World Footy News

The slow, glacial trickle of USA athletes to Australia continues with two more players headed to the VFL willing to try their luck with Port Melbourne for the 2015 season. “The Borough” will play host to Carl Winston and Torrey Harkness, both of whom have been described as “NFL/Olympic sprinter-calibre athletes” by their Los Angeles-based agent, Miro Gladovic, from AFS (American Footy Star).

 

[Carl Winston (L) and Torrey Harkness (R) playing for the Los Angeles Dragons – Herald Sun]

 

This news comes quickly on the heels of a recent story about New York magpie, Alex Aurrichio, who will play this season with Carlton’s VFL affiliate, the Northern Blues, and the recent transitions of Eric Wallace, Mason Cox and Jason Holmes. These three players, who have played VFL with North Ballarat, Collingwood and Sandringham respectively, have made the leap from diverse elite sporting backgrounds back in the USA to reach the penultimate tiers of the Australian national game.

 

 

Both Carl and Torrey are imposing athletes. The biggest difference with these lads is that most players to have come and tried our game have been from basketball backgrounds, but these two are both ex-college football players with bodies more readily adaptable to Australian Rules football – in theory.

 

Carl Winston is 23 years old, stands just 172 centimetres and is a relatively light 85 kilograms. He is described by AFS as “was a running back for Washington State University in the NCAA Pac-12 Conference.”

 

Torrey is older at 25 years of age, is taller at 180 centimetres and slightly lighter at 83 kilograms. His resume reads “played as a wide receiver and quarterback for Dixie State University.”

 

The initial comparison to a glacial trickle of talent implies that there is more to follow.  According to an article by the Herald Sun (http://m.heraldsun.com.au/leader/sport/two-us-college-footballers-to-join-pre-season-training-at-port-melbourne/story-fnglemo4-1227207585388ωnk=f1bc81d419111f3493163f238978f4e8 ) ““To date there has been no American to conquer the sport of footy, and this has been the inspiration for Miro creating American Footy Star.”

 

The American Footy Star website further states that “Miro’s vision is to not only recruit one American Footy Star, but to populate the Australian Football League with dozens of American footy players in the coming years, and add an American flair to the already great game of Australian football, cultivating the great athleticism and skill sets of the countless American athletes who graduate from the greatest sporting production line in the world, the NCAA.’’

 

It is early days yet, but the indications are growing that Australian Rules football is getting onto the radars of more and more athletes from the USA. It is certainly possible that this trend will continue. The creation of American Footy Star is directly aiming at this possibility, as described on their website.

 

“American Footy Star is a unique and groundbreaking talent recruitment vehicle, set up to bridge the gap between the vast American talent pool of great athletes, and Australian football, known as Footy to its millions of fans down under, and internationally.”

 

“For the first time ever, the sporting borders between the U.S. and Australia will be bridged together with the launch of American Footy Star (AFS), an audacious and groundbreaking, new, athletic talent search.”

 

Other players in the AFS stable include a former Superbowl champion player for the New York Giants, Ramses Barden. He is described as a “Matthew Richardson type” 201 centimetre potential forward. Recruiters might also like to look at the other prospects on the American Footy Star website at: http://www.americanfootystar.com/footy-talent/  

 

Port Melbourne coach, Gary Ayres, who will soon be coaching the pair, summed it up well in the same Herald Sun article when he stated ““who knows, this might a whole new frontier for our game. We’ll give them an opportunity and see what develops from there.”