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Aksels Diary – Giants vs Bombers at Etihad

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I’m back in Sydney after a great couple of days in Melbourne catching up with friends and watching footy at Etihad stadium.

Unfortunately the GWS Giants were not able to end high-flying Essendon’s winning streak and bring the first defeat to them this season even though the Giants played really great 1st and 2nd quarters and were in front at half time.

Essendon had a great 3rd quarter and after that it seemed like everything just worked their way and they ended up winning 120-81.

Monday started at 8am for the boys who didn’t play on the weekend with a training session at the new training ground Tom Wills oval (he was a 19th-century sportsman who is considered one of the pioneers of the sport of Australian rules football). Afterwards we had a short pool session and then we headed back to the club for review of the Essendon match and weight’s training.

Adam Kennedy and I were invited to dinner at Nick Walsh’s (fitness trainer at the club) and we had a really good evening with him and his girlfriend.

Tuesday was a day off so I spent the day looking around in Sydney and catching up with a friend of mine. A good relaxing day so I’m ready for a great day of training tomorrow.

Aksel’s Diary – Adapting to training at an elite level

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Tuesday is normally a day off for the GWS Giants and this week was no exception. So while my housemates Adam and Dylan went to university to do some work I had a relaxing day back at the house.

Wednesday was the first day where I was supposed to have an on ground footy session with the boys. I was really looking forward to being back on field and a part of the great game of footy which I haven’t played since the Euro Cup 2012 in Edinburgh.

After a good warm-up we had a few kicking/leading drills and I got to feel the speed and skill level of professional AFL football. It was an amazing thing to be a part of, the players and coaches were really helpful with me during the drills that were all totally new to me.

I was training with the midfielders during this session and we had a little handball game which was quite intense! The session ended with a 18 aside full field match which was a lot of fun. After the session we had a bit of a stretch and ice-bath before we headed back to the club for lunch, pilates and leg weights training.The whole day ended with a team meeting where Kevin Sheedy announced the team for the match against Essendon.

Sheeds gave the guys an extra day to rest, so the only thing we had to do Thursday was massages and then enjoy the rest of the day. I also had a bit of media at the Skoda stadium which was kinda fun to try. See his interview here

I’ve been granted to go down to Melbourne and watch the boys play against Essendon this weekend and visit some friends since the reserves aren’t playing, so that’ll be a really good experience and a good match to watch at Ethiad stadium in Melbourne.

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Aksel goes BANG and opens door for Europeans to play in the AFL

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In Europe’s biggest breakthrough yet the Greater Western Sydney Giants have offered an international scholarship to young Danish AFL player Aksel Bang, who will visit Sydney to train and play with the Giants this year.

The 21 year-old has just started six months national service with the Danish army in Afghanistan and will travel to Sydney during his scheduled break in April/May. After visiting Australia and seeing his first match 2 years ago he now plays for the Aalborg Kangaroos and Danish Vikings and was the leading player in the 2012 Euro Cup in Edinburgh. Seen and a tough and explosive midfielder in the European ranks he is very excited to continue his football education with the Giants.

Giants Chief Executive David Matthews said it was a great opportunity further develop talent from overseas. He said Bang would train with the club and also play in the GWS Giants in the NEAFL.

“AFL Europe has a done a lot of work building the code across the continent and we think Aksel is deserving of an opportunity to further his skills and education in the game,” Matthews said.

Head Coach Kevin Sheedy said he was delighted to bring a player from Denmark to the Giants. The club has formed several partnerships in Europe including the South East London Giants, the North Leinster Giants (Ireland), the Zaprude Giants (Croatia) and the Skåne Giants (Sweden).

“We have an obligation to invest in talented players wherever they may be around the world if we want to truly develop our game internationally,” Sheedy said.

“As someone who did national service himself, I look forward to learning more about Aksel and his experience in Afghanistan. I am sure our players will as well and he will learn a lot from spending time at an AFL club.”

General Manager of AFL Europe Ben MacCormack thanked the Giants for giving Bang an opportunity to develop his game at an elite level in Australia.

“He has come a long way in a short space of the time in our game and no doubt in years to come there will be more players like him heading to Australia to chase their dream of becoming an AFL players,” MacCormack said.

“This is an amazing opportunity for one of our best European talents. Aksel has learnt the game in Denmark and been involved in our Talent Programs in the last two years. We are very thankful to GWS Giants and in particular international visionaries Kevin Sheedy and David Mathews for supporting our efforts in highlighting the talent that exists in Europe. No doubt future years will see many more Aksel Bang’s heading to Australia chasing the dream of becoming an AFL footballer” MacCormack continued.

Aksel’s excitement at the announcement couldn’t be hidden. “This opportunity means a lot to me! It’s a dream come true for me. It’s not only a great opportunity for me to become a better footy player but also a great chance to make the Australians realise that footy is growing in Europe and we are developing some great players far away from Australia under some hard conditions because the sport isn’t very big over here yet. But because it’s a great game and people over here love it so much we have a great training culture and improve our skills every year. It’s a great honor for me to go down to Australia and represent Danish and European footy”.

The AFL’s investment in our region and the touring of the AIS-AFL Academy has made it possible for Aksel to be exposed to a high quality talent program and his progress has been outstanding. The Commission and I wish him all the best on this trailblazing journey with the GWS Giants” MacCormack concluded.