The Seagulls’ under 18½ were forced to field one permit player and some under 16s in their Hampden league round one loss to Portland on Saturday.

Port Fairy coach Nick Sheehan said the club wanted to add depth to its junior program and encouraged anyone interested in playing to attend its special training run at Gardens Oval.

Ex-Port Fairy coach Brad Sholl, who played 171 games for North Melbourne and Geelong, will also help out.

“There is a fair bit of AFL knowledge helping out there,” Sheehan said.

“It’s quite ironic because Brad was my first senior coach and now he is giving me a hand.

“It’s my first time coaching. I always wanted to get into coaching and it’s a big task coaching a senior team so you have to start somewhere.”

McDonald played games in a VFL-AFL career spanning a decade.

The key position player retired in 1992 and ventured into coaching, taking over as Hawthorn caretaker late in the season after Peter Schwab stepped down.

McDonald then spent time as an assistant at North Melbourne where his son Luke, a second-year defender, now plays.

Sheehan said Port Fairy was rapt to have someone of McDonald’s ilk pass lessons on to its next generation.

“He has a strong connection to the town; he has a house here,” Sheehan said of McDonald.

“North Melbourne plays Geelong on Sunday and he gets to sneak down.

“We’ll grab his knowledge and pick his brain.”

The training session will start at 5.30pm on Friday due to the Seagulls’ round two Sunday fixture. 

Anyone interested in joining Port Fairy’s junior program can contact Nick Sheehan on 0407 328 522.