The Greater Western Sydney GIANTS today confirmed that injured forward Setanta O’hAilpin has decided to have a traditional knee reconstruction to treat his ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. O’hAilpin will undergo surgery early next week and this unfortunately will rule him out for the remainder for the 2012 season.

General Manager of Football Graeme Allan said O’hAilpin’s injury was a blow for the club. “It is a cruel blow for Setanta after just one game with the GIANTS and we wish him all the best with his recovery,” he said. “He has been a great influence on our young playing list since he joined the club and we look forward to his continued presence around the club over the rest of this season as he undergoes rehabilitation.”

Setanta O'hAilpin returned to the AFL debuting yesterday with the GWS Giants against his old club Carlton. The video below shows a great reverse torpedo goal from Setanta, but the joy of his return to footy was short lived as he injured his knee. Early reports suggest that he may miss the rest of the season.

The North Leinster Australian Football Club has a new nickname following an historic affiliation agreement with the AFL's newest club, the Greater Western Sydney Giants.

Under the terms of the affiliation agreement, Irish club North Leinster become an affiliate of the dynamic new club, bearing the club's nickname, wearing the team's colours and promoting the Giants brand in Ireland.

This affiliation will greatly assist the development of Ireland's newest club and speaking about the deal, North Leinster President Ross Dack had this to say - "We couldn't be more grateful to the Giants for their interest in our development and in assisting us in getting off the ground properly through the provision of playing kit and footballs. For us this is the beginning of what we hope will be a long and mutually beneficial relationship."

The affiliation was facilitated by Giants Academy manager Lachlan Buszard, who was one of Ireland's coaches during the 2011 AFL International Cup campaign, and he declared the club to be very happy with the association -

"We see ourselves as a club for all, not just in Western Sydney, Southern New South Wales and the ACT; but also Internationally and to that end we have been aligning with new clubs across Europe and assisting them in their growth too. For us developing a community, wherever that may be is beneficial and naturally with Setanta O hAilpin here we hope the club is taken to the hearts of a great many Irish people."

North Leinster also announced this week the publication and launch of the club's new website, which can be found at northleinster.com. The North Leinster club was created last year as the North Leinster Kangaroos, through a merger of the Midlands Tigers and West Dublin Saints.

The Dublin Angels and the Kilrea Kookaburras flew over to Edinburgh, Scotland, last weekend for what would turn out to be a thrilling Haggis Cup match. This was the first match of the year for both teams and it was heavily anticipated too as it had been almost 7 months since these sides last met. It was another historic day for women’s football in Europe, with the first time the Haggis Cup included a ladies section.

This was also a special day for some players as it was to be their first ever Aussie rules match. The Angels were also welcoming back their captain, Avril Robinson, after being sidelined due to a knee injury. There was a few minutes warm up at the Peffermill playing fields, the all important team photos and we were ready and roaring to go.

From the minute the siren sounded, it was action galore. The first goal was kicked by Vanessa Temple as she bound through the middle pack to get the Angels on the scoreboard. Rain then forced scrappy play in the middle of the grounds, making it hard for both teams to convert chances. Kilrea forward Nuala O’Hagan taking some excellent leads for her side and making her mark on the game scoring 2 goals.

The late Jim Stynes was a Brownlow Medallist way back in 1991, whilst Tadhg Kennelly proudly owns a premiership medal but is recently retired.  And a host of Irish AFL players have been delisted in recent seasons.  Yet despite those sobering facts for the current state of the "Irish experiment", this year we might just be seeing the best overall batch yet.

AFL lists currently reveal 5 Irish primary list players and 5 Irish players as rookies (although John Heslin has returned home).  Two in particular catch the eye.

 

 

 

SARFL HAGGIS CUP 2012

In Association with Malones Irish Bar and MacBackpakers Hostels and tours
 
This weekend sees 12 teams from 4 different countries compete for the 8th Haggis cup at Peffermill Playing fields Edinburgh. This year there will be a men’s section and a ladies section, with ten competing men’s teams and two for the women.

Mens

Glasgow Sharks (Scotland) - defending champions
Milano Eagles (Italy)
Edinburgh Bloods (Scotland)
Dublin Demons (Ireland)
Aberdeen Eagles (Scotland)
Wimbledon Hawks (England)
Manchester Mossquitos (England)
Huddersfield Rams (England)
Southampton Titans (England)
Wimbledon Hawks B (England)

Ladies

Dublin Angels (Ireland)
Kilrea Kukaburaas (Ireland)
 

Melbourne Football Club Media Release

This Sunday, the Melbourne Football Club and The Reach Foundation will together celebrate Jim’s life at the MCG,leading into the Demons’ Round 4 clash against the Western Bulldogs.

 

The Jim Stynes Tribute Game provides a chance for all Victorians to gather in celebration of his contributions to football, the Reach Foundation and the greater community.

Reader submitted story from Ireland's Australian Rules Football League season 2012 Round 1 contest between Leeside Lions and Midwest Magpies.

In their first game of the season, the Leeside Lions continued their excellent league form from last year, beating the Midwest Magpies by a score of 9.12 (65) to 4.9 (33).

The Leesiders brought up 12 men, and were missing a number of key players for a variety of reasons. Crucially though, the three Lions who represented the European Titans a mere days previous in Paris made the long trip back to the West in time. The match was the highlight of the week, contested between two teams with genuine Premiership title hopes for the coming year. After a narrow loss in the Grand Final last year, the Lions were out to set the record straight with a number of new recruits in their ranks, who played a major role in the win.

The Pies chose to avail of the stiff breeze coming in off the Atlantic, and took an early lead, pinning the Lions into their own half but unable to convert the full six on many occasions. Good defensive work and pressure from the Southern side gave the home team no inch, and although down 15 points, the gap was attainable in the strong wind.

In the first ever AFL representative match played on French soil, the Australia Under 18's team provided a great exhibition of exciting football to overwhelm the enthusiastic European Titans by 167 points in France on Thursday, April 12.

Played at the picturesque Chantilly Polo Club, just outside of Paris, on a manicured oval field, the young Australian side had great mobile marking targets up forward in Jake Stringer and James Stewart.

The team received great supply from its exciting midfield lead by Nick Vlastuin, Emmanuel Irra and Jason Pongracic. When the Titans went forward it found it almost impossible to get past the Aussie defense with tall defender Lachie Plowman and the versatile Lachie Whitfield reading the play superbly and setting up many forward thrusts.