So 11-year-old Angus Stewart from Tinonee is counting the days until he leaves for Malaysia with the Australian under 12 futsal side in November.

Angus is the Manning River Times-Iguana Sportstar of the Week, earning a $50 open order at Iguana.

The Australians will be away for a fortnight, although it is understood the itinerary hasn’t been determined yet.

They’ll be playing a number of local combinations while they’ll also feature in a tournament involving other international teams towards the end of the tour. Angus said it’s going to be a great trip.

“I’ve only been in a plane once before when we went to Queensland,’’ Angus said.

Angus gained a place in the squad following the national championships played at Penrith. He was a member of the Manning-Far North Coast side.

Manning-Far North Coast didn’t have a great campaign, missing out on the finals. So Angus said it was a ‘real surprise’ when he was named in the Australian team.

He thought he played pretty well, but said he was forced to do a lot of defending.

Angus started playing futsal about four years ago, it being the the natural progression from soccer. Last year his side Furious 8 won the Manning futsal premiership and they’re currently leading the competition in their bid to defend the title.

He’s a member of the Tinonee Eagles Soccer Club and will go into the under 12s this year. He’s looking forward to this because he’ll be playing in competitive age division for the first time and on a full field.

Angus started soccer with the Eagles when he was five, following his older sister into the sport.

At this stage he hasn’t settled on a position, with players encouraged to have a crack at a few spots in the non-competitive age divisions.

Angus likes to play up front, but he’s equally as happy turning out in the midfield.

Jack started in Football Mid North Coast’s Skills Acquisition Program (SAP) when he was nine, although he missed last year.

He would eventually like to try out for the Football Mid North Coast teams that play in NPL fixtures, but he’ll see how he fares with Tinonee this season.

Angus said he enjoys playing futsal and soccer and doesn’t prefer one over the other. However, he added the faster pace and the opportunity to score more goals does make futsal an attractive proposition.

Angus is also captain at Tinonee Public School. While futsal and soccer are his main sporting pursuits, he’s had a crack at a couple of others with school teams, including cricket.