IC17 Team Announcement – GB Swans

Over the next month AFL Europe will be taking a look at the teams travelling to the International Cup in Australia this August. First up for the women we’re checking in with the first-time European Champions, the GB Swans, who’ve conquered it all over in Europe and looking to take on the best in August.

What’s been happening since European Championships in 2016?

The girls have been so busy since London last August! Many of the squad ventured over to Lisbon for England Vixens and Scottish Sirens respectively and did a fantastic job or representing their countries. The Vixens had a great run getting to the final, eventually losing out to the Irish Banshees. The Sirens also had a good tournament…

Lots of girls are playing regularly in the AFL London competition – even the Scottish girls travel down when they don’t have their own games up in Glasgow highlighting their fantastic commitment! It was fantastic to see so many of the Swans up in Glasgow in April for the annual Haggis Cup where they were all representing their respective clubs.

Our last big event as a group was the London Pre-Season Cup which we took a strong squad to. On the day the girls combined really well and we were able to try out one or two new things in terms of positions and set plays which worked really well against the London clubs meaning we ended the day with an unbeaten record and the trophy retained.

What’s scheduled/planned for the months leading up to IC17?

London Footy Carnival will see Swans take on Ireland, Canada and London All-Stars. LFC will see Bulldogs take on Canada while Wales will do the same.

The girls will also be joining up for a couple of squad training sessions prior to flying out – all fitted around their regular seasons of course.

Who’s impressed on the training track/trials?

All our usual suspects have been working really hard in training and on their own personal fitness goals – for instance our Nottingham contingent led by captain Rocky seem to be living in the gym, seeking to be in the best possible shape come August.

Seeing some of the girls take an innovative approach to training has been great; such as Lisa and one of our new girls Fizzy who have been hitting their local indoor climbing walls. The Scottish girls seem to be hitting CrossFit pretty hard too so the signs from training are encouraging!

Seeing the girls out on the field has been superb – as a collective their skills have increased hugely since the European Championships in London last summer which is a great testament to themselves and the clubs that they are a part of. Finally, I think the great success of AFLW has seen the girls’ knowledge of the game increase so much which is great for us.

Coach’s thoughts?

Check out what Garth Nevin, Lauren Spark and Ian Mitchell had to say on aflengland.org about the IC.

http://www.aflengland.org/?p=1938 (Garth)

http://www.aflengland.org/?p=1985 (Sparky)

http://www.aflengland.org/?p=2201 (Ian)

The Squad

Beth Bailey- Nottingham Scorpions Australian Rules Football Team
Carolyn Baker – Glasgow Sharks Australian Rules Football Club
Jen Ben – Wimbledon Hawks
Freya Blount – University of Birmingham Aussie Rules Football Club
Lea Cobham – Nottingham Scorpions Australian Rules Football Team
Lara Creber – Sydney University Women’s AFL Club
Louise Porta Darby- Wimbledon Hawks
Charlotte-Ellen Eales- Wimbledon Hawks
Rachel Gouldingay- The Wandsworth Demons
Kirsty Gray- Greater Glasgow Giants ARFC
Frankie Hocking – Newtown Breakaways FC
Stacey Hughes- Glasgow Sharks Australian Rules Football Club
Rachel Hunt- The Wandsworth Demons
Lucy Jones – University of Birmingham Aussie Rules Football Club
Lucy Kilheeney – Nottingham Scorpions Australian Rules Football Team
Rose Lewis – The Wandsworth Demons
Melanie McDevitt- Glasgow Sharks Australian Rules Football Club
Jess Milford – Wimbledon Hawks
Rosie Morison – Newtown Breakaways FC
Laura Park- Greater Glasgow Giants ARFC
Alexandra Peill- Wimbledon Hawks
Rania Ramadan (vice-captain) – Nottingham Scorpions Australian Rules Football Team
Alexandra Saulter- Nottingham Scorpions Australian Rules Football Team 
Danni Saulter – Nottingham Scorpions Australian Rules Football Team
Caroline Sellar (vice-captain) – Glasgow Sharks Australian Rules Football Club
Laura Turner (captain) – Nottingham Scorpions Australian Rules Football Team
Lynsey Torrance – Glasgow Sharks Australian Rules Football Club
Lou Smith- Glasgow Sharks Australian Rules Football Club
Ellie Sutherland- Glasgow Sharks Australian Rules Football Club
Lisa Wilson – Wimbledon Hawks