Fielder and Bennett awarded AFL England Lifetime Achievement Awards

Two legends of AFL England were presented Lifetime Achievements Awards at the conclusion of the Masters game in Reading at the weekend. Rob Fielder and Adam Bennett have been integral to the game here in the UK and Europe over the past decade. Rob finished up his tenure as England Dragonslayers coach at the Euro Cup in Lisbon after 10 years in charge while Adam recently stepped down as AFL England President after providing years of service.

Congratulations on your recognition Rob and Adam, the game here in the UK and Europe is certainly in a better place because of both your tireless efforts.

CNFA round 1 kicks off

A beautiful weekend in France set the scene for round 1 of the CNFA season at the weekend. Reigning Premiers, the Paris Cockatoos went down at home to grand final opponents, the Cergy Pontoise Coyotes 104 to 87.

The Bordeaux Bombers proved too strong for CNFA newcomers the Blagnac Aviators in their first hit-out as they cruised to a 40-point victory.

The final match of the round turned out to be a thriller with Perpignan Tigers pipping the Toulouse Hawks by 4-points.

The Paris Cockerels and ALFA Lions didn’t play in the first round of matches but will be raring to go next weekend for the next instalment of the CNFA season.

Check out the full review below:

http://cms.football-australien.fr/index.php/80-1ere-journee-du-championnat-de-france-leo-lagrange-2016-2017

DAFA say goodbye (for now) to stalwart

Euro Cup in Lisbon was the last time DAFA stalwart, Nick Bennett, will pull on the orange and blue jumper for a while. Nick has been a core member of the DAFA over the past few years by sitting on the board, coaching and playing. He has been a huge part of getting the Champions League up and running in Amsterdam as well as the continued development of Aussie Rules in the Netherlands.

Thanks for all your efforts Nicko, taking out the Plate final in Lisbon was a great send-off.

Max Rooke visits AFL London Women’s players

2 x Geelong Premiership Player and current Gold Coast Suns Development Coach, Max Rooke, stopped in to run an AFL London Women’s session on his recent visit to the English capital. Max took the girls through the basics of kicking and handballing before letting the girls in on his famous tackling technique.

Special thanks to Mitch Skelly of the Wandsworth Demons for organising the session and Max for giving up his time to give back to the women’s game.

Australian Wombats hold on against AFL England Masters

On Saturday the Australian Wombats took on our AFL England All-Stars in the first ever International Masters Test between the two nations. The game took place at the home of the Reading Roos, King’s Meadow, in picturesque conditions on Saturday afternoon.

The Wombats are coached by former West Coast and Brisbane player, Brent Staker, who pulled the boots on for the occasion. Our All-Stars led at every change but were unable to hold onto their lead late in the final term when the Wombats stepped up a gear. The final scorecard reading 54-52 in favour of the Australians.

The Wombats are now on their way to Ireland for a two-test series of International Rules against the Irish. We’re hopeful of accommodating the Australian Masters in the years to come and hopefully even getting to a point where we can send a touring side over of our own.

Good luck in Ireland boys!

AFL Europe Umpires take the next step

Three of AFL Europe’s umpires have been selected to take part in next year’s International Cup in Melbourne. Geoff Pascoe, Josh Davey and Oscar Ayyadi earned selection to IC17 following stellar performances with the whistle at our recent AFL Europe Championships held in London during August.

Check out the full article on their achievements below:

http://www.aflcommunityclub.com.au/index.php?id=47&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=3701&cHash=b82881277e72ccb938a9df86eaf33456