Mayor of Lismore City Council Jenny Dowell - a self-confessed ‘AFL tragic’ - says the new Gold Coast AFL franchise will be a wonderful addition to the Northern Rivers’ rich sporting palette.

On hand to see the GCFC squad train at Lismore’s Oakes Oval as part of its Community Camp visit, Dowell is in no doubt that the AFL bug will catch on fast in the area.

‘We’ve got a region that loves sport and has wonderful facilities. Soccer, hockey and rugby league are obviously traditionally very popular, but there is no doubt that AFL is taking a foothold.’

She says that foothold will only become firmer as a result of regional visits such as GCFC’s Community Camp concept.

‘Very few Northern Rivers constituents will have ever seen an AFL game as a spectator, but once they do see the game live, they will truly see something to behold. And with the television coverage the way it is and now with a team just up the road on the Gold Coast, local exposure to the sport will go from strength to strength.’

Gippsland-raised, Dowell says she has followed Australian football for as long as she can remember.

‘Both my brothers played local Victorian country leagues and I’m still dropping in to local games up here from time to time.’

Her time spent training as a teacher in Geelong helped forge a near lifelong connection to the Cats.

Any chance of switching sides now there’ll be a new local force in AFL?

She laughs.

‘Let’s just say I’ll be very closely connected to my second team,’ she says.