World Footy News

The 2014 AFL Europe Talent Combine took place in Dublin, Ireland, over the weekend. Whilst the vast majority of attendees were from Ireland, one Englishman, Sam Willatt, was there to fly the flag for England and pursue his own individual journey to the big time.

As Sam says, “I’ve always wanted to try the combine as a way of taking the next step in my football journey, and leapt at the chance when AFL Europe invited me. My dream would be to get picked up by an AFL club.”

So how did Sam’s journey start, and where will it go from here?

“I discovered the sport at my first week of university in 2012. Before this I played soccer and basketball to a local and school level. The speed and athleticism of the AFL players caught my interest, and highlight reels seeing blokes take huge marks definitely appealed to me.”
“I started playing in October 2012 for my university (University of Birmingham) and then played for the local Birmingham Bears. I was lucky enough to play for the Great Britain team in the Euro champs and the 2014 International Cup. Being selected for the European Legion in April was a highlight.”

When asked about his sporting role models, Sam turned to the world of Rugby. “My sporting hero is Sonny Bill Williams of the NZ All Black's. The way he approaches his training and preparation is something I look to replicate.”

But the recent success of Irish players making it to rookie lists at AFL clubs in Australia is also one of Sam’s motivations. “Seeing the Irish players do so well recently is a great boost to my hopes. It shows the AFL is willing to look elsewhere for talent. I roomed with Paddy Brophy over the European Legion camp, and seeing him being drafted to West Coast showed to me that it can be done with the right mind set.”



Left: Sam Willatt in action



























How did Sam go at the combine? “I don't know all of my results yet, but my two highlights were probably a time of 8.5 seconds in the agility run [Fremantle Dockers star Stephen Hill holds the record with 7.77 seconds in 2008, whilst Essendon recruit Conor McKenna holds the European record with 7.85 seconds in 2013] and a 13.8 in the beep test [record held by Hawthorn youngster Billy Hartung of 16.06 seconds, whilst McKenna holds the European record of 14.10 seconds in 2013].”

Sam is certainly heading in the right direction to pursue an AFL dream, and if he has his way that’s exactly what will happen. It certainly couldn’t hurt for AFL club talent scouts to spend some time having a look at Sam.

Watch this space.