We all love getting on the pitch and hip-and-shouldering our opponent. We all love the social aspects of the sport which bring us together, making new friends that last a lifetime. We all enjoy the endless banter about the shot we missed and the superman block you accidentally tripped into. What pushes a person to sign up for more work than they already have in their already busy life, organising the footy so that others have the opportunity to play?

Love of the game.

My name is Adam Bennett and in November 2010 I was voted in as the President of AFL GB at the 2nd annual national conference. There were numerous changes in the AFL GB committee and I'd like to recognise up front the massive contributions from Glen Ocsko - the previous President who helped steer the organisation onto the path; Kat Wheeler - one of the most passionate supporters of footy growth and development I've ever had the pleasure to work with; and Sam Percy - who continues to be a stalwart of the sport in London, spending untold hours supporting the sport.

Richmond Football Club tonight confirmed that it is the club that has signed American born Irishman John Heslin. Heslin, an 18-year-old Agricultural Science student from University College Dublin, who has competed at hurling, soccer and Gaelic football at a high level, will be selected by the Tigers as an international rookie in next December’s Rookie Draft.

Heslin currently plays Gaelic football for his university team, as well as at senior level for county club Westmeath. As a junior, he represented Ireland in soccer, and made such an impression that he was noticed by a number of Premier league clubs and invited to trial at then English Premier League club Derby County.

In a first-ever for Australian rules football in Europe, the AFL’s future stars from the Australian Institute of Sport will take on a representative European side in London on Saturday April 23.

Newly-appointed AFL Europe General Manager Ben MacCormack views the event as a perfect opportunity for Aussies and locals with an interest in Aussie Rules to get a sneak peek at the future of the AFL.

“We are excited this event is coming to London as it is a great opportunity for not only the Aussie community living in the UK but includes locals being introduced to a sport that flows in the veins of so many Australians” MacCormack said.

The AIS-AFL Academy squad will be made up of the best 16 & 17-year-old footballers in Australia. In the past over 80% of players in this squad have been drafted on to an AFL list and some have become champions of the game. Players in previous academies include the likes of Chris Judd (West Coast/Carlton), Luke Hodge (Hawthorn), Joel Selwood (Geelong), Lance Franklin (Hawthorn), Adam Cooney (Western Bulldogs) and David Swallow (2010 #1 Draft Pick – Gold Coast)."

“AFL Europe are extremely pleased to have secured the services of Glenn Lovett (ex-Melbourne FC player) as coach of the European Legion which is a squad of Under 21’s made up of players from Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden and Wales. These boys have the talent to surprise a couple of the AIS young guns which will lead to a great spectacle” MacCormack added.

Heir to the British throne Prince William has been in Australia this week to visit flood affected areas. While in Murrabit in north west Victoria he was given a skills clinic by Irishman Jim Stynes and was involved in a bit of a kick to kick session. For those that missed it we have the video here courtesty of the Herald Sun website.

Westmeath teenage star John Heslin looks set to sign with an AFL club. While it is yet to be confirmed which club, he has just returned to Ireland after a week long trial with a club and will not say which club it is until it is made official. Irish website Hoganstand is reporting that the club is the Gold Coast Suns while elsewhere it was speculated that a Melbourne based club was involved.

Heslin, is just 18 and possibly one of Ireland’s most promising young footballers and will be a blow to the Gaelic system that may have been breathing a sigh of relief on St Patrick’s Day last week when high profile Australian Ricky Nixon was suspended as a player agent.

 

Lotus Renault F1 drivers Nick Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov today had a crash course in Aussie Rules Football from Hawthorn's Buddy Franklin and Josh Gibson at the home of AFL, the MCG. As one of the smallest drivers on the grid at 163cm tall, Nick Heidfeld had his work cut out for him matched against the 196cm frame of Buddy Franklin.

 The Hawthorn footballers taught the internationals some basic AFL techniques before they took off to Adelaide for their round 1 clash against the Crows on Saturday night while the F1 drivers tack to the Albert Park circuit for their own season opener.

The inaugural European Legion squad has been named to take on Australia's youth when the AFL/AIS Academy tours Europe in April.  The day will also see Ireland's Warriors take on the British Bulldogs, in what will no doubt be a crucial match for players heading to IC11 in August.

As reported on the AFL Europe website, the European Legion Squad to face the AFL/AIS Academy in London on April 23rd contains representatives from Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden and Wales. The team will be coached by AFL Europe Commissioner and former Melbourne Demons Player, Glenn Lovett. Glenn will be assisted by visiting coach Brett Kirk and Daniel Maclaer from Sweden. 24 players were invited to participate, with one player Sylvain Maylie having to decline his invitation. His place in the squad has been taken by Sam Brunton from England. The Squad is as follows.

The Bristol Dockers will be playing in the Welsh Australian Rules Football League in 2011, after the WARFL committee last weekend voted unanimously to admit them to the league.

The Dockers are one of England's oldest clubs outside London, starting as the Bristol Bears in the old BARFL back in 1991. For the past few seasons, they have competed in the AFL London Social Division, but after the 2010 season were keen to move to the 9-a-side format and play locally.

Jason Bryant from the Dockers says that "there were a few reasons we moved away from the London Social league, firstly the London league didn't inform us in any discussions about the 2011 season so when we contacted them, everything had already been decided and unable to join. This was the same case for the Southern League. We were told by AFL GB heads that the only option left to play in 2011 was the Welsh league as they hadn't decided their competition schedule."

The West Midlands of England will again be home to 3 clubs in 2011, with the reformation of the Birmingham Bears for play in the AFL Britain Central & North West Division. The Bears went into recess just before the 2010 season, with the league asking the newly-formed Wolverhampton Wolverines to take over most the Bears' fixtures for the year.

Wolverhampton president Ian Mitchell says 2010 was a challenge for the Wolverines, with most of the players still learning the game. "Last season we played in a social capacity in the C&NW Division of AFL Britain, taking many of Birmingham Bears fixtures that they couldn't fulfil. We lost the majority of our games that we played, it was a steep learning curve as all of the players were new to the game, apart from myself and one or two Australians that we managed to collect on the way. We finally won our last game of last season against the other new club in the area, the Hull Mariners."

This weekend will see the Wolverines take on the Bears in a pre-season friendly, with the following weekend seeing them joined by the Birmingham Uni Sharks for the inaugural 3-team West Midlands Charity Cup, which will raise funds for the Queensland Floods Appeal.

The Croatian Knights are one of Europe's rising Australian football teams, consistently winning 9's tournaments and starting to challenge the more established nations.  In 2011 they are striving to continue growing the game and to reach their first AFL International Cup but face an uphill battle in sponsorship.  But the players and officials lack nothing in energy and ingenuity, taking their campaign to both the streets and the internet.

A key part of that push has been through the slogan Imaš muda? (Got balls?) and the corresponding website.  They also have the obligatory Facebook page.  Tireless footy enthusiast Kolja Koracak told worldfootynews.com that the "Croatian Knights are working hard to make people aware of us and to gain new members. They organized a guerilla marketing campaign where they hung 15 banners at each of Zagreb's bridges and overpass with the words 'imaš muda' which means 'got balls'."

We wish them all the best in their quest to both promote the game and to make it to Australia in 2011.