February 11, 2019
Brisbane Lions Ryan Lester and Tom Joyce dropped into Kingaroy as guests of the South Burnett Saints on Monday to help promote the upcoming Auskick junior AFL program.
West Australian Tom Joyce, an Under 18s star, was drafted by Brisbane at the end of last year.
Lester, meanwhile, is an old hand at the Lions. He will be playing his ninth season for the club this year.
The pair put a group of youngsters through their paces at Lyle Vidler Oval as part of their AFL Community Camp visit to the South Burnett.
Lester and Joyce will also be visiting local schools during their two-day stay.
Auskick is a fun AFL skills development program for youngsters aged from 5-12.
Daniel Clacy, from the Saints, said it would be running weekly on Mondays at Lyle Vidler Oval in Kingaroy from 5:00pm to 6:00pm, and at Nanango State School from 3:15pm to 4:15pm.
It will be officially launched next Monday.
It is planned to run Auskick in both Kingaroy and Nanango up to the start of the April school holidays.
After this break, the Saints are planning to host a junior mini-competition at Lyle Vidler Oval on Friday evenings, similar to last year’s successful program.
The Saints senior teams are also working hard in preparation for the first games of the season.
The men have been working out at the Kingaroy Pool under the guidance of a personal trainer while the women have been holding regular training sessions at Maidenwell Oval.
The Darling Downs AFL season will kick off on March 30.
The Saints’ first game will be against old foes, Goondiwindi Hawks.
