Carlton Football Club holds community camp in Shepparton
By Aaron Cordy
CHILDREN across the country watch their favourite sporting stars on television and dream that one day it will be them. The AFL’s community camps give regional children an opportunity to get up close and personal with AFL Stars, with the Carlton Football Club holding clinics and visiting schools in Greater Shepparton last Thursday and Friday, 5 and 6.
This year, Carlton welcomed the AFL’s re-zoning of its Next Generation Academy boundary that runs from Shepparton to Wodonga.
Former Murray Bushranger and Albury local, Zac Williams, was excited to be back on the familiar Deacon Reserve for the community camp.
“There’s a lot of AFL ties here in Shepparton. I’m glad that we come down here and got to kick the football with a few of the local kids. We got some kids coming here today, some teenagers coming here today to try out. So yeah, really excited to be here today,” said Zac.
Now in his 13th season, Zac is feeling happy with his body as the 2026 season rapidly approaches, and the exciting prospect of what a few off-field changes bring to the club.
“I’ve had a full preseason again this year, which is like three in a row now. I’ve had no interruptions in preseason. So, it’s always nice to have good consistency throughout preseason and leading to games, I’m feeling great. We got some new faces around the football club and got no expectations. And you know, we’re going to attack the season pretty hard, so we’re looking forward to it.
“Charlie’s a big loss, but at the same time, really looking forward to, playing with the boys that have come into the football club.
“We’ve got a lot of new faces in at the club, got a lot of young boys as well. I think already we’ve shown that we’re going to be a tough, consistent, exciting team. The fact that we got a lot of young boys that had a lot of games back end of last year, I think that just builds their experience. And I know all the young boys are pretty fired up to get the season going.”
Carlton opens the 2026 AFL season when they take on the Sydney Swans at the SCG on Thursday, March 5, for the first game of Opening Round.
