Mitch Cleary from the www.afl.com.au website reports on the progress of Geelong’s latest Irish recruit, Stefan Okunbor. To read the original story, go to the following link: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-12-06/homework-pays-off-for-geelongs-new-irishman  

As an Irish Gaelic prodigy arriving at GMHBA Stadium from the other side of the world, the 20-year-old wasn't meant to know the ins and outs of Geelong's entire playing list.

However, it's that level of enthusiasm that has Cats officials quietly confident they may have unearthed another gem to follow in the footsteps of countrymen Zach Tuohy and Mark O'Connor.

 

"I was given the player profiles, so I had no excuse to not know their names," Okunbor said after his first month in Australia.

Over the past five years, the Manchester Mozzies have dominated the AFLCNE competition with five consecutive premierships. Yet, in that time they had not won the silverware for their end of season tournament – the Movember Cup. However, that all changed on November 25th when the Mozzies outlasted the Wandsworth Demons from London by a goal. In the women’s draw, the Nottingham Scorpions downed the Birmingham University united team.

The Movember Cup has been played since 2011 in honour of former Manchester Mozzies premiership player Nathan Blakely. Blakely played in the Mozzies maiden premiership in 2010, but passed away the following year. The Nathan Blakely Memorial Cup (Movember Cup) has been played in all but one year since with the aim of raising money for cancer. This year, more than 1000 pounds was raised on the day through donations and other fund-raising.

The second round of the National University League was played out yesterday at Oxford University, and the locals made every post a winner to head the league’s ladder after two completed rounds. The round featured the Universities Of South Wales teams for the first time, whilst the Birmingham University had the bye.

Arch rivals, Cambridge University, had a grand day out to win both men’s and women’s matches and go to the top of the women’s division ladder.

The following results and story are from the National University League Facebook page:

Round 2 Recap:
Oxford made it two wins from two on home soil to move to the top of the Men's Division. Cambridge got their first win of the NUL season as the Universities of South Wales made their debut in the competition.

In one of the tensest matches of the CNFA season to date, the Paris Cockatoos have outlasted a gallant ALFA Lions after a thrilling match in Lyon. In a game that could have gone to either team, it was the Cockatoos that came from behind to steal the match.

The Lions got the better of a tight opening quarter, holding on to a three point quarter-time lead. They were able to extend that lead to a handy 15 points at the main break and would have to just hold back the tide.

However, the Cockatoos were not done with and produced a strong third quarter to grab the lead – only just – and put the pressure squarely back on the Lions. Whilst the Cockatoos lead was only five points, it was the momentum shift that spoke the loudest with effectively a five goal to one quarter being the drive for a big last quarter.

 

In one of the widest nets for players across Great Britain, with the inclusion of players from the Australian Rules Football National University League, the GB Bulldogs initial training squad has been released. Featuring 53 players from 17 clubs and 6 leagues (including one player from the London GAA), the squad will come together over coming months to train with a final squad to be announced next year for the AFL Europe Championship and beyond. 

The squad features players from the SARFL (Scotland), WARFL (Wales), AFL London, AFLCNE (Australian Football League Central & Northern England), National University League and London CAA. Below are the players selected:

Ireland’s West Clare Waves have completed a remarkable year to ensconce themselves as possibly the best women’s football team in Europe – and possibly the best outside of Australia – by winning the 2018 Harvey Norman AFL Ireland Women’s Premiership. In a relatively short time, the Waves have grown from a group of women interested in playing the game to a powerhouse setting new benchmarks for other women to follow.

This report from the West Clare Waves’ Facebook page looks at their triumph and also recaps a short but decorated journey since last year.

Premiership Champions -

“What a day in Islandbridge, Dublin yesterday as West Clare Waves won the first ever Grand Final of the Harvey Norman AFL Ireland Women's Premiership in association with the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce and The Australian Embassy.”

France is about to become one of the premier women’s football nations in Europe with the announcement of the 2019 Coupe Gallia tournament in Paris next March. With women’s football growing quickly and in large numbers across Europe, the CNFA (the French governing body for Australian football) has taken the initiative to grow the women’s game further.

The following media advice from the Paris Cocks Footy Facebook page states:

“The Paris Cockerelles are delighted to announce that they will be hosting the 2019 Coupe Gallia on March 9th. This is the first 100% all female tournament in Europe for Australian Rules football.”

“Created by the French Australian Rules Football association (CNFA) in 2017, the purpose is to be inclusive, to showcase the skills of female players and to give women more opportunities to play this great game that we love. The tournament takes place the day after International Women’s day. All female clubs are welcome.

It has to be said that the Bordeaux Bombers have always played to their best when at home. This has always made them a formidable opponent for all visiting teams. Nevertheless, when the reigning premiers go down to the Bombers, it is a significant event, and a significant upset.

It can always be argued that road trips are always at the mercy of how many of a squad (and who) can make the journey. But that problem occurs for all teams across the season – games still have to be won on the day, and that is what the Bordeaux Bombers did. They played a brand of football which saw their nine players better than their opposition across four quarters.

Bordeaux got away to a good start and by half time had already moved out to a 25-point lead. Not an unassailable lead – especially for a team stocked with as much talent and the Cockerels – but it did mean that the Paris team had to outscore the Bombers by more than four goals in the second half, and that would prove a tough ask for any team.

The first leg of the Rebel Shield in Cork was played out last Friday between Cork’s big two footy teams – the Leeside Lions and the UCC Bombers. The clash has been going now for a number of years and in the words of the Lions, “has provided some memorable contests over the years and it is sure to deliver once again.”

Cork, in southern Ireland, has become one of the more successful cities at growing successful teams – the Leeside Lions won back to back AFL Ireland premierships in 2016 and 2017. The UCC Bombers are the current holders of the Fitzpatrick Cup for universities. In fact, the Bombers have won the cup on three occasions in the men’s division (2013, 2017 and 2018) and also the women’s division in all three years of the women’s draw in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

There are serious bragging rights that go along with the event, and both teams give everything. The Leeside Lions stated that, “as promised, the 1st Leg of the Rebel Shield proved to be a close and exciting game.”

The rebranding and redeveloping of football in Toulouse has seen the former powerhouse, the Toulouse Hawks, initially sacrifice their results to help create the Blagnac Aviators. Then, as the Aviators passed into French footy history, the new two-team entity Stade Toulousain has grown in their place. The subsequent start of the new season for both Toulouse teams is cause for caution for all other French teams.

It is only early in the season, yet both Toulouse teams have recorded significant victories, suggesting that there is greater depth than ever before in Toulouse and both Stade Toulousain teams will be in the running for potential finals action next year.