Posts

Player of the Week – Rachel Campbell

/in /by

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.

This week’s player profile is on one of the first members of the Wimbledon Hawks in the inaugural year of the Women’s AFL London League. Rachel Campbell, more affectionately know by her teammates as ‘Bambi’ has become a big part of the side from Wimbledon in a short space of time. Bambi played every game for the Hawks last season and the team watched her grow into the game of Aussie Rules, resulting in Hawks Ladies ‘Most Improved’ award being named after her.

Coming into the 2016 season, Bambi was selected to play with the Great Britain Swans who competed in the AFL Europe ‘Champions League’ in Amsterdam. She has the bragging rights of being the first ever goal-scorer for the GB Swans and played a pivotal role in the Swans winning the women’s side of the draw.

Bambi is hoping to secure selection for team GB for the upcoming AFL Europe Championships in August and hopes to lock down a spot for the forthcoming International Cup in 2017.

Off the field, Bambi is a favourite around the Hawks with her homely Scottish accent and demeanour making her loved by all. Good luck for the rest of the 2016 Season Rachel.

Name:

Rachel Campbell

Club:

Wimbledon Hawks

Nationality:

Scottish

What position do you play?

Wing and Midfield

AFL team you support:

Richmond Tigers

Favourite AFL player:

Trent Cotchin

How did you find out about AFL?

Family in Australia

How long have you been playing for?

1 year

What is your memory of your first Aussie Rules game?

Getting hit in the face with the ball in the first minute and having to go on the bench

Best AFL moment?

Scoring the first ever goal for the Great Britain women’s team

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

Prior to getting into Aussie Rules Rachel did Irish dancing for 20 years

AFL Europe Match of the Round

/in /by

Wimbledon Hawks vs Wandsworth Demons – Sir Joseph Hood Memorial Recreation Ground 5/6/16 2pm

There were two standout teams in last year’s inaugural AFL London women’s competition, the Wimbledon Hawks and the Wandsworth Demons. In last year’s four encounters the Demons won 3 out of 4 games including the all-important Grand Final. The final score in that game was 5.3. 33 to 1.2. 8 in favour of the Ladies from Wandsworth.

This Sunday sees the two rivals lock horns for the first time this year for competition points. The Hawks have cruised through the opening rounds of season 2016 winning both games convincingly and accumulating an astonishing percentage of 1625. The Demons, on the back of a large exodus of last year’s premiership side, have had an indifferent start. They lost a close game against the North London Lions in Round 1 and held on to beat a fast-finishing South East London Giants the following week.

Both clubs are doing great work for the growth of the women’s game and have had a huge number of players on the training track each week. On form, the Hawks will go into this game as favourites but with the Demons gelling well together of late it could be anyone’s game. Let’s not forget the added factor of the Epsom Derby taking place the day before and it’s hard not to get excited by the prospect of this game.

Here are the coaches’ thoughts on the big Grand Final Rematch.

Wimbledon Hawks Coach, Tara Lowther:

“I believe the game will be won by the team who can execute the basic skills the best and the team with the best fitness. Unfortunately, we have an extensive injury list but the remaining players are hardworking and hungry for revenge. We are looking forward to a great game.”

Wandsworth Demons Coach, Mitch Skelly:

“I’m really looking forward to the match and an opportunity to take on the Hawks, who are currently the benchmark for women’s footy in London. Their results have been very impressive throughout 2016, so it’s a chance for us Demons to see where we stand in the pecking order early in the season.

Whilst our form has been a little up and down, the excitement generated by some new players such as English Rose, Kiwi Katie, Tessa and Bianca have been the high points. Those four, along with the bulk of our team, are new to Australian Rules football and I can’t wait to see how well we perform as a team once they’ve had a season to catch up with some of our more experienced players like Kate Grabowski, Sarah Townsend and Lauren Coote – stalwarts and legends of AFL London!”

 

 

Ben Durance

Women Want Footy

/in /by

In 2014, Australian Rules football celebrated 25 years of a sporting competition in the country of England. In 2015, Women’s Australian Rules football officially took off with an AFL London Women’s league comprising of four already established men’s clubs each becoming host to a Women’s team. Those founding clubs being: Wimbledon Hawks, Wandsworth Demons, North London Lions and the South East London Giants.

In previous years, only exhibition games had been held for females on AFL London Grand Final day or training sessions for those interested. The development of a women’s league in London only confirms the continual development and interest in the game away from Australia. Even more so with the recent implementation of Women’s AFL matches being played since 2013 between the Western Bulldogs and the Melbourne Demons.

Lauren Sparks, a current player for the Wimbledon Hawks, had previous experience playing Aussie Rules football back in Melbourne – 3 years for Melbourne University, representative football for Victoria at the National Championships and Vic Metro. Lauren was also a member of the first two Women’s AFL sanctioned exhibition matches, playing for the Western Bulldogs against the Melbourne Demons. When asked about her knowledge of the league (men or women’s); “before coming over here I didn’t know much at all about the league…I found out they were introducing the first women’s league and that 4 teams would be involved”. As most antipodeans tend to do when moving abroad, a sporting club or organisation is a safe house as a social network. Lauren attributes the Wimbledon Hawks as an accessible way to meet new people, especially with the correlation between the men’s and women’s teams at the club.

Coming from a different Australian Rules football background, Jessie Hayes was part of the Junior Development Program at the Fremantle Dockers and had grown up around the sport. Having minimal knowledge of the Women’s AFL London league before arriving in London, Jessie knew that she would eventually be drawn to a club in one way or another. “Before I came over I had an inkling I would get involved in a club in some way”. She thanks peer pressure from her friend, a North London Lions player, to ‘[encourage] me to get on the other side of the boundary line for once”.

Both players strongly condone the sport as a great way to socialise with other people, and not only at their specific club, but over all the clubs. Many clubs hold joint social occasions to encourage camaraderie between each other – North London Lions and the West London Wildcats jointly host a Thames River Cruise as part of the Wildcat’s Ladies’ Day celebrations. Ladies’ Day is quickly becoming more and more important for the AFL London clubs’ to ascertain their stance as a genuine supporter of further developing and creating awareness of women’s involvement in Australian Rules football.

Without a doubt, the social aspect of the league is a part that everyone enjoys – “It is brilliant to have found such a great family like the Lions. London life wouldn’t be anywhere near as good without the club” Jessie states. As most expats in London can agree, playing Aussie Rules football assists in avoiding a dosage of the ‘Heathrow Injection’ (the sudden weight gain from lack of physical activity when arriving into London).

But where to next for the Women’s AFL London league? The current teams participating in the league are looking to grow their participation numbers and clubs that have yet to field a team would ideally be looking at staking their presences in the league.

“It’s definitely got room to grow, the amount of foreigners that are exposed to it, never seen it before, and then are hooked the minute they try the game, it intrigues people” says Lauren in regards to further expansion of the women’s league. Women’s team are both represented at the Axios Euro Cup as well as the International Cup (World Cup for Aussie Rules football), however there is always the desire to continually expand the participation level for both genders in Europe.

For more information regarding the Women’s AFL London league or any local competitions please head to the Women’s AFL London website.

 

 

James Gottschalk