World Footy News

As the inaugural European Championship starts this weekend, Irish Warriors coach Tom Madigan is entering his first campaign in charge of the side in confident mood. The Irish will go into the tournament as favorites but Madigan is not taking anything for granted. He feels that the Irish preparations have gone well and can’t wait for the action to start.

“AFL is growing rapidly in Europe and this is the first European Cup so it is difficult to gauge what the standard will be,” says Madigan. “We are delighted the AFL are showing ongoing interest in the northern hemisphere countries and we are looking forward to the opportunity to meet some of the other newer teams playing across Europe. I think Denmark, England and Sweden might be the ones to watch, but we will not underestimate the potential of any of the countries in the competition.”

Ireland are drawn in a group with Germany, Croatia and hosts Sweden. The original squad has lost a few players due to injury and work commitments but still features talent in all areas of the field and Madigan is happy with the balance. “We have put a lot of work into recruiting and I feel this has paid off. I think the balance of the team is right and we were fortunate enough to have a lot of depth to choose from for the tournament,” he continued. “The league has really improved in the last 12 months, and this has naturally filtered through to the national squad.”

Madigan was assistant coach of the Irish team that finished fourth at the International Cup two years ago and he will remain as coach for next year tournament also. He sees the European cup as a vital stepping stone for the next international cup. “This tournament is a fantastic opportunity for our team to experience playing AFL for Ireland in an international competition. This is a valuable experience for all our players particularly those who will also travel to the IC 2011,” said Madigan.

The side will be captained by Leeside Lion Cian Quigley and his assistants will be James Flavin, John Tierney and James ’Rambo’ O’Byrne. They were all part of the ’08 International cup side but the squad is mostly made up of rookies to the International side. Despite this Madigan is unconcerned. “I’d don’t think that will be a problem. I'd imagine most teams in the tournament will be in the same situation and we have also have the benefit of having 7 or 8 guys who have played in IC 2008.”

Finally what are the sides expectations for the tournament? “We would love to take home the cup!! We have trained hard and will give it everything.”

Coach: Tom Madigan