great interest with Essendon to meet the Brisbane Lions,” he said.
The Kangaroos visit to Ballina will include a free barbeque and junior sign-up event on Monday, 4 February, a free Community Football Forum for coaches and players that evening, followed by a super-clinic for schools in both the Ballina and Byron Bay regions on Tuesday, before the players travel to the Gold Coast for the rest of their camp.
