World Footy News

New Zealand born Trent Croad may wear the Big V on the field with the best of the AFL, but his fern leaf tattoo signals his Kiwi heritage.

The 28 year old 190cm, 100kg Kiwi will play in perhaps the most important Australian Rules representative match in his career. While he wore the Big V in 1999 and appeared in Australia's International Rules side three times, this game is Australian Rules and the opposition for the 2005 All-Australian will be the best yet.

Recruited from suburban Melbourne, Croad is a star backman at the Hawthorn Hawks, but he played with the Fremantle Dockers (which is currently the home of the AFL's other NZ born player Adam Campbell).

Croad's grandfather Eric Bloggs represented New Zealand in rugby union 1946-1949 and toured South Africa. Trent is a huge fan of the All Blacks and recently met with the players at the Hawks current home Waverley Park.

After the withdrawal of Ireland's Tadhg Kennelly from the match (the only player in the squads to have been born and grown up overseas), Trent Croad will take the honour of representing the overseas born AFL players in the All-Star game.

Trent may get the assignment of lining up on one of the game's biggest name forwards in Hawthorn teammate Lance Franklin or Geelong's 2007 premiership centre-half-forward Cameron Mooney. One gets the sense that the match up may produce something special like Croad's magnificent soaring mark over his Victorian teammate Jonathan Brown in Round 19 last year.