A host of club greats will team up again for this weekend's AFL9s Classic.
Jude Bolton, Rhyce Shaw and Tadhg Kennelly will bring some red and white flavour to Queens Park for the national event, kicking off Friday, November 24, through to Sunday, November 26.
It's the second annual event of its kind and brings together players from community football clubs and AFL9s teams across Australia to compete against each other.
In 2016’s inaugural tournament, over 80 teams competed in the Classic, with the major prize winners taking home $10,000 for their efforts.
This year, the Centennial Parklands reserve will play host to over 120 teams and more than 1000 people across the weekend who will compete in the AFL’s social version of the game in a round-robin tournament.
The first day of the Classic on Friday will see schools and corporate teams competing, before the Open competition begins on Saturday plus the Advanced, Over 35s, Men’s, Women’s and Mixed divisions.
It's on Saturday where some of your Sydney Swans favourites plus a host of other past AFL players will don the boots again to have a crack at the All Stars match at 4pm.
An inside source (Bolton) says a few more past Swans may make an appearance while St Kilda's Lenny Hayes, Essendon's Mark McVeigh and Port Adelaide's Kane Cornes are confirmed starters.
AFL NSW/ACT AFL 9s Manager, Jackie De Oliveira, says that the 2017 AFL 9s Classic provides participants with the chance to play AFL 9s on both social and elite platforms.
“The AFL 9s Classic brings teams together from across the country to play the social version of AFL from the Under 15s in the school division, to corporates, men’s, women’s and elite divisions," De Oliveira said.
"It is a fun, social way to keep active and it’s all about enhancing team cohesion. There is also the chance to win a share of the $55,000 in prize money on offer across all of the divisions.”
Bolton, a 325-game premiership player now AFL 9s Ambassador, will be on hand on Friday to jump into the games and provide teams with a unique AFL experience.
Free to the public to attend and with food stalls, a pop-up bar, music and loads of entertainment, this year’s Classic promises to be another exciting event for all players and spectators.
The 2017 AFL 9s Classic is supported by the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency Destination NSW.
