AFL Hall of Fame player and coach Kevin Sheedy stopped by St Philip's Christian College and Tomaree Education Centre on October 9, speaking with junior players and demonstrating skills.

At Tomaree Education Centre on Thursday, Sheedy spoke to the school's incoming talented-in-sport year 7 class.

The first-of-its-kind class for the school will see 28 students, each skilled in a range of sports, move through years 7 and 8 in a specialised program aimed at keeping young Port athletes on the peninsula.

It will mean young athletes will not have to travel to attend a sports school such as Hunter Sports High, said Tomaree teacher Jim Papworth.

Players from Nelson Bay Marlins Club's under-17 side ran a circuit of skills for the young students to have a go at, including kicking, marking and scrimmaging.

Sheedy also talked about the future of AFL.

He predicted a dramatic rise in the number of NSW-born players filling teams and a women's league to be born.

"The last major impact that happened in AFL was when the league started recruiting Aboriginal players," Sheedy said.

"I think the next gold nugget will be kids from NSW.

"NSW is a state that hasn't had much to do with AFL but we're going to start to see more kids coming through," the former Essendon coach said.

"We're going to see some of the greatest players, and they're going to come from NSW."

Sheedy said young players should be inspired by Cardiff player Isaac Heeney.

Heeney was recently selected as the first round draft pick for the Sydney Swans.