World Footy News

Last Saturday former Brit Brad Moran put in a star peformance in the AFL, booting Adelaide to victory against a gallant young Carlton side at AAMI Stadium. Moran's family is from England and only moved to Australia's Gold Coast region when he was a teenager. As a late-comer to Australian football, he was given surprisingly little time to develop at North Melbourne despite a great start to his career. Traded to the Crows, he has struggled with injury for West Adelaide in the local state league (the SANFL), and we mentioned his likely eligibility for Great Britain at the approaching International Cup. However the Bulldogs hierarchy were keen to focus on locally developed talent (Brits stick to home grown talent), an admirable pursuit, and as it turns out Moran now appears to be very much required by Adelaide at the business end of the season. We weren't going to follow this up, but a reader from Britain suggested the big fella deserved a write-up, and fair enough too.

After making his Adelaide debut in round 16 and showing some promise, he was initially dropped but then brought into the team off the emergency list. Moran again showed promise and was selected for last week's match against Carlton. With so many of Adelaide's forwards injured (Brett Burton with a season ending knee injury, Jason Porplyzia with his serious concussion during the match, and the almost forgotten Trent Hentschel on a two year comeback from a shocking knee injury), Moran was thrown forward and duly delivered. He marked strongly and kicked 4.1. Perhaps most pleasing was his mobility for a big player - having bulked up since his time in the AFL he is by no means fast but quick enough for someone with his size. Moran was also used in the ruck and seems likely to maintain a spot in the side for the rest of the year.

According to the Crows' website:

The English-born Moran moved with his family to Australia at the age of 15 and caught the eyes of recruiters in 2004 when he set a new record for the 20m sprint at the AFL Draft Camp. The 200cm and 104kg former rugby union player was drafted by the Kangaroos with pick 58 despite having played less than 12 months of Australian Football. Moran's father, Martyn, played junior soccer for English Premier League club Aston Villa, but it was his mother, Jan, who introduced her son to AFL upon their arrival to the country. "My mum watched a game of AFL on TV after it was recommended to her and she sort of pushed me into it and said, 'There you go you can play that sport'. So I have her to thank for being here," Moran said after being traded to the Crows.

Given that Adelaide saw Moran as something of a project player, with only a few years in the sport, if he can make a successful career from footy, it should further encourage clubs like Adelaide that sportsmen can make the transition from other sports given the right support, and that goes for both locals and internationals.