![Longford fans watch on as the Tigers win the 2022 NTFA premiership at UTAS Stadium. Picture by Paul Scambler Longford fans watch on as the Tigers win the 2022 NTFA premiership at UTAS Stadium. Picture by Paul Scambler](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/brian.allen/50d1a565-535d-4c97-8227-38a01af99ce4.jpg/r0_473_4176_2784_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Longford Football Club will hold its inaugural Community Gala Day at the town's Village Green with youngsters getting the chance to learn from the club's senior NTFA players.
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The event starting at 10am on Saturday, February 24, will include junior coaching for girls and boys from under-nine through under-17.
There will also be games, activities and a barbecue as well as the chance to buy merchandise and sign up as a member.
Longford senior men's coach Mitch Stagg said it was a great opportunity for the club to engage with its fans, sponsors and the wider community at the town's central hub.
He said the Tigers had gone away on pre-season camps in previous years but wanted to do a local community camp this year, an idea proving popular among AFL clubs.
"The entire senior group will be there on the day, I think we have 34 guys committed at this stage," Stagg said.
The coach said the Tigers had enjoyed a strong junior program across decades and had worked hard to strengthen the ties between the seniors and juniors.
"You can probably see in our senior team how many guys have progressed from our junior program into senior football and have become premiership players in 2022," he said.
"We really respect our program and are keen to invest in it.
"Obviously casting our mind forward to the restructure that's going to happen, it's really important that we build those connections and make them even stronger over the next 12-18 months."
The state's new three-pronged regional model will start in 2025 given the State League is disbanding at the end of this season.
The NTFA will have a new top-tier Northern Premier League featuring six clubs.