By www.DailyMercury.com.au
Michael Conlan isn't a doctor but he was in the region to perform a health check.
The AFLQ chief executive officer likes what he sees of Australian Football in Mackay.
So happy with the sport's health, Conlan said Mackay was well on the way to hosting an AFL pre-season challenge match - as early as next year.
"We don't want to just come in and play a match," he said.
"We'd have community camps in the days prior and afterwards."
Praising the region's football facilities, Conlan said the sport's participation growth in Mackay - 64% for 2014 - was outstanding.
"As a state we had a 15% increase and as a nation we had 8% increase, so Mackay is way above the average," he said.
"It's phenomenal growth."
Conlan said one of the lynchpins of growth had been the women's game, which expanded in Mackay from a four to five team senior league this year.
"Our game now is truly unisex," he said.
"If we'd had said that 10 years ago, they'd have said we were mad."
Queensland has the second highest number of women's Aussie rules players, behind Victoria.
A national women's league could be in place as early as 2017, Conlan said.
The AFL Mackay senior season begins March 28, with the Airlie Beach pre-season carnival this weekend.
The major event for the year, the NEAFL Anzac Day fixture is in its third year. Conlan said it had grown with each instalment
Last Modified on 18/03/2015 20:14