Andrew Blades will be on hand this weekend as a special guest of the competition and will hold coaching clinics at Oxley Oval for junior and senior players.

All teams within the Mid North Coast competition have been invited to attend the event which will be capped off by a dinner at the Port City Bowling Club where patrons will get the chance to talk candidly with Blades.

The competition proper kicks off the following weekend.

Hastings Valley Vikings president David Barnes said it would be a priceless experience, particularly for the youngsters in the game.

“It will be great for the juniors to learn from someone like Andrew,” he said.

“The seniors will also get a lot out of it by talking tactics and techniques.

“And then, later on at the presentation it will be great to sit down and hear some stories and get some inside knowledge of what it’s like playing at such a high level.

“We want to stress it is not a Vikings event, while we are helping with some of the organisation it’s for the whole of the competition so we urge all the teams in the competition to get on board.”

Blades said he looked forward to returning to Port Macquarie and spending time with family in North Haven.

“It will be a good chance to catch up with family and have a look around the place,” he said.

“As far as the training day we will focus on a mix of handling skills, give the guys some pointers and pass on some fresh ideas to the coaches.

“It’s key for these regional players to experience different ideas.”

The training sessions will start from 11.30am with the juniors followed by the seniors at 1pm.

The presentation at the Port City Bowling Club will start at 6.30pm.

Tickets can be purchased from the Port Macquarie Telstra Shops and cost $35.