AFL Grand Final to become “Hunter-licious”

A NEWCOMB Power Auskicker will get the opportunity of a lifetime on that one day in September after being announced as a Team NAB AFL Auskick member.

St Albans resident Hunter Armstrong will head to the mecca of Australian sport and play a grid game of Aussie rules in the middle of the MCG at half-time during this year’s AFL Grand Final.

The six-year-old was announced late last month as the fourth of the eventual 11 Team NAB AFL Auskick recruits for 2023.

A mad Magpies fan who looks up to stars including Nick Daicos and Brodie Mihocek, Hunter – whose nickname is “Hunter-licious” – lives and breathes footy and knows all the Collingwood players’ names and their numbers.

Hunter was lucky enough to meet Daicos at last year’s Grand Final Week festival, speaking with him and brother Josh Daicos for almost 30 minutes.

“My favourite thing about football is kicking goals, and I like to do the Nick Daicos celebration after each goal,” Hunter said.

“I’m really excited to play the grid game at half-time and I’ll also get to give a premiership medal to one of the players at the end of the game.”

Armstrong will also get to enjoy the best moment of his life alongside Auskick friend and day care buddy, Tom Bandy – Hunter’s chosen nominee.

Hunter participates in Auskick every Sunday at the Newcomb Football Club, arriving up to an hour early each week to help set up the drills.

He often runs out with the senior Newcomb players each Saturday and takes part in their warm-up on the ground before the opening bounce.

Eager to progress his junior footy career, Hunter occasionally jumps in with the Under 9s at Thursday night training.

Mother Erin Carvill and father Dean Armstrong said Hunter did not take to football at first and showed little interest in the game, but fell in love with footy over the space of a few months – in his mother’s words, “a lightbulb switched on”.