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AFL Europe Championships – Day 1 Review

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Match Reviews 14/8/16

Ireland Warriors v Germany Eagles

The 2016 AFL Europe Championships kicked off in style with the highly fancied Ireland Warriors taking on the German Eagles. In steamy conditions at Motspur Park, the Warriors were looking to stamp their authority as top-dogs of Europe with a strong showing against their opponents.

It didn’t take long for the Irish to open proceedings with a goal after 2 minutes to steady the nerves in the Championship opener. Muinis Bartley was finding plenty of the footy across the wing for the Irish and delivering into the forward line at will.

The Germans found their rhythm midway through the first quarter and held the Warriors firm for the vast majority. Tristan Thormann was herculean for the Eagles asserting his physical presence around the contest and making his opponents think twice with ball in hand with his ferocious tackling pressure.

Key-forward, Kevin McSorley broke the deadlock with an amazing snap on his left foot from the boundary to give the Warriors a steady lead in the closing stages of the quarter.

After a contested start to the game the Irish found a way to get their run and carry going which broke the game open after quarter time. Gavin Murray was not only dominant in the ruck but was proving invaluable around the ground for the Irish. His battle with the Eagles, Johannes Orlowski was one of the highlights of the match as the two big men went blow for blow all day.

Heading into the second half the Irish had a firm hold on the game and were controlling the tempo for large periods of time. AFL London’s Irish superstar, Kevin O’Brien, was dictating play from the centre and topped the possession count by a long way.

The Germans never gave in though and credit must go to their resilient backline for repelling constant attacking forays from the Irish. Donning the boxing headgear, Rob Macher, lead the tackle count and showed real spirit against a wave of green jumpers.

The heat was taking its toll on some of the German players, most notably Karl Haigh, who came off with cramp late in the third. He must have been pulling the wool over his opponent’s eyes as he returned to the field to slot the Eagles second goal of the game after what must have been some miracle work from resident sports trainer, ‘magic hands’ Shanahan

Inaccuracy marred the final quarter for the Warriors who had gone in at halftime with a very precise 10 goals, 2 behinds. Jan Husker snagged his second goal late in the fourth for the Germans who showed real fight and determination. The Irish would be happy with how they gelled after having their first training session together on the Saturday and will go in confident against arch-rivals, the Great Britain Bulldogs, on Tuesday evening.

The final scorecard reading 17.11. 113 to 3.0. 18.

Goals:

Ireland: P.O’Connell 4, K.McSorely 2, D. Joyce 2, R. McCloskey 2, G. Walls, E.O’Murchu, M. Bartley, C. Fitzgerald, C. O’Halloran, C. O’Lordian, L. Burns

Germany: J. Husker 2, K. Haigh

Best:

Ireland: K.O’Brien, G. Murray, R. McCloskey, P. O’Connell, L. Burns, L. Hickey

Germany: T. Thormann, J. Jung, F. Neumann, J. Orlowski, M. Priess, K. Haigh

 

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Great Britain Bulldogs v Sweden Elks

Host nation, the GB Bulldogs, graced the field in the second game of the tournament against surprise packets the Swedish Elks. With the mercury peaking just prior to first bounce both sets of players knew they’d be in for a fair slog and the first 15 minutes of the quarter proved just that.

The Bulldogs were getting their hands on the footy first but poor skill execution and some silly free kicks were really hurting them.

Dave Jordan steadied the ship for GB with an intercept mark across the wing before delivering a lace out pass to Andrew Walkden who went back to slot the opener.

Inaccuracy was killing the Bulldogs early on and kept the Swedes in the game. Kaj Karlsson was a beast in the midfield for the Elks and was starting to swing the early momentum.

Enter Marc Cashman, the big centre half forward chalked up his first goal of the game following another bullet pass from Bulldogs midfielder Luke Booth. From here on the Bulldogs were dominant.

Jordan and Sharp were wreaking havoc on the wings for GB while David Hastie jagged two goals back to back to open the second quarter.

Despite not troubling the scorers the Elks were very much threatening the GB backline. Andreas Svensson was central to the cause and was one of the most influential players on the ground for the Elks in the midfield. Jacob Nilsson was doing his best to resist the Bulldogs attack and was continually bombing the ball out of the Swedes under pressure defence.

With three goals to Cashman to open the final quarter, taking his tally to six majors, the heat was well and truly out of the contest.

With some junk time goals stretching the score out to over 100-points the Bulldogs well and truly stamped their authority on their home tournament.

Final scorecards reading 18.17. 125 to 1.1. 7.

The result leaves a tantalising Tuesday evening game against old foes the Irish Warriors which will be a battle of strength vs. speed. This will be one of the games of the Championships with a lot of history adding to the theatre of this faceoff.

Let’s not forget the showdown between Germany and Sweden on Tuesday afternoon which is set to be one of the most bruising encounters of the tournament. Both sides love the rough stuff and will leave nothing in the tank.

Play starts from 4pm on Tuesday.

Goals:

Bulldogs: M. Cashman 6, D. Hastie 3, J. Coughlan 2, C. Cooney 2, A. Walkden, M. Kilheeney, L. Booth, A. Cochran, L. Gedney

Elks: A. Olsson

Best:

Bulldogs: M. Cashman, L. Booth, J. Talbot, D. Jordan, M. Hinchey, M. Kilheeney

Elks: A. Svensson, H. Olsson, A. Olsson, T. Persson, A. Tellstrom, K. Karlsson

 

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EC Team Preview – European Crusaders

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AFL Europe Championships Team Preview – European Crusaders

Every three years the AFL Europe Championships take place for teams to assert their dominance and claim bragging rights against their European counterparts, as well as gain valuable 18-a-side match practice in the lead up to the International Cup the following year.

In the lead up to this year’s AFL Europe Championships in London we’ll be focusing on each team and previewing their chances of taking out the top prize.

In the final of our women’s team previews we are getting to know the European Crusaders a bit better.

What’s happened since International Cup 2014?

We formed the European Crusaders for this full format tournament; most girls on this team have never played for the Crusaders before.

Who’s in for AFL Europe Championships in 2016?

Crusaders is a team consisting of girls from more than a handful of different countries, hereunder France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Denmark. As many of the countries in Europe are not able to put together a full format team, we got the opportunity to play as a joint team thanks to AFL Europe. Our team consists of players who have never played before and players who have been playing for several years. We have an awesome team with many good girls with different strengths with different strengths we will try to utilize.

Crusaders have never played together before but is looking forward to play and have fun together as a team, hopefully showing the other women’s teams that we are to be reckoned with.

Denmark Valkyries Team Manager Cyril Marsault has been recruited to coach the Crusaders during the tournament. He will get a helping hand from Maria Falkesgaard who will be a playing team manager for the Crusaders.

AFL Europe Championships focus

The crusaders have never played together as a team before, but all girls have a great sense of teamspirit. We have girls of very different skill levels and therefore we would love improve during the tournament, however we now that we might have a huge challenge here. The strengths of the team are that all the girls are very committed to playing a full format tournament and that all the girls’ love playing footy. The weaknesses of the Crusaders is that we are very low in numbers and that we have never played together before.

Who has the X-Factor?

We have players from both the French and Danish national teams and they are always bringing their best play for tournaments. Furthermore, we have a strong list of British, Kiwi and Australian girls who shows promising notes on field. As this team is pure superstar quality, we do not highlight any one player but the team as a whole. However, we are looking forward to seeing Samara Warren play her first footy game and think this former soccer player will be a nice addition to the team.

Coaches thoughts – Cyril Marsault

”The Crusaders will enter the competition with less expectation to them than to the national teams. The focus on fun rather than performance, and the patchwork from different countries, might come as a disadvantage, but choosing to compete with such a team shows great motivation and courage from the players, which might just be the recipe to unexpected success on the field.”

 

Squad

  1. Maria Falkesgaard
  2. Amanda Teglhus
  3. Maibritt Jansen
  4. Claudia Kwok
  5. Alexandra Daley
  6. Lucy Henderson
  7. Coline Duquet
  8. Mathilde Combes
  9. Claire Pérez
  10. Lynne Wooldridge
  11. Rachel Gouldingay
  12. Rebecca Dickson
  13. Hayley ’The Noodle’ Canton
  14. Samara Warren
  15. Claire Messent
  16. Emma Lundaahl

 

 

Match of the Round

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Match of the Round 6/8/16

ARFLI Grand Final – Leeside Lions v Belfast Redbacks

Mardyke Arena, Cork plays host to two of the fiercest rivals in Irish Aussie rules. The Leeside Lions take on the Belfast Redbacks in tomorrow’s Grand Final blockbuster with the Lions playing in their first Grand Final since 2011. The Redbacks are ‘big dance’ specialists, having qualified for their fifth consecutive ARFLI Grand Final.

This past year has been a big one for the ARFLI as a focus on reformation of the structures of the league took to the forefront. The establishment of ‘carnival footy’ has been the major structural change to the league. This saw carnivals held in the home city of each of the four competing league teams with Galway, Cork, Belfast and Dublin hosting carnivals throughout the season.

The Leeside Lions were the first side to lock in their place for the Grand Final having done so on the back of a ‘clean sweep’ – winning 9 from 9 games, a first in Irish League history. The Lions squad has been boosted this year by the large number of players from the local university team, the UCC Bombers. Being the first to qualify gives the Lions a much deserved home advantage which could prove pivotal to the outcome of this game.

The boys from Belfast will be a formidable opponent and could shatter the Lions hopes of a perfect season. They’ve qualified for their fifth straight Grand Final and the experience of playing on that first Saturday in August gives them a massive advantage if the game goes down to the wire. They also have the largest proportion of players in the Irish Warriors squad contesting the AFL Europe Championships the following week so that’s not to be underestimated.

Will the ARFLI be crowning a new champion on Saturday in the form of the youthful Leeside Lions or will it be the experienced and battle-hardened Belfast Redbacks. This one is set to be a ‘corker’ and isn’t to be missed. With the ball up set for 3pm get down to Mardyke Arena for the culmination of the 2016 ARFLI season.

Coach’s thoughts – Leeside Lions, Chris O’Brien

“The game will be won by playing our fast, precise style of footy. Players to watch are our Aussie gun, Matty Moore, and experienced players like Eoin Sull, Ian Sull and Cian Quigley that have been here before with the Lions and the national team on many occasions.

A younger crop of guys who have experience players with the Irish Warriors in various tournaments over the last couple of years, most notably, Muiris Bartley and Conor O’Halloran in IC14. We also have a good crop of youth and experience heading to London representing the national team in a couple of weeks’ time for the AFL Europe Championships.

The feeder club, UCC Bombers, have given the Lions a boost this year not only with players but an exuberance for the game and a sense of freshness to the squad that will hopefully reap benefits in the Grand Final against a tough Redbacks team.

We wouldn’t be where we are without the help of Tadgh from our sponsor, Blockagebusters, his generous contribution has allowed us to book training fields, help with insurance and physio bills, especially in the lead up to the final”

 

EC16 Team Preview – Irish Warriors

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AFL Europe Championships Team Preview – Ireland Warriors

Every three years the AFL Europe Championships take place for teams to assert their dominance and claim bragging rights against their European counterparts as well as gain valuable 18-a-side match practice in the lead up to the International Cup the following year.

In the lead up to this year’s AFL Europe Championships in London we’ll be focusing on each team and previewing their chances of taking out the top prize.

Next up to be previewed is the Ireland Warriors. The boys from Ireland are always up around top of the placings and will be looking to further assert the dominance in London.

What’s happened since International Cup 2014?

Since the International Cup in 2014 the Irish Warriors have been consistent participants in the yearly Euro Cup. They finished third in the 2014 and were beaten by Croatia after the siren in Umag in the third-place playoff. There has been a high volume of player turnover in recent years for the Warriors.

The positive for the Irish is that their Draft Cup competition unearthed a lot of new talent and the squad will contain a number of players making their Warriors debuts.

The management for the Irish Warriors has undergone significant changes in recent years. The team at IC14 was managed by Paul Brogan and coached by Shaun McElhone, who led the team to wins at Euro Cup 2011 and 2012 as well as retaining the AFL Europe Championships in Dublin 2013. Shaun’s success was unable to travel Australia for IC14 but had the side coached under the watchful eyes of David Stynes and Lachlan Buzsard.

Since the success of the recent era a new coaching and management team has been put in place and it has evolved over the last few years. They’ll be looking to go one step better than previous tournaments and come away with the win at the Champs come August.

Who’s in for the AFL Europe Championships in 2016?

The joint coaching team of Brian Currane and Ciaran O’Hara, both of whom have worked with the team since 2014 and began the process whilst IC14 was underway.

Brian was one of the best forwards in Ireland for many years and was a member of the winning International Cup side from 2002. He was also involved in an administrative capacity for the AFL Europe Championships in 2010.

Ciaran has for many years been involved in the management of the National team, having travelled as an assistant to the International Cup in 2002. In the 2008 and 2011 instalments of the tournament he also managed the team. He coached Croatia at the last AFL Europe Championships in Dublin and has a wealth of experience coaching Irish club teams.

Supporting the coaches is a number of people, most notably, former captain Cian Quigley as team liaison.

The team itself is coming together well, blending a mix of youth and experience. With multiple International medal winners like David McElhone, Eoin O’Suilebhain and Gerard Walls mixing with some really exciting prospects like Stuart McKeating, Paul Murphy and Luke Hickey this Warriors side looks pretty formidable. Add to this some full format experience from the UK Leagues and the Irish could be hard to stop.

The side is made up of 9 players from both the Belfast Redbacks and Leeside Lions, 2 from the Galway Magpies, 2 from South Dublin Swans and a number of player representing UK Clubs such as the Manchester Mozzies, North London Lions, Wandsworth Demons and Wimbledon Hawks.

Pre-Tournament Focus

Due to very busy domestic league schedules it has been difficult for the Warriors to meet for training camps. Their players will be in form with regular carnivals and premiership games throughout the year keeping them fit and with good touch.

The Warriors will relish the opportunity to run out onto a full sized oval seeing as they don’t usually get the opportunity. They’ll look to add width and pace to their game which is something Irish players are traditionally very good at. With a high calibre of football player, the Irish will always a tough opponent and will be very difficult beat. Their Achilles heel is always their inability to train as a team before big tournaments which will put pressure on them early in the Champs to gel as quick as possible.

Who has the X-Factor?

The ruck duo of Gavin Murray and Dominic Joyce will be ones to look out for and can be really dominate. They could dictate first use for their midfielders which is key to winning big games.

The improvement shown by players like Sean Paul Henry is going to be vital for the Warriors. His natural athleticism has always had him at the forefront of opposition discussions but not his foot skills have become a focal point of his game which makes him a really exciting prospect for the Irish side.

Coaches thoughts – Brian Currane?

“We’d expect to have a fair crack at defending our title, but we know it will be difficult, GB were very good in 2013 and have improved since and the home advantage for them could be the percentages they need to take out their first European Championship.”

Team List (includes emergencies)

  1. Muiris Bartley (UCC & Leeside Lions)
  2. Sean Paul Henry (Belfast Redbacks)
  3. Luke Hickey (UCC & Leeside Lions)
  4. Brendan Kelly (Belfast Redbacks)
  5. Stiofan Mac Finn (Wimbledon Hawks)
  6. Tom McKenna (Belfast Redbacks)
  7. Paul Murphy (UCC & Leeside Lions)
  8. Conor O’Halloran (Leeside Lions)
  9. Eoin O’Suilleabhain (Leeside Lions)
  10. Tom Stack (Manchester Mozzies)
  11. Gerard Walls (Belfast Redbacks)
  12. Liam Burns (South Dublin Swans)
  13. Conor Fitzgerald (Wandsworth Demons)
  14. David McElhone (Belfast Redbacks)
  15. Sean McGlinchey (Belfast Redbacks)
  16. Stuart McKeating (Belfast Redbacks)
  17. David Miller (Belfast Redbacks)
  18. Gavin Murray (South Dublin Swans)
  19. Kevin O’Brien (Wandsworth Demons)
  20. Eoin O’Murchu (Wandsworth Demons)
  21. Conor Fitzgerald (North London Lions)
  22. Dominic Joyce (Leeside Lions)
  23. Ryan McCloskey (Belfast Redbacks)
  24. Kevin McDonnell (Galway Magpies)
  25. David McGinty (Galway Magpies)
  26. Kevin McSorley (Belfast Redbacks)
  27. Kevin O’Brien (Wandsworth Demons)
  28. Padraic O’Connell (Leeside Lions)
  29. Coilin O’Lordain (Leeside Lions)
  30. Rory O’Donnell (UCC & Leeside Lions)
  31. Alan Tobin (Wandsworth Demons)

2016 AFL Europe Euro Cup

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Welcome to the 2016 Euro Cup! This year’s tournament is being held in Lisbon, Portugal at the National Stadium Jamor.

Date: Saturday 8th October 2016

Venue: Lisbon, Portugal (National Stadium Jamor)

Map:

 Pitch Map

Registration:

Your registration fee of €110 + Eventbrite Fee, this year INCLUDES all of the following:

  • Playing registration fee
  • Event t-shirt
  • 2-night accommodation at either Hotel Amazonia or Praia Mar (price is for a triple room with two of your teammates)
  • Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday at your hotel
  • Wristband and free entry in the official after-party

Please note – if you wish to stay at the accommodation for longer (before or after the tournament), please contact us ASAP on admin@afleurope.org so we can organise this for you. Beds are limited so get in early. 

 

Eventbrite - 2016 AFL Europe Euro Cup

 

Volunteers:

Any volunteers who which to help during the event can register on Eventbrite AND contact AFL Europe at admin@afleurope.org. The price for Volunteers covers your accommodation and breakfast we will supply you with lunch, t-shirt and never ending gratitude.

Umpires:

All umpiring enquiries regarding Euro Cup can be made by contacting umpires@afleurope.org – registration is available on the Eventbrite link.

Information Pack:

2016 Pre-Tournament Booklet

Player Eligibility:

1) The Player was predominantly resident in the country of the league between 10 and 16 years of age subject to the qualification in sub clause A below.
2) The Player is a citizen of the country of the league at the time when the competition is conducted, subject to the qualification in sub clause A below.
3) The Player is not under suspension in that Player’s local competition during the period of the competition.
AFL Europe may on a case by case basis, waive the eligibility requirements if it is satisfied that a player is a bona fide resident in the country of the league and his participation would be in the best interests of the competition. Submissions in this regard must be made by lodging a Application for Eligibility Exemption – 2016. Any player who has previously obtained exemption must apply again in 2016 – please complete the form and email to admin@afleurope.org

Tournament Rules and Eligibility

Team Registration & Waiver:

The Eventbrite form makes it compulsory for all players, coaches and team officials to specify which team they are registration for/with however, all teams need to submit a Euro Cup 2016 – Team Entry Form before the cut-off date (Saturday 17th September) as well as a Euro Cup 2016 – Team List and a AFL Europe Euro Cup – Waiver and Release – all players must sign this form before registration on Friday 7th October 2016. This will ensure all information is received by us and we can then go ahead with the rankings and draw.

Match of the Round

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Match of the Round 15/7/16

Round 2 CEAFL Review

This weeks ‘Match of the Round’ is going to review the 2nd round of the CEAFL which took place last week in Dobl near Graz, Austria.

Following a successful 1st round in Zagreb, Croatia the ladder looked like this:

  1. Zaprude Giants 15 Points
  2. Zagreb Dockers 12 Points
  3. Sesvete Double Blues 10 Points
  4. Zagreb Hawks 10 Points
  5. Styrian DUDogs 8 Points
  6. Eagles 6 Points
  7. VG Bombers 4 Points

With the round originally planned with 8 teams, the tournament was eventually run with 5 teams, comprising of the Styrian DownUnderDogs, Sesvete Double Blues and the VG Bombers with full squads, the Zaprude Giants with 7 players and a mixed team combining players from the Prague Dragons, Zagreb Hawks and Zagreb Dockers.

With the Giants only having 7 players they were entitled to an 18-point handicap each game. In addition, all games for the Giants along with the Semi Final were played as 7-a-side games.

The group stage included all 5 teams in the one group – every team played each other once. Only the last two games weren’t played due to a lack of numbers from the mixed side and an agreed draw between the Double Blues and Dogs.

The final standings from the group stage is as follows:

ladder

The final series was kicked off with the Dogs taking on the Bombers followed by the Double Blues locking horns with the Giants.

The first semi-final between Dogs and Bombers ended as a convincing victory for the Dogs as the VG Bombers had numerous injuries and despite a handicap were unable to get close to the Styrian side.

The second semi-final was an absolute thriller between the Giants and Double Blues which saw the Giants clinch victory in the dying minutes of the game.

The Grand Final was played as a 7-a-side game between the Styrian DownUnderDogs and Zaprude Giants. The Giants started with an 18-point handicap and lead by 1-point at halftime with the scores reading 19 to 18.

Even though the Dogs showed courage and almost drew even in the middle of the second half, it proved a lack of experience from the Dogs that led to an 8-point win from the Zaprude Giants.

Review of the teams:

Prague Dragons

The Dragons faced some late cancellations from various players, therefore only 4 guys made the long trip down from Prague. Nevertheless, together with players from the Zagreb Hawks and Dockers they teamed up and showed great passion and enthusiasm. With a full squad that will be on show at their home tournament, the Dragons will be another difficult opponent and raise the quality of the CEAFL competition.

VG Bombers

Founded earlier this year, the Bombers have already shown great courage and massive improvement from game to game. In their second group game, they even had the chance to knock off the more experienced and eventual winners, the Zaprude Giants, but failed to mark the final kick of the game which was only centimetres from goal, losing by 3-points. Their continual improvement is great for the CEAFL competition and they will on develop further in each tournament they play.

Sesvete Double Blues

In their second year of existence, the Double Blues from Sesvete are getting closer and closer to the more established clubs from Zagreb. The Double Blues were dominant throughout the group stages along with the first half of their semi-final against the Giants. They seemed to run out of gas in the second half with the Giants clinching victory in the dying minutes to win through to the final.

Styrian DownUnderDogs

The 1st round of the CEAFL in Zagreb saw the Dogs get their first win against a Croatian team in almost 5 years. With this success in their minds they started their home tournament with another win and managed to beat all the other opponents in the group stage. The Dogs won 5 games on their way to the Grand Final before a fast finishing Giants stopped them in a thrilling game.

Zaprude Giants

Winning 2 out of 2 tournament, the Giants emphasised their ambitions to win the CEAFL this year. If they combine their level of skills and experience again in the final round in Prague they will be hard beat and could claim the CEAFL title.

 

 

 

 

2016 CEAFL ladder after 2 of 3 rounds:

  1. Zaprude Giants 30 Points
  2. Styrian DUDogs 20 Points
  3. Sesvete Double Blues 20 Points
  4. VG Bombers 14 Points
  5. Zagreb Dockers 12 Points
  6. Zagreb Hawks 10 Points
  7. Prague Dragons 8 Points
  8. Eagles 6 Points

The Dogs would like to thank all the teams for attending the 2nd round of the CEAFL and providing such entertaining games of football. The whole CEAFL is now looking forward to the 3rd and final round of the 2016 CEAFL tournament on the 10th of September in Prague.

 

A huge thank you to Michael Jud, Martin Schittegg and Oliver Krajacic for compiling this amazing review of the 2nd round CEAFL tournament. We can’t wait to hear how the final round pans out.

 

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EC16 Team Preview – GB Bulldogs

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AFL Europe Championships Team Preview – GB Bulldogs

Every three years the AFL Europe Championships take place for teams to assert their dominance and claim bragging rights against their European counterparts, as well as gain valuable 18-a-side match practice in the lead up to the International Cup the following year.

In the lead up to this year’s AFL Europe Championships in London we’ll be focusing on each team and previewing their chances of taking out the top prize.

Kicking off our team previews is the host country men’s side, the Great Britain Bulldogs.

What’s happened since International Cup 2014?

In the 2014 International Cup the Bulldogs were drawn into Pool A alongside Ireland, Naura, Fiji, France and Indonesia. They claimed victories over France and Fiji and overall finished 9th.

In the current world rankings Great Britain are ranked 11th.

Following the International Cup in 2014, Head Coach Mark Pitura, departed from the top position. With no time pressure the GB management team took their time with the new coaching selection. In early 2016 it was announced that reigning AFL CNE premiership coach, Dean Thomas, would step up as GB Head Coach. He will be assisted by long-serving player, Will Worthington, as well as Jason Hill and Rhys Long as Team Manager’s.

The past 12 months have been very positive for the GB side with England finishing 2nd in the Euro Cup in Croatia with many of the current GB squad present.

Who’s in for the AFL Europe Championships

All 30 players have now been announced with a very fresh look to the squad that competed at IC14.Only Will Worthington, Owain Ryland, James Talbot and Andy Smith (unfortunately now injured) remain from the squad that flew to Australia 2 years ago. The squad comprises players from across the country with representatives from the Wimbledon Hawks, the North London Lions, the Manchester Mozzies, the Wolverhampton Wolverines and the Wandsworth Demons leading the way. Players from the Huddersfield Rams, the West London Wildcats, Southampton Titans and the London Swans making up the remainder of the 30. This just goes to show the strength and development across the country. Many of the squad will be Bulldogs debutants despite having International experience with their home nations team in tournaments like the Euro Cup.

AFL Europe Championships focus

Head Coach Dean Thomas has spent the first half of the year instilling team ethos, plans and support structure in place within the training squad while nailing down his squad from the Bulldogs performance squad. Thomas brings a wealth of knowledge and success with the Manchester Mozzies and has been working on translating this success into the International arena.

Who has the X-Factor?

With a very young looking Bulldog’s squad, many of who are making their international debut, it’ll be very hard to pick who would potentially provide the difference in this tournament.

The University of Birmingham keep producing high quality players and their link up with the North London Lions continues to be fruitful. Ross Denton, Jack Coughlan, Jonny Harvey, Andy Walkden, Chris Britton, George Dibble and Michael Sharp have all come through the pipeline and will be worth a watch at EC16.

The London league is seeing impressive performances from the Wimbledon newbies in Myles Hudson, David Hastie, Marc Cashman and Jason Hill. While Alex Watson and David Jordan at the Wandsworth Demons are putting in highly rated performances along with West London Wildcats defender, Lewis Brackstone.

The AFL CNE league continues to churn out new and young talent in Craig Degville, Andrew Cochran and Harry Duffield.

More experienced players such as Owain Ryland, Andy Smith, Will Worthington and Luke Booth will be key to bringing success, through their big tournament experience and years of service to the Bulldogs.

All in all, X-Factor performances have the ability to come from the whole GB squad and we’re as excited as anyone to see who’ll shine at the AFL Europe Champs in August.

Coach, Dean Thomas’ thoughts and aims for the AFL Europe Championships

“The tournament itself is a fantastic opportunity for locally produced players to showcase their capabilities and test themselves at a higher level than they have previously competed in. It’s also an opportunity for the sporting public, in the UK, to get along and see for themselves, the entertaining nature of the sport we participate in. The players themselves can’t rely on experienced Australians to guide them in this tournament. It is therefore their opportunity to claim the limelight.

Our end goal, like every other nation attending, is to win the tournament. There has been a major overhaul of the squad, with a view to sustainable long term improvement, but in the short term we are quietly optimistic that the players we are assembling will be primed in August to deliver a very competitive performance in every game we participate in”.

Great Britain Bulldogs Squad:

  1. Lewis Brackstone (West London Wildcats)
  2. Chris Britton (Manchester Mozzies)
  3. Luke Booth (Huddersfield Rams)
  4. Marc Cashman (Wimbledon Hawks)
  5. Jack Coughlan (North London Lions)
  6. Craig Degville (Wolverhampton Wolverines)
  7. Ross Denton (North London Lions)
  8. George Dibble (Wolverhampton Wolverines)
  9. David Hastie (Wimbledon Hawks)
  10. Jonny Harvey (North London Lions)
  11. Jason Hill (Wimbledon Hawks)
  12. Myles Hudson (Wimbledon Hawks)
  13. Owain Ryland (London Swans)
  14. Michael Sharp (North London Lions)
  15. Andy Walkden (Manchester Mozzies)
  16. Alex Watson (Wandsworth Demons)
  17. Jack Wood (West London Wildcats)
  18. Will Worthington (London Swans)
  19. Andrew Cochran (Manchester Mozzies)
  20. Harry Duffield (Wolverhampton Wolverines)
  21. David Jordan (Wandsworth Demons)
  22. Andy Smith (Wandsworth Demons)
  23. Spike Kilheeney (Manchester Mozzies)
  24. Cameron Cope (Wolverhampton Wolverines)
  25. Alex Overton (Huddersfield Rams)
  26. Ryan Spivey (Susses Swans)
  27. James Talbot (North London Lions)
  28. Matt Warwick (West London Wildcats)
  29. Martyn Hinchey (Southampton Titans)
  30. Matthew Goodman (The Wandsworth Demons)

 

2016 AFL EUROPE CHAMPIONSHIPS

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The 2016 AFL Europe Championship Schedule taking place in London from August 13-20th.  AFL Europe’s triennial 18-a-side tournament is a warm up for the AFL International Cup in August 2017. With match days falling on, Sunday 14th, Tuesday 16th, Thursday 18th, Friday 19th and Saturday 20th at Motspur Park (Sir Joseph Hood Memorial Ground, KT3 6NE) this year’s competitors are:

 

MEN

German Eagles

Great Britain Bulldogs

Irish Warriors

Swedish Elks

 

WOMEN

European Crusaders (Made up from France, GB and Scandinavia)

Great Britain Swans

Irish Banshees

 

SCHEDULE

DAY ONE – SUNDAY 14TH AUGUST

1pm Irish Warriors v German Eagles

3pm Great Britain Bulldogs v Swedish Elks

 

DAY TWO – TUESDAY 16TH AUGUST

4pm German Eagles v Swedish Elks

6pm Great Britain Bulldogs v Irish Warriors

 

DAY THREE – THURSDAY 18TH AUGUST

1.30pm Great Britain Swans v Irish Banshees

2.15pm Irish Banshees v European Crusaders

3pm European Crusaders v Great Britain Swans

4pm Irish Warriors v Swedish Elks

6pm Great Britain Bulldogs v German Eagles

 

DAY FOUR – FRIDAY 19TH AUGUST

11.30am Irish Banshees v European Crusaders

12.15pm Great Britain Swans v Irish Banshees

1pm European Crusaders v Great Britain Swans

 

DAY FIVE – SATURDAY 20TH AUGUST

1pm Men’s Third Place PO

2.30pm Women’s Grand Final

3.30pm Men’s Grand Final

 

Good luck to all involved, we can’t wait to host you in London from 13th-20th August 2016.

 

For volunteering, physiotherapists, or umpires please email admin@afleurope.org

Player of the Week – Daniel O’Connell

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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 admin@afleurope.org to receive a question sheet.

 

Daniel O’Connell has been instrumental in his first year at the Leeside Lions. Currently 8 from 8 this season Daniel has been nominated as Player of the Week by Richard MacSweeney who wished to acknowledge his role in the club’s success.

An enthusiastic and skilled player for the Leeside Lions, we look forward to hearing how you and the Lions go for the remainder of the Season! Good luck!

 

Name:

Daniel O’Connell

Club:

Leeside Lions

Nationality:

Irish

What position do you play?

Anywhere in the forward line, I’d like to think I have a great eye for goal.

AFL team you support:

Carlton Blues

Favourite AFL player:

Ciaran Sheehan of the Carlton Blues, a fellow Muskerry & Cork man.

How did you find out about AFL?

Through my brother Padraic, who is actually my sporting idol, he started playing a couple of years ago.

How long have you been playing for?

This is my first year playing the game but I love it.

What is your memory of your first Aussie Rules game?

In my first game this season, still unsure of the rules, the ball came in over the fullbacks head, all I had to do was catch it and be left with a couple of metres to kick, it was a guaranteed major. Instead of this, as the ball floated in I leapt like a salmon and flung my arms in the air in the direction of the oncoming Sherrin.

I connected perfectly, and had just done a Maradonna “Hand of God” style goal, punching the footy over the line. Proud as anything I turned around, expected to be congratulated by my teammates but was only met with amusement and laughter from them and the opposition. All I could do was laugh, now I know for sure I can’t punch the ball over the goal line.

Best AFL moment?

Scoring my first “legitimate” goal for the Leeside Lions

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

The guys in the club have a song about me and my brother to the tune of the Toure brothers song (Kolo Toure , Yaya Toure).

It goes like, “Danny, Danny Connell, Danny Connell, Paudie Connell, Paudie, Paudie Connell” on repeat for about an hour straight.

After a game I also like to chill my baby wipes in the fridge before using them, it’s my little treat.

Tuesday Around the Grounds

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The sun shines in Norrtalje for Dockers and Blues

A cracking day of football in the beautiful sunshine in Norrtalje has seen the Norrtalje Dockers and Sodermalm Blues claim victory.  The final scores for the AFL Sweden games saw Norrtalje Dockers 15.11. 101 beat Arsta Swans 5.9. 39 and the Sodermalm Blues 21.8. 134 beating the Bromma Vikings 7.8. 50.

Continuing with the AFL Sweden league and with just over a week into their membership drive sees the clubs doing well so far.

The list of how the clubs are going is as follows:

  1. Norrtalje Dockers – 28 members
  2. Arsta Swans – 24 members
  3. Port Malmo Football Club – 36 members
  4. Sodermalm AFC – 27 members
  5. Solna Axemen – 22 members
  6. Bromma Vikings – 11 members
  7. Helsinborg Saints – 5 members
  8. Gothenburg, Falun, Uppsala – 0 members

Keep up the good work AFL Sweden!

 

Clapham Cubs want you!

The Clapham Cubs are looking for a male to assist with the running of their Sunday Auskick sessions. If you have a passion for growing the game in London, have a clear DBS check and are available on Sunday’s from 11-12pm then contact claphamcubs@gmail.com for more information.

https://www.facebook.com/Clapham-Cubs-861426217276768/?fref=ts

Clapham Cubs

 

ACL rules out Irish talent, Ciaran Byrne for the remainder of the season

Carlton’s Irish import, Ciaran Byrne, has been ruled out for the remainder of season 2016 after rupturing his ACL during Saturday night’s close loss to arch-rivals Collingwood.

It’s terrible news for the 21-year-old halfback who was having a consistent year for the Blues under first-year coach, Brendon Bolton.

Ciaran will undergo surgery in the weeks to come before undertaking an extensive rehabilitation program. All the best Ciaran and we wish you a speedy recovery.

http://www.carltonfc.com.au/news/2016-07-03/scans-confirm-byrne-injury

 

The Flying Dutchmen are back!

The national Australian Rules team for the Netherlands, the Flying Dutchmen, are back on social media and ready to take the AFL Europe community by storm. Not only did they host a game with the Scottish national team in mid-June but rumour has it that they’re trying to rally the troops and make an appearance at the Euro Cup in Lisbon later this year. Fingers crossed!

Jump over to their Facebook and give them a like when you get a chance.

https://www.facebook.com/theflyingdutchmen/?fref=ts

 

Bloods reassert dominance over arch-rivals the Glasgow Sharks in SARFL blockbuster

The Edinburgh Bloods claimed a three goal victory to jump to an early advantage in the SARFL Premiership at the weekend.

It started out as a beautiful day at Leith Park and the scene was set for an absolute thriller. But it was the Bloods who jumped out the blocks early kicking 5.6. 36 to 1.3. 9 to take the heat out of the contest in the first term.

The Sharks weren’t going down without a fight and clawed their way back slowly before a very heavy shower in the third quarter allowed the Bloods to shut up shop and take a close but comfortable three goal victory.

The final scorecard read 13.16. 94 to 10.16. 76 in favour of the Bloods in what was another great instalment of this fierce rivalry.

Bloods v Sharks