by Kerry Larsen

Outstanding leadership skills for the Port Douglas Crocs has earned Evan Hocking the captain's jumper for the Cairns AFL representative side to take on AFL Sydney this Sunday.

The one-off game against Sydney's top metropolitan league at Cazaly's will also see Port Douglas players Kane Uebergang, Sam Boxall, Scott Roberts, reigning Crathern Medallist and Crocs best and fairest Dan Smith, ruckman Brennan Beall, and Darwin recruit Campbell Warrumarba representing the Cairns league.

But leading the best players of the Cairns AFL in rep duties is not a new honour for Hocking. He was vice captain of the 2010 CAFL representative side which travelled to Canberra for the week-long Australian Country Championships last July, a round-robin comp that saw the Cairns side beat ACT and NSW, and lose to WA and Victoria Country to finish fourth overall.

That carnival was Hocking's biggest representative experience at the senior level to date and says backing up this year with the captaincy comes as an honour.

"It's a great opportunity to represent the league and play with its best players," he said. "But being captain is a real honour.

"The game is a challenge in itself playing against Sydney's best players. We're looking forward to it."

Hocking's football credentials date back to junior days with Mooroolbark FC, earning a spot in with Victoria Metro in the 1998 under-16s championships in a rep side where he coincidentally played with former Port Douglas two-time best and fairest, Caydn Beetham (who then went on to play with Saint Kilda in the AFL).

Hocking later progressed to play with East Ringwood in division one of the Eastern Football League in Melbourne, where he was once runner-up fairest and best for the club.

His brother, Heath, who wears the number 39 jumper for Essendon in the AFL, is attributed as one of the toughest players in the game's highest level, an attribute Evan says is a family trait.

"Heath's tough because of all the times I used to belt him up," he said, tongue-in-cheek. "But Dad played one game for South Melbourne (now the Sydney Swans) in the VFL back in 1971, so footy's always been in the family."

Crocs coach Andy Viola has been appointed coach of the CAFL rep side, with his assistant local psychologist Jimmy Buckley.

Sunday's game at Cazaly's starts at 2pm, gates open 12pm. Admission is free.

Meanwhile, about 7,000 tickets have been sold for the round 17 AFL clash between Richmond and the Gold Coast Suns on July 16 at Cazaly's Cairns.

Local AFL fans are being encouraged to get their tickets early through Cazaly's, as there is no guarantee of tickets being sold at the gate on the day.

The Richmond home game is touted to be an exciting clash, with the young Gold Coast talent maturing with each game in their first year of the AFL, while Richmond is starting to run into some good form coming into the second half of the 2011 season.