The last two years haven't been too kind to Australian football in North East England. The area was once a hotbed of the sport in the UK, with a strong, five-team league. However, by 2011 it had become a barren wasteland in footy terms, with all clubs bar one having folded due to a combination of factors including waining interest, lack of facilities and funding. The one remaining team, Newcastle Centurions, is currently on hiatus, meaning no football has been played in the North East since 2010.

This is soon to change with the formation of the Tyne-Tees Tigers, an amalgamation of the now defunct clubs Gateshead, Durham, Middlesborough & Hartlepool. The club is based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, but represents the whole North East region and as such draws players from Northumberland, Tyneside, Wearside and Teeside. A lot of work has been done over the past few months to get things up and running and the first training session will take place on Tuesday 22nd May.

The club won't be playing competitive football in 2012 as the AFL England leagues have all already begun their seasons. The short-term goal for the Tigers is to host a round of the AFL England Central/North West (C/NW) season on July 14th. In that round the Tyne-Tees club will compete in a social game against a team made up of C/NW players. The club's long-term goal is to join the C/NW league as a competitive team in 2013.

 With the selection of Tommy Walsh by the Sydney Swans this week a new Irishman comes into the AFL fold.  And along with the selection of in form Pearce Hanley, Zach Tuohy and Marty Clarke on Thursday night, Niall McKeever was named on an extended bench for the Lions match against GWS this weekend.  

Perhaps it was the rapid debuts of Marty Clarke for Collingwood and Michael Quinn for Essendon that set the expectations high for Irish recruits.  They made their AFL debuts after being at their clubs only months after arriving from Ireland. 

But for 24 year old Tommy Walsh it has been a long waiting game as his chance to debut at AFL level never came at St Kilda.  Whether it was a matter of the timing never quite being right, or that Ross Lyon did not have confidence in the Irishman - in the two years at Saint Kilda he was confined to the VFL.

The 2012 Welsh Australian Rules Football League season got off to an explosive start over the weekend as the first round of matches saw two massive scores posted as the Cardiff Panthers and Swansea Magpies looked to assert their dominance.

Having won the WARFL Premiership for the last 3 years, and having gone for all of 2011 undefeated, the Panthers picked up where they left off with a huge win over the Vale Warriors.

The Panthers started the game at a fast pace and scored their first goal within seconds of the opening bounce. Great Britain ruckman Chris James knocked the ball forward and Brian Sparkes, making his Panthers debut got the first goal of the game.

The goals then continued to flow for the Panthers as the relatively inexperienced Warriors team struggled to keep pace with the Panthers European, British, Welsh and Scottish international players.

Calum Newman kept working hard for the Warriors and was rewarded for his ruck play with 2 goals. However, Owain Rylands, playing his first ever Aussie Rules game, scored 5 goals as the Panthers dominated and despite some positive play from the Vale and the match drew on, the Panthers won 34.12.205 – 7.7.49

2009 and 2010 Grand Finalists also won big on the weekend, as they defeated the visiting Cardiff Double Blues. Having struggled to even field a team at times last year, the Magpie seem to be back to their winning ways as they won 22.22.154 – 3.3.21 against an inexperienced Blues side.

The Double Blues fielded 7 debutants in the game as the Magpies looked to reassert the authority they held in the league two seasons ago.

The weekend's other scheduled game, Bristol Dockers vs Bridgend Eagles is due to be rearranged due to a waterlogged pitch.

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.