World Footy News

This past weekend saw an extravaganza of footy in London, as the GB Bulldogs and Irish Warriors continued their preparation for the International Cup and the touring AIS Academy team of rising stars faced the youngsters of the European Legion, drawn from club sides across the continent. Held at the scenic Dulwich College, the occasion was blessed with good footy, bright sun and an enthusiastic crowd of supporters.

The match between the Academy and European Legion, although fairly predictable on the scoresheet - the academy coming off a victory against Geelong’s reserves! - provided a fantastic spectacle of play for the supporters, who really got behind the individual victories that each Legion player enjoyed against their direct opponents.

Tackles, bumps, dodges and the well-earned goals were all greeted with great cheers, and the youngsters forming the Legion team will have picked up new skills from their experience against players we’ll no doubt see on the screen in the not-too-distant-future. From a GB Bulldogs point of view, it was great to see the competition from squad hopefuls Adam Ballard, Danny Armitage, Josh Davey and Sam Brunton.

This report by Adam Bennett, President of AFL Britain. The full squad selected by the Great Britain Bulldogs for the 2011 International Cup is listed below.

The Bulldogs and Warriors have been rival neighbours for many years, with the Emerald Isle's Gaelic Football background playing a prominent part in their dominance in recent meetings, the Bulldogs only emerging victorious in 2007. After a heartbreaking 1-goal loss in Dublin at the start of April, Coach Mark Pitura’s squad was eager to take the fight back on home soil. Unfortunately for the home squad though, this match went more to traditional form, with the Warriors fast-running style edging each quarter to take a comfortable 11-6-72 to 5-6-36 victory at the siren.

BELOW: The Irish Warriors

GB Bulldogs – 1-1 / 0-1 / 2-1 / 2-3 / 5-6 (36)
Irish Warriors – 3-1 / 2-3 / 2-2 / 4-0 / 11-6 (72)

Best on ground for the Brits were recent breakthrough Sean Walton, 2010 World Team member Lewis Brackstone and vice-captain Brendan McGeever.

Pictured below for the Bulldogs (left to right) are:
(back row) Claire Shapland (physio), Jason Battye, Karl Haigh, Lewis Brackstone, Harry Triggs, Chris James, David Carpenter, Alistair Delooze, Ross Ashman, Matt Whiteley, Brendan McGeever, David Gamble, Tom Case, Tom Gillard (runner), Mark Pitura (coach). (front row) Ian Mitchell (runner), Gareth Blackstaffe-Turner, John Scott, Sean Walton, Paul Francis, Paul Harris (captain), Mark Todd, Alasdair Lindop, Dominic Mitchell, Liam Corbett, Ben O’Brien, Andrew Brockett, Matt Kilheeney, Keith Farr (runner)

The result was disappointing for a Bulldogs squad which had enjoyed a very positive build-up over the last 4 months of hard training and very challenging warm-up matches against the Warriors and tough London Australian opposition. It also gave a number of selection headaches for coaches Mark Pitura and Rob Fielder, picking the 26 squad and 6 reserves for the final build-up to the International Cup.

Notable in this line-up is the further move toward increased representation from outside the capital, with only 10 players representing probably the 6 largest clubs in Britain. It’s great to see that the enthusiasm for the sport across regional England, Wales and Scotland are enabling the players to compete effectively with their London-based peers. The squad is as follows:

	Name	Home Club	Club in Australia
	Paul Harris (c)	Putney Magpies
	Ian Mitchell (vc)	Wolverhampton Wolverines
	Brendan McGreever (vc)	North London Lions
	Paul Francis (vc)	Wimbledon Hawks
	Adam Ballard	Durham Saints
	Adam Bennett	Reading Roos
	Chris James	South Cardiff Panthers
	Danny Armitage	Huddersfield Rams
	Lewis Brackstone	West London Wildcats
	Martyn Hinchey	Southampton Titans	St Johns Old Collegians FC (Vic.)
	Matt Whitely	Huddersfield Rams
	Matthew Kilheeney	Manchester Mosquitoes
	Ross Ashman	Wimbledon Hawks
	Sean Walton	Birmingham Bears
	Will Worthington	London Swans	Onkaparinga Valley FC (SA)
	Luke Matias	Nottingham Scorpions	Caulfield Grammarians FC (Vic.)
	Rob Harmeston	Putney Magpies	Monash Blues FC (Vic.)
	Anthony Trigg	Durham Saints	Maribyrnong Park Lions FC (Vic.)
	Tom Judson	Cardiff Double Blues	Palm Beach Currumbin FC (Qld.)
	Dominic Mitchell	Nottingham Scorpions
	Gareth Blackstaffe-Turner	Wimbledon Hawks
	Liam Corbett	West London Wildcats	Kingsley FC (WA)
	Alasdair Lindop	Manchester Mosquitoes
	Ben O'Brien	West London Wildcats
	Tom Case	Chippenham Redbacks
	Tim Atkins	Swansea Magpies

Emergencies

	Dave Gamble	South Cardiff Panthers
	Harry Triggs	West London Wildcats
	Keith Farr	Nottingham Scorpions
	John Scott	Putney Magpies
	Ally Delooze	Huddersfield Rams
	Andrew Brockett	London Swans

Head coach: Mark Pitura (Putney Magpies)