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AFL Europe Talent Combine Review

The 2016 AFL Europe Talent Combine was held in Dublin on the 11th and 12th of November. 21 athletes from Europe were selected to attend the event to further showcase their athleticism and skills to a panel of recruiters from the AFL community. From this, 5 players will be nominated to attend the US Combine held in Florida where there will be a scout from every AFL club overlooking the talent.

Players arrived the evening of Thursday 10th November to the Louis Fitzgerald Hotel Dublin, where they attended a ‘Welcome Dinner’ followed by an informal presentation hosted by former Sydney Swans player and current International Talent Manager, Tadhg Kennelly, who welcomed all players and presented them with their combine apparel.

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Friday morning players completed a ‘Personality Profiling Assessment’, which will be used to gain a better understanding and insight into their mindsets.  After the testing, all athletes were taken to the University College Dublin (UCD), who hosted this year’s Combine.

All players’ height, weight, skinfolds, arm length and hand span was recorded to help form their sporting profile. The first fitness assessment was completed in three sections, the first section was a Speed Test comprising of a 20m Sprint which was tested in blocks of 5, 10, 20 meters. The second section was an AFL Agility Run and the third was a Running and Standing Vertical Jump.  All results were electronically recorded and generated for their sporting profile as well as for prospective clubs.

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The second fitness assessment was the Beep Test, which tested their aerobic capabilities.  All athletes pushed themselves remarkably, resulting in some fantastic outcomes.

Later that afternoon all players were taken through an introductory skills session indoors. It was the first time for some athletes to pick up an AFL football, however; after a matter of minutes they managed to become extremely familiar with the skill set required. Tadhg and his team hosted multiple skills activities and decision making drills.

After a huge day of testing, all players looked forward to jumping into the pool for a quick recovery session to enable them to pull up ready for the next day of testing.

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Later that night, players attended AFL Europe and AFL Club interviews. They were asked several questions based on their background, their inspirations and their aspirations for life. This permitted the testers to generate more contextual information for each of the player’s profile.

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An early start on day Three of the AFL Europe Combine saw all players transported to the UCD Sports Fields where they performed multiple skills activities and then finally competing in a game of AFL and Gaelic Football. From this, recruiters and staff members were able to see all athletes’ capabilities in game form and were extremely happy to witness some incredible performances.

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On Saturday afternoon all players, parents and AFL Representatives were invited to attend a casual lunch followed by a presentation from the AFL.  The presentation consisted of a short recap of Tadhg Kennelly’s journey to the Sydney Swans, a snapshot of how AFL recruitment works including the rules/the players welfare and lastly, an overview of living in Australia from the Australian Ambassador to Ireland, Mr Richard Andrews.

Overall, the 2016 AFL Europe Talent Combine was a major success; there were great results achieved and some amazing talent seen. We wish the best of luck to all 21 players and look forward to hearing about their future endeavors.

Article by Olivia Eason

 

 

AFL Europe Talent Combine

It’s that time of the year again!

This week is an important fixture on the AFL Europe event calendar. AFL Europe’s 2016 Talent combine will be held Friday and Saturday November 11th & 12th at University College Dublin. The talent combine brings 25 of the most talented football prospects from across Europe to profile them athletically, mentally and analyse their skills. From a fitness testing prospective we will be putting the athletes through the 20m sprint, AFL agility, vertical leap, running vertical leap and beep test. The boys will also put their problem solving skills to test their ability as they are scrutinized under pressure. Finally, we will be putting the athletes through full match simulation in order to evaluate their overall football capabilities. All of this testing and the entire event will be overseen by Irish ex-Sydney Swans  premiership player Tadhg Kennelly.

We are extremely excited for the event and are sure we will get some fantastic results!

Olivia Eason

Player of the Week

Each week AFL Europe is profiling a European player and finding out how they got into the great game of Aussie Rules and a bit about themselves. If you’d like a profile or know of someone who would, then email admin@afleurope.org to receive a question sheet.

Name:

Claire Perez

Club:

Paris Cockerelles

Nationality:

French

What position do you play?

Midfield

AFL team you support:

Western Bulldogs

Favourite AFL player:

Marcus Bontempelli (The Bont)

How did you find out about AFL?

I used to work with the best French player and I wanted to try the strange sport

How long have you been playing for?

2 years

What is your memory of your first Aussie Rules game?

The coach called me out because I was talking during warm-up so I started the game from the bench. When I finally got on the field I scored my first goal.

Any other interesting information, quirky stories or interesting things about yourself?

I have an evil twin on the team: Julien Dagois

 

Player of the Week – Lisa Wilson

Each week AFL Europe is profiling a European player and finding out how they got into the great game of Aussie Rules and a bit about themselves. If you’d like a profile or know of someone who would, then email ben.durance@afleurope.org to receive a question sheet.

Name:

Lisa Wilson

Club:

Wimbledon Hawks

Nationality:

British

What position do you play?

Half forward/half back

AFL Team you support:

Crows/Bulldogs (can’t decide!)

Favourite AFL Player:

Taylor Walker

How did you find out about AFL?

My basketball coach at university used to play AFL for England and moved to Australia to play. When visiting in Australia I went to watch him at a game and he took me for a kick afterwards. On moving back to London I looked up Aussie rules in London and wandered down to the Wimbledon Hawks and the lads were so welcoming…fell in love with the sport instantly.

How long have you been playing for?

Just over 2 years

What is your memory of your first Aussie Rules game?

It was Wimbledon Hawks Ladies Day 2014 and we managed to rumble up 20 girls to play a ten aside exhibition game and within 5 minutes one girl broke her leg and by the end another had broken her hand and there were plenty of bumps and bruises to go around – loved it!

Best moment in your career?

Playing for the England Vixens and thrashing Denmark in the Euro Cup final in Croatia to become champions.

Any other information or quirky stories?

I am genuinely addicted to footy; since starting I have helped set up and run the Wimbledon hawks ladies, played for England twice, set up the GB Swans team, started the Clapham Cubs Auskick club and started umpiring.

 

Player of the Week – Maria Falkesgaard

AFL Europe Player of the Week

Maria joined the Odense Lionesses in 2015 and with a background in rugby, cattle wrestling and as a floorball goalie, she came to the sport with the strength of bear and the reflexes of a cat. She quickly showed great awareness around the ball and tremendous power both in contest and disposals. Her first game was played less than a month after joining the team and she scored 3 goals on her debut.

A month later she was badly injured and started watching AFL intensely and spent the summer practicing ball handling skills in Copenhagen with the Copenhagen Barracudas. By Euro Cup in October that year, her understanding of the game and leadership qualities earned her the title of captain for both the Odense Lionesses and the Denmark Valkyries. The same year she became top goal scorer in the Womens’ Nordic AFL and for the Danish Valkyries at Euro Cup. Yeah bra!

Name:

Maria Falkesgaard

Club:

Odense Lionesses (Odense Australian Football)

Nationality:

Danish

What position do you play?

Forward Pocket and Ruck Rover

AFL team you support:

West Coast Eagles

Favourite AFL player:

Josh Kennedy and Matt Priddis

How did you find out about AFL?

There was a tryout day at the club and I was persuaded to give it a go by friends who were playing

How long have you been playing for?

A little more than a year

What is your memory of your first Aussie Rules game?

Had a massive hangover and taking a hard tackle in the first quarter so I had to go out for a couple of minutes, and then kicking three goals when I came back in

Best AFL moment?

Without a doubt, the goal against England in the final of Euros 2015 – go watch the replay on the tube..!

Any other interesting information, quirky stories or interesting things about yourself?

I am in general a very boring person, but I’ve got mad knitting skills and I taught my dog “play dead”.

Around the Grounds

Around the Grounds 30/8/16

Helsinki go back-to-back in FAFL Grand Final

The 2016 season ended victoriously for the Helsinki Heatseekers as they beat off a valiant Turku Dockers in the capital on Saturday.

Congratulations to the Heatseekers and Dockers along with the Finland AFL for putting on another amazing season in 2016. We can’t wait for season 2017 in Finland.

150 of the best for Port Malmo’s, Gaeten Blonde

The Maulers celebrated in style for one of their most decorated players, Gaetan Blonde, as he played game 150 at the weekend. The Maulers convincingly beat the Helsingborg Saints on their home turf by 213 to nil in a big day out for the club.

Ben Polmear kicked 13 goals while Simon Ward bagged 10. Check out video highlights at the link below.

Munich win through to AFL Germany Grand Final

Round 9 in the AFLG Premiership saw the Munich Kangaroos win through to the grand final with a comfortable win over the Berlin Crocodiles. The final score in that fixture was Munich 15.12. 102 to Berlin’s 8.4.52.

In the Championship Freiberg Taipains/Stuttgart Emus took the chocolates over the Frankfurt Redbacks with 20.11. 131 to 8.6. 54. The Hamburg Dockers defeated the Dresden Wolves via forfeit with the scores reading 80-0, giving the Dockers a healthy percentage booster.

Frankfurt and Hamburg will square off in the Championship decider on the 10th of September.

AFL SWEDEN wants you!

AFL Sweden is on the lookout for a new manager of the men’s national team along with a sponsorship manager for the entire association. For further details on both positions can be found by clicking through the link below.

http://www.aflsweden.se/2/index.php/sv/nyheter/32-two-positions-available-with-afl-sweden

Odense Lions knock of rivals Aalborg Kangaroos away from home

The Odense Lions travelled to Aalborg at the weekend to take on the Kangaroos and came away with a resounding victory, winning 118 to 44.

Christian Belling was awarded best on ground while Yossy Taihutto kicked 3 majors for the day.

Odense

Check out the video below of the Lions giving Birkir Gudmundsson a viking clap to celebrate him kicking his first goal in the Aussie Rules.

https://www.facebook.com/340565146058656/videos/1137188763062953/

 

 

 

Match of the Round

Match of the Round 26/8/16

Finland AFL – Helsinki Heatseekers vs Turku Dockers

The day of days has finally arrived for Finland AFL (FAFL) with the two best teams for season 2016 battling it out for the ultimate prize, to be crowned FAFL Premiers.

The Helsinki Heatseekers will do battle with the Turku Dockers in Helsinki on Saturday in a bid to become back-to-back FAFL Champions.

The Turku Dockers have had mixed results in season 2016 having registered two strong wins over Vaasa Wombats and Helsinki followed by a big home loss to the Heatseekers in the return fixture.

The Dockers have been best served by Elmo Primmer and Pietari Arikka this season. Both young chargers love to run and take the game on which bodes well for Turku in the 9-a-side format. The Heatseekers will have to keep a close eye on 2014 FAFL Grand Final ‘Best on Ground’, Alix Kalliojarvi, who has a track record of performing on the biggest stage.

The defending premiers, the Helsinki Heatseekers, have also been battling inconsistency this season as they have struggled stringing together four quarters of footy. Injuries throughout the year have been key to these inconsistencies with a number of key players sitting on the sidelines for long periods of time.

The Heatseekers will be sweating on the fitness of Adam Vassey, as a player of his quality will most certainly put them in the hot seat to go back-to-back. Sito Lopez is widely regarded as the top ruckman in the FAFL and will hold the key to the midfield battle come Saturday.

With a 1:30pm bounce scheduled no doubt the Talin-Urheilupuisto ground in Helsinki will be jam-packed with footy-mad Finns on the edge of their seats waiting with baited-breath to see who will be crowned 2016 FAFL Champions.

Best of luck to both sides involved.

The coach’s thoughts – Turku Dockers

“Helsinki are always tough to beat at home, especially with their full playing list available, but the Dockers guys showed in the Helsinki tournament earlier in the year that they can be beaten. It should be a tough game, with both teams keen to end the season on a high.”

 

The coach’s thoughts – Helsinki Heatseekers

“This year has seen the competition come a lot closer with Turku beating us in the opening round and us getting the second one back. Vaasa have been a very strong and tough team to get a win over and they are a very big and physical side and like to play hard. Saturday will provide a very good game and best luck to everyone and have a fun safe game.”

Player of the Week – Stuart McKeating

AFL EUROPE PLAYER OF THE WEEK 

Each week AFL Europe is profiling a European player and finding out how they got into the great game of Aussie Rules and a bit about themselves. If you’d like a profile or know of someone who would, then email ben.durance@afleurope.org to receive a question sheet.

Stuart McKeating has participated in the inaugural AFL Europe Champions League in March 2015 where the Redbacks placed 3rd. Since then Stuart has been in integral member of the Redbacks as well as being chosen for the Irish Warriors, participating in the AFL Europe Championships. Unfortunately the Warriors went down to the GB Bulldogs in the final but McKeating made an impact and cemented his position in the Warriors with his outstanding performance.

Name:

Stuart Mc Keating

 

Club:

Belfast Redbacks and Irish Warriors
Nationally:

Irish

 

What position do you play:

Midfield – On ball or Sweeper

 

AFL Team you support:

Belfast Redbacks

 

Favourite AFL player:

I’m torn with this one, for two different reasons.. I’m going to say David McElhone on the field because in possession he could find a sober Irish man on St. Patrick’s day. Then off the field I’m going for Conor O’Halloran from the Leeside because his flowery t-shirts are exceptional

 

How did you find out about AFL:

I work along side Gerard Walls and he had just returned from Australia after winning the World Cup with Ireland, so with the hype of the win I went along to a training session with the Belfast Redbacks and I never looked back!

 

How long have you been playing for:

About 4ish years now

 

What is your first memory of your first Aussie rules game:

My earliest memory is playing my first game, a preseason game against the London Wildcats in Belfast, I remember how slick, tough, and classy these guys were, we spent the majority of the time crashing into each other and picking each other up afterwards laughing. 3 years later we would meet the Wildcats again in the Champions League semi final in Amsterdam, a very close game ending in 2 points to the Wildcats (eventual winners) I remember thinking how much further on the Redbacks had came along with my own abilities.

 

Best AFL moment:

I’m not sure I could pick one moment out, I’ve scored some goals, produced big tackles, and even got to see first hand what the top level AFL players can do as I recently marked Marty Clarke in a league game, but if I had to pick I’d say it was witnessing Gerard Lenihan pull off the ‘specky’ of the season in Galway, although maybe after this coming week things could change!

 

Any other interesting information, quirky stories or interesting things about yourself:

I can confirm that Gerard Walls has indeed got a grizzly bear carpet in his living room, however the poor bear isn’t dead it’s just afraid to move

Around the Grounds

Bulldogs and Swans crowned Champions of Europe

The AFL Europe Championships came to a close last Saturday with the Grand Finals taking place at the home of the Championships, Motspur Park.

The German Eagles claimed third place in their playoff with the Swedish Elks as they held firm for a thrilling 1-point victory.

The GB Swans scored the one and only goal of the women’s final against the Irish Banshees. Tough conditions met the players and provided the large crowd with a real arm wrestle to watch.

In the men’s final the GB Bulldogs got their redemption for their last minute loss to Ireland in the 2013 Championships by convincingly outplaying the Warriors.

Congratulations to all teams who took part in the full-format tournament, especially their coaches and team managers who did an amazing job getting so many players over to London to represent their countries.

Football can’t be played without the umpires who we’d also like to thank for doing such a great job throughout the week. A special mention to Adam Pearce from the AFL who took notes and provided tips to our umpiring squad throughout the week.

Finally, to all volunteers and the great AFL Europe community, thank you for all your assistance. We look forward to our next major tournament, the annual Euro Cup, to be held in Lisbon.

wrap up article

Amsterdam White Devils claim the DAFA 9s Premiership

The Amsterdam White Devils came out on top of what was a see-sawing Grand Final in the DAFA 9s in Amsterdam over the weekend.

A last quarter surge was enough for the White Devils to get over the line against Den Haag Ooievaars who eventually claimed the inaugural DAFA 9s Premiership by 10-points.

Final scores 87 to 77.

Well done to everyone involved at the DAFA for the continued growth and development of Aussie Rules in the Netherlands. We can’t wait to see how the Dutch side goes in the Euro Cup in October.

DAFA 9s 1 DAFA 9s

Berlin League culminates in Grand Final rematch

For the second year in a row it was North vs South Berlin in the Berlin League. The minor Premiers, North Berlin Crows, were looking to enact revenge after going down to their cross-town rivals in last year’s decider.

It wasn’t to be for the Crows who again went down to the in-form Giants by 29-points.

The boys from Berlin won’t have long to indulge in celebrations as their focus now turns to Munich this coming weekend.

Congratulations to the Giants and good luck with the upcoming fixtures.

Berlin

Free access to WatchAFL

Jump onto WatchAFL on the Celebration of Football weekend starting on the 2nd of September with the EJ Whitten Legends game and run through to the 10th annual Hamson-Hardeman Women’s Exhibition Cup.

Click the link below and sign up below.

http://watchafl.afl.com.au/

 

 

 

#EC16 Day 2 Review

German Eagles vs Swedish Elks

The 2nd day of matches at the AFL Europe Championships was again graced with beautiful sunshine. The German Eagles and Swedish Elks kicked off proceedings with what many pundits predicted to be the most bruising and physical encounter of the tournament.

Both sides were eager for the contest and this showed when they both started warming up at full intensity 45 minutes prior to the first bounce.

With the breeze at their backs in the first quarter, the German side, took the ascendancy early in the match. The footy was camped in the Eagles forward 50 with only their accuracy for goal proving costly. Tristan Thormann backed up his performance from Sunday to again assert a physical presence to every stoppage or contest he took part in.

Buster Sund picked up the slack for the Elks and did his best to swing the momentum in his sides favour. Despite the Eagles having the better of the game early, the Elks got a goal against the run of play to open the scoring for the day. A quick reply from Germany and this match was all level going into the 2nd term.

The 2nd quarter was a see-sawing affair with the Swedes and Germans trading goals to start the quarter. Andreas Svensson racked up a ton of the footy in the midfield for Sweden while their backline was being well served by Hampus Olsson who had a handful of last ditch intercept marks in the Elks defensive 50.

Jakob Jung showed his class in the midfield and displayed why he was one of the most talked about talents in Europe, while teammate Ruben Streicher was getting off the leash for the Germans up forward and when he marked and goaled from deep in the forward pocket the momentum well and truly shifted in the Eagles favour.

With a two goal lead to the Germans at halftime and kicking with the breeze in the third term meant the boys from Sweden had to muster something special to get back in the game. Some inspirational words from coach, Ryan Tucker, had the Elks come out from the main break like men possessed.

The intensity went up a notch in this game and the Swedish side did everything they could to get themselves back into the match. Spot fires were opening up after each contest with neither side taking a back foot.

Two goals in quick succession for Sweden to Phillip Nilsson and Chris Martensson to open the 4th quarter and the Elks opened the door for a come-from-behind victory. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be with Germany’s, Jan Huesken, kicking his third goal of the game and sealing what proved to be Germany’s first win in a full 18-a-side match in over 3 years, a great achievement for coach Mark Woods and his chargers.

Final scores: 7.14. 56 to 4.4. 28

Goals:

Germany: J. Huesken 3, R. Streicher 2, M. Herthum, H. Van de Stay

Sweden: K. Karlsson, A. Olsson, P. Nilsson, C. Martensson

Best:

Germany: J. Jung, T. Thormann, J. Huesken, M. Schutoff, M. Preiss, R. Streicher

Sweden: A. Svensson, H. Olsson, B. Sund, A. Tellstrom, T. Persson, J. Nilsson

 

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GB Bulldogs vs Irish Warriors

The much anticipated game against these two old rivals was set to be an absolute thriller and it didn’t disappoint. With a twilight bounce, a growing crowd joined the boundary at Motspur Park to catch a glimpse of these two European powerhouses go head-to-head.

With a few injuries, a no-show and a dip in the Serpentine taking its toll on the home side they had to utilise their full squad for this game. The Irish weren’t without their troubles with a few knocks from their first hit out against the Germans ruling out some of their players.

Squad issues aside both teams were fired up for what was most likely a dress rehearsal for the Championship match in a few days’ time. The match opened with the footy whizzing from end-to-end. Neither side could string together more than a handful of clean possession, with a mixture of nerves and intense opposition pressure forcing simple skill errors.

Muiris Bartley was collecting a heap of the footy across the halfback line for Ireland and was launching the Warriors into attack with his raking left boot. Similarly, for GB was Luke Booth who was everywhere for the home side.

The 1st quarter deadlock was eventually broken by Irish forward pocket, Ryan McCloskey, whose nous around the goals was second to none. Another goal to Padraic O’Connell and the Irish had the better of the opening exchanges.

The 2nd term was a complete scrap. The footy was hot and neither side took a backward step. The Bulldogs were again hampered by their inability to covert forward entries. They finished the first half with 10 behinds and no goals in what proved a goalless term for both sides.

It was a low scoring first half with the scorecard not reflecting the excitement the game was providing its spectators. Jack Coughlan and Chris Britton were doing all they could to get the home side up-and-about while Gavin Murray was proving pivotal for the Irish in the ruck.

The match resumed similar to how it left off. Turnovers were again hurting both sides. Dominic Joyce got off the chain and opened the scoring for Ireland. Ill-discipline crept into the Bulldogs game and coupled with their inaccuracy in front of goal was putting the game out of reach.

With 3 goals to GB’s 0 in the third term the Irish looked like they had this game on ice. Injuries took their toll on the Warriors with a handful of players finishing their day early.

The Bulldogs started the 4th term still without a goal to their name. Cashman finally broke through for the hosts to breath some life into his Bulldogs teammates. Cashman goaled again and before you knew the game was alive. Andrew Walkden jagged another for GB and the game was well and truly turning into a nail biter. A mercurial tap on to an open Liam Burns steadied the ship for Ireland and gave them a 7-point lead with 5 minutes to play.

The footy was locked in the GB forward line with conversion again proving costly for the Bulldogs. They couldn’t buy a goal. It took a left-foot snap deep in the forward pocket from Vice-Captain, Michael Sharp to get the Bulldogs within a solitary point of the Irish with 2 minutes on the clock.

That was all she wrote in this blockbuster with the Irish able to hold on for what was a thrilling 1-point victory. Inaccuracy was the achilles heel for Great Britain and will be something they will look to rectify in their final pool game on Thursday.

Final Scores: 6.5. 41 to 4.16. 40

Goals:

Ireland: R. McCloskey 2, P. O’Connell, D. Joyce, E. O’Murchu, L. Burns

GB: M. Cashman 2, M. Sharp, A. Walkden

Best:

Ireland: M. Bartley, G. Murray, K. O’Brien, D. McElhone, P. O’Connell, D. Joyce

GB: M. Sharp, A. Cochrane, L. Booth, A. Overton, C. Britton, J. Coughlan

 

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