If enthusiasm is one of the criteria on which success is based then the new Croatian footy team, the Ploče Eagles, is in great hands. A chat with the fledgling club’s president, Johnny Roncevic, tells the story so far, but also tells a story of a larrikin who may have exactly what it takes to bring together another successful Croatian footy team.

The town of Ploče is not large – approximately ten thousand people – but it important as port on the Adriatic, or Dalmatian Coast, and is used heavily as a port for the neighbouring nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The reference to a port adds to the irony of a president of a new club who is from Fremantle in Australia.

Recently, World Footy News published an interview with Croatian journeyman, Josip Habljack, who has become a beacon, if you will, for other European players seeking a dream to follow in A Pilgrimage From Zagreb To Adelaide. Following is an excerpt from a new interview with Josip for the Savez Australskog Nogometa Hrvatske (SANH – Australian Union Of Croatian Football) looking at his journey since his arrival.

 

The 24-year-old from Velika Gorica, Josip Habljak was a Zagreb Hawks player, but now he is in Australia. He is the first Croatian footy player who became a pro and signed one-year contract in Adelaide for Sturt FC. Read this interesting interview and find out more about his life in Australia.

 

 How did you manage to sign one-year contract for Sturt FC and to play footy in Australia.  What is the key of your successω

The following article from The 42 website by Finlan O’Toole looks at the movement of potential Irish Gaelic footballers and Hurling stars headed to the AFL Training Camp to be held in Florida.

Players from Galway, Kilkenny and Westmeath are amongst the 33 players heading to Florida today for the start of the NAB AFL Academy’s training camp in America.

Galway’s Cillian McDaid, Kilkenny’s Darragh Joyce and Westmeath’s Ray Connellan are all partaking in the camp where leading Australian clubs will run the rule over the players present.

 

The players fly to Orlando before travelling to Sarasota in Florida for eight days on a high-intensity camp at the IMG Academy.

Some clubs across the world are brushing off the lethargy that goes with the festive season and cranking up their machines for the 2016 season. Many clubs, however, such as Scotland’s Kingdom Kangaroos have used their off season to shore up their futures and prepare to hit the 2016 season running. The following article from the Kingdom Kangaroos website looks at the club’s off-season recruiting drive.

 

By all accounts the Kingdom Kangaroos had a good year in 2015, a few league wins saw them finish 3rd in the SARFL.

 

Long time player and secretary for the club Charlie Snedden said that while his side were improving year on year, there was still a lot to do in 2016.

 

 

“2015 was a good year for us, we had a few players come to us from the local rugby clubs in their off season” he said.

As teams around the world are enjoying their breaks from footy, either in their off seasons or for the festive season, many are happy to put football on the backburner for a while and focus on other things. But many clubs, like the Tyne Tees Tigers in the AFLCNE competition in England are using the down time to consolidate their longer term futures.

On the back of a promising finish to the 2015 season where they won four of their last five games (one by forfeit) including huge wins against eventual finalists Sheffield Thunder and Huddersfield Rams, the club has now found a new home to strengthen its position in the league.

According to the AFLCNE website, “AFLCNE club the Tyne Tees Tigers are looking to the future with an exciting development for their club, announcing their new home ground and training venue for 2016. Based in Gosforth they will be becoming affiliate members of the Gosforth Sports Association alongside Gosforth Rugby Club and Newcastle City Cricket Club.”

The French footy landscape has been constantly changing since the game started to take root back in the late 20th century and throughout last decade. Teams have come and gone on a fairly regular basis, yet many existing clubs have continued the journey and the hardships to become strong and provide the backbone of the league.

The Brittany Griffins are one of the newest footy incarnations in France. Whilst other infant clubs have either folded or are on hiatus, such as the Pau Bears, Nancy Bobcats and a Toulon based team, the Brittany club is looking to realise their own dreams and last the journey to becoming a major player one day.

Arnaud is, in his own words, the key forward, coach and president of the Brittany Griffins. A recent chat with Arnaud gave an insight into France’s newest team.

It is sometimes said that in sport a single win can be the start of a new chapter in a club’s history. New eras have to start somewhere and it is often a single win which triggers a change of fortunes. The Perpignan Tigers, playing in the CNFA competition in France, may be on their way to a different future as a result of their most recent victory.

In the final match for 2015, the Perpignan Tigers surprised almost everyone when they defeated the newly formed Paris Cockatoos earlier this month. The win saw the Tigers kick 13 13 91 to the Cockatoos 9 15 69, and quite rightly their supporters had cause to celebrate.

Some see a win as just a win. But this win was special. It was the Tigers’ first victory in the Championnat De France (the nation’s premier competition) since 2011 when they defeated the Aix-Marseilles Dockers 129 to 53. Whilst they received the points in two games during the 2011/12 season in forfeited matches, the Dockers win was their first and only win from a match on field. Their win this month becomes just their second since joining the French national competition for the 2009/10 season.

Thoughts turn to those who live in the flood devastated parts of England after the Boxing Day weather events which have effected many locations including parts of Manchester, Huddersfield, Merseyside, Leeds and York as well as many more towns and cities across the areas of northern and central England. Record rainfalls have seen rivers and streams swell to levels rarely and sometimes never seen.

World Footy News send their wishes to those people effected throughout the region and hope for a quick recovery.

Wolverhampton football supporters will be hoping that their own event, two International Rules matches against St Mary’s GAA in January and March, can defeat the weather and bring welcome relief and excitement to the region for those craving the game.

First played last February, the inaugural event was won by the Wolverhampton Wolverines crew against the willing St Mary’s Gaelic football team. The International Rules match was deemed successful enough earlier this year to spawn two challenges in 2016. The Wolverines will be keen to win these test matches and retain the trophy.

As is increasingly the way, talented young footballers from all over the world are being increasingly more often lured to Australia to try their hand at Australian Rules football. Those not able to attend various combines to get on the AFL’s radar are risking much to leave their home lives behind and journey to Australia to try their hand. Some documented examples have been players from the United States making it to the VFL. Others have come from Canada to play on the Gold Coast or country Victoria.

Josip Habljak has been one of the mainstays of Croatian footy in recent years. His interest in the game turned in to a love affair of sorts and his talents grew exponentially. Like others before him, the lure of coming to Australia has seen him make that life change and see how far he can go with his adopted game.

The following interview with Josip is unique in that it gives a very clear insight into the background of a player not brought up with the game and how, by degrees, he developed his own game and explored options to go further. Now with Sturt Football Club in the SANFL, Josip opens up about his footy journey.