North Melbourne Football Club yesterday announced that Red Óg Murphy has signed with the club as a Category B rookie. The following originally appeared here.

The young Sligo player trialled with the club in August and impressed according to North’s GM of Football Cameron Joyce.

“Red was invited to Arden Street and we were really happy with his ability and character,” Joyce said.

Image: Instagram @red_og_murphy

“Our recruiters, and in particular our Pro Scout Nick Byrne, have stayed in touch with him and his family over the past few months and we are really happy to have signed him as a Category-B rookie on our list.”

 

Geelong has now officially signed Gaelic footballer Stefan Okunbor as a Category B Rookie for the next two seasons, after it was reported almost two weeks ago that the move was happening. 

The Irishman is an emerging player in his homeland and has been on the AFL scouting radar for a few years. In 2017 Okunbor was invited to attend the AFL Academy Camp in Florida and the AFL National Combine in Melbourne.

Image: sportsjoe.ie

The 20-year-old then returned home to Ireland to work on his game, playing for home club Na Gaeil in Tralee, University of Limerick and Kerry U20’s at inter-county level.

 

Marc McGowan from the www.afl.com.au website reports on the growing number of Irish footballers signed or about to be for the 2019 season. Following is an extract from the story. 

AN UNPRECEDENTED number of Irishmen are set to compete in the AFL next year if North Melbourne's bid to lure a prospect from a small county is successful. 

Red Óg Murphy, a forward from Sligo, is that player. 

Óg is the Irish equivalent of 'junior', for the uninitiated, but you can already take a pretty accurate stab at what his nickname will be in Australia. 

 

He could follow countrymen James Madden (Brisbane), Mark Keane and Anton Tohill (Collingwood), Stefan Okunbor (Geelong) and Callum Brown (Greater Western Sydney) into the League in 2019.

The 2018/19 CNFA Leo Lagrange season kicked off in France this weekend. Last weekend’s scheduled clash between the ALFA Lions and Perpignan Tigers did not proceed, leaving this weekend’s games as the season start on field.

With matches played in both Paris and Bordeaux, there were some significant results for a new-look CNFA. The reimagining of the former Toulouse Hawks and Blagnac Aviators saw the new entity – Stade Toulousain – take the field to win against the Bordeaux Bombers. New team, the Bayonne Toreadors, pushed the Paris Cockerels in their debut match and the Paris defeated the Cergy-Pontoise Coyotes convincingly.

In Bordeaux, the Toulousain team kicked away to a handy 20-point lead in the opening quarter against the home team. The same margin separated the teams by the main break with the Bombers determined to stay in touch and they crept to within 10 points by the final change. But the Stade Toulousain team unleashed a huge final quarter to run out eventual 37-point winners.

Will Taylor from the AFL Europe website www.afleurope.org reports on the upcoming clash between Norwood and both the Croatian Knights men’s and Croatian Queens women’s teams. Not only does this present as a unique pre-season opportunity for the Redlegs, it is also another great step in the development of Croatian teams – fast-tracking the development of the national women’s team. 

In a first for footy in Europe, South Australian National Football League (SANFL) side the Norwood Football Club will play the Croatian men’s and women’s national teams in a friendly fixtures this weekend in Biograd na Moru. 

 

The Redlegs have made their way over to Croatia to start their pre-season training camp that will involve a fixtures against the Croatian Knights  and Croatian Queens this Sunday.

With AFLW clubs finalising their lists today in the wake of Tuesday’s draft, Irish talent, Aisling McCarthy has been snared by the Western Bulldogs with pick 23 in the draft. She is one of four Irish women to be placed on AFLW team lists after the recent national and rookie drafts.

Aisling was a graduate of the Western Bulldogs’ Cross-Code graduate program and was a part of the Cross-Code program held last month in Melbourne for women from across the world to try out for list spots. The Western Bulldogs were impressed by Aisling’s talent and potential and did not hesitate to draft her on Tuesday.

The 22-year old Tipperary native came to Australia earlier in September to try her luck and has already achieved her primary goal. Her selection continues a gradual exodus of Irish talent to the AFLW as more women realise they can live a dream.

The GIANTS have welcomed Irish recruit Callum Brown (in the red and white left)to the club as a rookie for the 2019 season.

Brown is an up-and-coming Gaelic Football star in his home country and is a tall, skillful and athletic prospect.

The 18-year-old was identified by the GIANTS’ Irish scouting program in July 2017 and undertook a 12-month trial process with the club.

He flew to Australia in August to spend two weeks training with the GIANTS under the eye of coach Leon Cameron.

Brown is the second Irish international signing in the club's short history after Setanta Ó hAilpín played two injury ridden year's with the club at the end of his career.  Also currently on the club's list is Aidan Corr who was born in Northern Ireland but has lived in Australia since he was three.

Image: irishnews.com

 

Marc McGowan reports on the www.afl.com.au website about Geelong’ signing of more Irish talent ahead of the 2019 season. To read the original article, go to: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-10-18/another-irish-cat-stefan-okunbor-joins-geelong

GEELONG is set to have three Irishmen on its list next year, with Stefan Okunbor to join Zach Tuohy and Mark O'Connor at the Cattery. 

The final details are still being finalised, but the 20-year-old is likely to accept a two-year rookie contract with Chris Scott's side.

There will be an influx of Irish talent in the AFL in 2019, with James Madden (Brisbane) and Mark Keane and Anton Tohill (Collingwood) already signed and Jordan Morrissey linked to Essendon.

As if Meghan Markle, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex, hadn't already won over crowds across Australia on her Royal Tour to the country, her prowess with an Australian Rules football has won her a new legion of fans.

Travelling to Melbourne today, Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex attended a function at Government House. Whilst there, the Duchess was given the opportunity to show her style with the oval ball. Without any time to rehearse, Meghan Markle showed a great ability to handpass.

Pictures from The Australian newspaper show a solid command of technique. Not only has she impressed those in attendance, but Australian Football followers across the world have embraced the Duchess. Being an American and marrying into the British royal family, the Duchess of Sussex might yet be a wonderful, if unsuspecting, ambassador for the game.

After an exciting day out in Cork, Ireland, the Euro Cup is done and dusted with the Denmark Vikings once again taking out the Men’s Division whilst the Irish Banshees won the women’s title. Both teams have now claimed their third titles with Denmark winning their first title since their back-to back tournaments in 2014/5. The Irish Banshees also won the women’s title in 2016 in Lisbon, Portugal and in London in 2014.

The Denmark Vikings won their way through the round matches and finals to meet the Irish Warriors in the final. They defeated last year’s winners, the England Dragonslayers, in the semi-final before defeating the Warriors by 14 points in the final.

The Irish Banshees and England Vixens had little trouble advancing to the women’s final with big semi-final wins, but the Banshees were far too good for 2017 winners, the England Vixens, taking the final by a commanding 25 points.