AFL trade week is underway with the 18 AFL clubs playing a complicated game of bluff and dare with players and draft picks ahead of season 2012.

Already one deal has been done that sees Ireland's Marty Clarke return to Collingwood after a two year absence.  Because he was no longer listed by the Magpies the "rights" to Clarke belonged to new club GWS Giants, but they agreed to send him on to Collingwood in a multi-part deal.

Less certain but also possibly on the move is long time Carlton player Setanta O'Ailpin.  The tall Irishman (also of Fijian descent) has been in and out of the Blues' team for most of his career and has asked to be traded if the club can find an interested team.  If not it seems likely he will still be kept given that Carlton so often call on him in ruck or up forward when they get some injuries.  At times it has appeared that his team-mates have not shared the ball with "Carlos" as well as expected, perhaps lacking faith in his erratic disposal.  It would certainly be interesting to see him given a fresh chance at another AFL club.

Can't make it to Belfast to see the 2011 Euro Cup in person? No worries - you can catch up on the games live via UStream.

Visit http://www.ustream.tv/channel/afl-europe this weekend during match time to see Europe's biggest footy tournament and the biggest 9-a-side footy tournament in the world.

With the 2011 Euro Cup kicking off in Belfast this weekend, we present our third batch of team previews - this time profiling the Scottish, Swedish, Finnish and Icelandic sides.

The final draw includes 18 sides, with the teams from Poland, Portugal and Norway pulling out, but the Denmark Vikings having been added to the original list we received.

The full schedule can be found at the AFL Europe website.

Ed: We didn't receive word back from the Russian, Catalan or Spanish camps in time for inclusion in our Euro Cup previews, but we hope to have an update on their domestic progress in the near future.

Thanks to Leiha Shrubsall for the bulk of this article.

Last year the first ever European women's international match took place at the Euro Cup: Ireland defeated Italy by 10 points. Now the AFL Finals are out the way, it is time again for the Euro Cup. This time Belfast is the city hosting the competition. Being the Banshees' first international home game, they want to win on home soil. The squad list is out, and the majority of the squad is made up of IC11 players and a few new players added.

‘We have just returned victorious from the biggest competition on the International stage, we know now where we sit on an International playing level and want to keep that level up. We've never met the Swiss team before so we don't know what they will throw at us but we'll be playing the Banshees’ brand of footy regardless.’
 

In the second set of previews for the 2011 Euro Cup, we profile the Austrian Avalanche, German Black Eagles and Italy Azzurri - as well as last year's gold medallists Croatia and the runners up Netherlands.

Can the Knights and the Dutchmen repeat their stellar performance this year, or will the hosts Ireland bring them back to Earth?

The Germans have seen lots of growth at home and won a few internationals this year - can they take the next step and stamp their mark as up-and-comers in European footy? The Italians impressed with their development in 2010, taking out 6th place despite being one of Europe's newer leagues.

The Austrians have had some setbacks domestically with the Vienna Kangaroos going into recess, but with the Styrian DownUnderDogs playing a season in the Croatian domestic league they too will be eager to show they're on the way up.

With the 9-a-side 2011 Euro Cup hosted by the Australian Rules Football League of Ireland just around the corner, WFN spoke to the team managers for some background on the teams, their preparations and their ambitions for this year's tournament.

We're starting with the Irish Warriors, England Dragonslayers, Denmark Vikings, France Coqs and Cymru Red Dragons (Wales) - five sides whose respective leagues have recently mounted campaigns at the 2011 International Cup.

Whilst the English, French and Welsh sides will include a number of IC players, the Irish and Danes will bring completely new sides to the tournament.

This article courtesy of Kate O'Halloran

It was the grand final that almost didn’t happen. Two months before the game was due to be played, members of the Australian Football League Germany (AFLG) were told that the ground they had booked and were contracted for was unavailable. Three weeks before the game, no resolution had been made, with the game likely to be moved to Berlin.

Later, the ground was again theirs, much to the relief of members of the opposing clubs. Such is the life of the AFLG footballer: their passion for and the importance of a game most locals have never heard of is not always understood.

None of this drama was evident at the start of the game on Saturday. It was an unexpectedly sunny, 25-degree September day in Stuttgart. While most of the locals were out at the regional Folk Festival, an eclectic mix of onlookers gathered in the heat to watch the Rheinland Lions and Berlin Crocodiles battle it out for the AFLG premiership.

The Rheinland Lions are no strangers to the last Saturday in September, having now contested the last 6 grand finals in a row. For the Crocodiles, on the other hand, it was their maiden grand final after a mostly successful season which saw them bolt to the top of the ladder before tapering off mid-way through the season.

The AFL Europe / EAFA has confirmed the entries for the 9-a-side 2011 Euro Cup, with 20 teams to take the pitch in Belfast, Northern Ireland on the weekend of October 8th and 9th.

19 national teams, including debutants Portugal, Norway, Poland and Russia will be making the journey to Belfast, with the EU Crusaders combined side rounding out the 20-team competition.

The full list of nations attending is: Austrian Avalanche, Catalunya Almogávers, Croatia Knights, Cymru Red Dragons, England Dragonslayers, European Crusaders, Finland Icebreakers, France Coqs, Germany Black Eagles, Iceland Ravens, Irish Warriors, Italy Azzurri, Netherlands Flying Dutchmen, Norway Trolls, Polish Bison, Portugal, Russian Czars, Scottish Clansmen, Spanish Bulls and Swedish Elks.

The Euro Cup tournament will be playing out on Saturday 8th, with the annual European General Assembly and development forum following on Sunday 9th and Monday 10th.

For more information, visit the tournament website here.

The Cardiff Panthers cemented themselves as one of the best home-grown 9-a-side Aussie Rules teams in Britain on Saturday, August 13th as they held off a strong challenge from the Bristol Dockers. Without talismanic ruckman Chris James who was at the International Cup in Australia with the GB Bulldogs, the Panthers fought hard to win their third Welsh Australian Rules Football League Premiership in as many years.

The WARFL Grand Final was held just one week after the WARFL had held an exhibition match as a curtain-raiser to the Welsh vs Australia soccer match held on August 10th in Cardiff.

Ed: With the IC on last month, we're a little behind on news from the various European premierships held over the past month or two - we apologise for the delay and encourage you to visit again soon for the news on who took out the flag in your local European league!

Injury to 2006 number one draft pick Bryce Gibbs has opened the door for Zach Tuohy to be recalled to the Carlton side for today's semi final against the West Coast Eagles in Perth. It is a huge compliment to his footy development after first playing the game in 2010 with the Northern Bullants, including playing in a losing grand final. After 10 AFL games this season with the Blues, last week he was emergency for the Blues before playing with the Bullants when he was not required. 

This week he re-joins countryman Setanta o'hAilpin who has settled back into the Blues side after an injury interupted season.  Returning some weeks ago from a hand injury that kept him out for many weeks, he had to come through the Northern Bullants VFL team.  While looking good as a goal scoring option up forward he has also been required to help out in the ruck position.  His versatility is being used to patch holes which is vital to the Blues who have had a number of injuries but makes settling into a set position difficult for him.