West Coast Eagles Kane Lucas and Brant Colledge flew north last Thursday to participate in the club’s fourth Kicking Goals trip of season 2016.

Colledge ventured to Newman to pay local primary and high school students a visit, while Lucas travelled 450km further north to Port Hedland, where he spent some time with Hedland Senior High School’s emerging football talent.

Colledge, who was joined by former rookie-listed Eagle and now West Coast schools and community development officer Will Maginness, conducted three football clinics and a meet and greet with South Newman Primary School students, while Lucas took charge of four clinics and fielded questions from children of all ages on multiple occasions throughout the day.

Lucas, who was participating in his second Kicking Goals trip for the year, said he was thankful for the experience, which was made possible by the West Coast Eagles principal community partner BHP Billiton and Swan Districts Football Club.

“We had a ball in Port Hedland and it seems like there’s some pretty talented young footballers up that way,” the 24-year-old said.

“As great as it is to see them killing it on the footy field, I’m happier to see that they are buckling down and committing to their studies.

“It’s great that our visits inspire them to stay in the classroom and strive to be better students and footballers.”

Lucas was also joined on his Port Hedland expedition by West Coast Eagles content producer Rhys Dickinson, who explained the function of the club’s media department and promoted the various other careers that contributed to the organisation.

As part of its commitment to the Kicking Goals program, West Coast Eagles players and staff make five annual trips to the Pilbara.

Kicking Goals, which is run in conjunction with Swan Districts Football Club with the support of BHP Billiton, is one of the largest region’s based AFL mentoring programs in Australia.

The program is a curriculum-based initiative that implements a reward and incentive system, where students are required to maintain certain key performance indicators to stay in the program and be eligible for various incentives, including visits by West Coast Eagles players and staff.