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Ireland ready to retain their IC titles

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By Michael McCormick

The Australian Rules Football League of Ireland (ARFLI) is arguably the most successful league outside Australia, having produced players such as the late, great Jim Stynes, Tadhg Kennelly and more recently Pearce Hanley.

Heading the charge to retain their 2011 International Cup championship is ARFLI President, Paul Brogan.

Brogan, who initially became involved in coaching prior to the 2013 European Championships, was anointed President earlier this year and will be responsible for the Irish team in the International Cup.

“I will represent our league in Australia, and aid the rest of the management team in training and preparing the squad during the tournament,” stated Brogan.

As reigning premiers, the Irish will attempting a feat that has not previously been achieved in International Cup history.

“Our goals for the IC, are to retain both the mens and womens titles,” continued Brogan.

“We face an uphill task as no one has ever retained the trophy, but it is my belief that we have the quality in this squad to go all the way.”

Travelling with Brogan to Melbourne will be 14 players, including playing head coach, David Stynes. Stynes will replace Shaun McElhone who will not be attending the International Cup due to family reasons.

Once in Melbourne, the full twenty-eight man squad will resume training and preparations for the tournament.

“There are a lot of new faces notably among the Irish based contingent, none of whom have ever played in the IC before,” stated Brogan. “They can all draw from the experience of winning last years european championships however.”

Brogan is a big supporter of the International cup and the opportunities it provides for players all around the world.

“The IC is showcasing the worldwide talent, that exists in the sport, giving the opportunity for lads to aspire to play on the greatest stage of all, the MCG.”

The Irish squad was chosen via trials and on the back of scouting feedback in both Ireland and Australia.

The Australian based players play for clubs in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, and will all be making the trip down for the two week tournament.

“Its tough for players as they are making a huge commitment,” stated Brogan.

“We have secured sponsorship for both the mens and ladies teams, but that will only cover a small portion of the costs involved. The players will be contributing the remainder themselves.”

The men’s and women’s squads will be landing in Melbourne on the 6th of August and will have regular training and recovery sessions in the St Kilda area where they will be staying throughout the tournament.

They will need to be on top of their game however if they are to defeat the might of Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.

“They have a grassroots structure in place, so can develop players from a young age whereas we have to develop our lads from the skills they bring from sports like Gaelic Football and Rugby,” stated Brogan.

“History would dictate that PNG will be the main challengers for the title, considering that have been to every grand final since the inception of the tournament, however NZ had a very strong showing in nearly defeating the AIS Academy team in January.”

“We will certainly have to be at our best to beat these two sides.”

#warriorsweek #bansheesweek #IC14

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Paul Brogan, ARFLI President

Irish On Song In NAB Cup

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The St Patricks Weekend NAB Cup Final will have a special significance for two of the AFL’s best Irish players. Pearce Hanley’s Brisbane will meet Zach Tuohy’s Carlton in the final. The Lions overcame Collingwood in their semi-final with both Hanley and rising star Caolan Mooney goaling in the game. Tuohy’s Carlton team lost to Adelaide but proceed to the final. Setanta O hAilpín featured prominently on his return for the GWS Giants, while his Sydney neighbour Tommy Walshy missed out due to injury. Add Marty Clarke in to the mix who has featured prominently for Collingwood  and it looks like it will be a big year for the Irish in the AFL, with Niall McKeever also expected to feature for Brisbane again this year.

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Talent Transfer – 5 Who Made It

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With the upcoming Easter Series set to showcase the talents of not just the elite talent of our own leagues, but also eight prominent Gaelic Footballers, we look at five athletes who successfully made the transition to the AFL with European Connections.

Jim Stynes. Gaelic Football. Dublin, Ireland. No player overcame more obstacles to succeed in VFL/AFL football than the late Jim Stynes. The Dubliner, was among the first to accept an invitation to try out with the Melbourne Football club in 1983 and was to endure serial heartbreak on his route to Australian Football’s highest individual honour. He was dropped back to play with Prahran for a while in the VFA, suffered the indignity of costing the Demons a Grand Final place in 1989 when he ran across the mark of Gary Buckenara and was almost dropped at the start of his dominant Brownlow winning season in 1991. He would go on to demolish the record for consecutive games in the AFL, sometimes playing through extremely painful injuries and in his post football career would establish a groundbreaking youth outreach programme and become President of the Melbourne FC. He died tragically young last year after a four-year battle with cancer. His brother Brian also played for Melbourne, and their youngest brother David was a member of Ireland’s International Cup winning teams in 2002 and 2011.

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Tadhg Kennelly. Gaelic Football. Kerry, Ireland. Now a very familiar figure in Europe in his role as an International talent manager with the AFL, but also in his coaching capacity with the European Legion and European Titans. Tadhg Kennelly joined the Sydney Swans and went on to play more than 200 games for the club in two spells divided by a return to Gaelic Football with his native Kerry. In winning an All Ireland with Kerry on his return, Tadhg joined his brother and legendary father in winning a celtic cross medal in the green and gold. More spectacularly he was also an essential member of the Sydney Swans Premiership winning team in 2005.

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Mike Pyke. Rugby Union. British Columbia, Canada.  Okay we’re not trying to pinch glory from our Canadian brethren. Mike Pyke’s introduction to professional sport was in Europe. He joined the Edinburgh Rugby team in 2004 and made his debut for the Canadian national team the same year. He spent two years at the scottish club before moving to France to play for Montauban, it was during this time he scored a wonder try for Canada against the All Blacks. Having incurred some serious injuries at Montauban Pyke began looking at a career change and a friend suggested Aussie Rules, he put together a DVD of his highlights and an agent began to shop it around the AFL. Having had success with Tadhg Kennelly, Sydney were prepared to take a risk and it certainly paid off last September when a huge performance by Pyke helped the Swans to another Premiership.

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Ivan Maric. Basketball. Melbourne, Australia. The mighty mullet and current Croatian Footy ambassador may have been raised in Australia, but he did not take up footy until he was 16, having been a basketball player prior to this. Maric honed his skills at the Calder Canons, but nearly quit football in his second year having become frustrated with the technical aspects of the sport. He persisted thankfully and has now played more than a hundred games for Adelaide and Richmond. Maric’s generosity has been obvious in recent months as he has provided support to the Croatian Knights national team.

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Pearce Hanley. Gaelic Football. Mayo, Ireland. In at 5, but a man who is certainly carving a great career for himself in the AFL. Last season was a breakthrough one for the Irishman who hails from Mayo on the country’s western seaboard. Hanley, was a prodigious talent in Gaelic Football playing for his county’s senior team at 17. The following year he joined the Brisbane Lions and he made his debut for the club late in the 2008 season. In the last two seasons he has been an ever present for the Lions and last year finished third in the club’s best and fairest, a massive achievement at a club with superstars such as Simon Black, Jonathan Brown, Joel Patfull and Tom Rockliff.

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