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.

This coming weekend will see the final game of Round Four for the CNFA as the league heads into its winter recess. The remaining five rounds will recommence in February, but already there has been a great amount of interest in the footy to date.

Round One saw the Cergy-Pontoise Coyotes down last year’s premiers, the Paris Cockerels by 29 points to start the year on the right path. The Cockerel’s decision in the off-season to have one club/two teams – giving rise to the league’s eighth team, the Paris Cockatoos – has had an effect on the Cockerels, but already their stable mates have prospered. The Bordeaux versus Strasbourg game was rescheduled for February.

The third match went to the Toulouse Hawks over the ALFA Lions, but in unusual circumstances. The end result was a forfeit equivalent with the Lions penalised for unregistered players and the points going to the Hawks. But that doesn’t tell the “footy” story. Prior to the decision, the Hawks won their actual match 106 to 70 by 36 points, but in the corresponding game last season it was the Hawks winning by a massive 243 points. Rightfully, the Lions can point to a huge on field improvement since that horrid day last year – it was just a shame the result may come down to an off-field decision. A final decision is pending through a tribunal, though either way Toulouse gets the points.

The off-season certainly hasn’t been a quiet time for the AFLCNE (AFL Central & Northern England) committee as they continue to redevelop 2016 representative opportunities for league players. Additionally, the league has redeveloped their own home and away draw to accommodate their eighth team in 2016, the Merseyside Saints from Liverpool.

The following information from the AFLCNE website outlines the changes.

“In 2016 the Central and Northern England League will be forming a League representative side with a view to playing 18 a-side games as opposed to the leagues 9s format. The aim behind this is to give our top British talent more experience of the 18s game and help them to prepare for national team selection and hopefully playing for the British Bulldogs.”

The second annual Champions League tournament will be held on March 19th next year, once again in Amsterdam and organised jointly by AFL Europe and the Amsterdam Devils club. The tournament goes into a second edition after the success of the inaugural event last year, in a competition which pits the premiership teams of European member nation leagues against each other to determine the best club, as opposed to nation, in Europe.

Last year the title was taken out by the West London Wildcats when they downed German team the Rheinland Lions. Ten clubs attended the event in 2015 with the others being the Belfast Redbacks (3rd), Amsterdam Devils (4th), Toulouse Hawks, Edinburgh Bloods, Malmo Redeyes, Solna Axemen, Manchester Mosquitoes and Zagreb Hawks.

The event is governed by certain rules regarding eligibility of players. This includes no more than four Australians on the field at any given time (passports used if necessary to determine this), but arranged mutually between clubs on an honour system. Players must have been registered to play during the 2016 season or have played for the club in 2015. The competition will follow the Euro Cup format and be nine players per side on field, with squads of up to 16.

The AFL’s Rookie Draft held yesterday provided the final formality for two young Irish talents as they made their way onto the lists of both Hawthorn and the Sydney Swans. Conor Glass and Colin O’Riordin were both signed by their respective clubs back in October after the 2015 season was completed. The Rookie Draft was the final stage of their selection process.

Conor Glass is from Maghera in Northern Ireland and has been signed as an International Category B Rookie after his eye-catching displays of Gaelic Football as captain of the Derry youth team. Hawthorn have been tracking Glass for some time, assisting him to come to the club to meet the players and get a feel off the heartland of AFL footy in Melbourne. The Hawks used their final pick in the draft, pick 62 in the fourth round, to complete his recruitment process.

In light of the truly horrifying and incomprehensible terror attacks in Paris earlier today, the CNFA – Football Australien (controlling body of Australian Rules football in France) has released the following information about weekend matches on their Facebook page.

“Au vu des récents évènements, le match Lyon-Paris Cockerels est reporté à une date ultérieure. De l'autre côté, les Paris Cockatoos ont choisi de ne pas se plier à la barbarie et se déplaceront malgré tout à Bordeaux. Nous soutenons bien sûr nos clubs dans leur choix.
A notre communauté, nous espérons que vous et vos proches êtes en sécurité. Toutes nos pensées vont également aux victimes et leur entourage.‪ - #Prayforparis”

On the 15th of November the Manchester Mosquitoes host a charity Aussie Rules tournament at Trafford MV Rugby Club. The Nathan Blakey Movember Cup is held annually in support of the Movember Foundation raising funds for men’s illnesses, in particular prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health issues. The first tournament was held in 2011 and has been growing year on year raising around £10,000 for charity so far.

The week before the first event, Nathan Blakey, a member of the Manchester Mosquitoes ARFC, passed away during complex surgery at the age of 28. Nathan had been part of the Mozzies since the clubs first season and was part of their 2010 premiership team. He was known for his down to earth, friendly nature and his love of the footy. He played, umpired, helped coach and loved a beer. He was a paramedic so would often be sorting himself out after matches whenever he took a hit. He is greatly missed. With his passing the week before the first Movember Cup it was decided to play the tournament in honour of Nathan. It seemed a fitting gesture to remember him in this way considering his love of football and his commitment to developing the game.

Hawthorn Football Club announced today Irishman Conor Glass was added to its list, with the 18-year-old signing on as an International Category B rookie.

A talented Gaelic footballer, Glass has won three Ulster club minor titles with the Watty Graham team, as well as two MacRory crowns and a Hogan Cup victory with St Patrick's, Maghera.

Glass hails from Maghera in Northern Ireland and has been on the Hawks’ radar for the past few years, having previously made three trips to Australia to visit Waverley Park.

Ireland’s own UCC Bombers footy team, based down in Cork, has been gradually developing a full head of steam as it heads closer to becoming a key part of the continued growth of Australian Rules football in the nation. The club’s Public Relations Officer, Ian O’Brien, was happy to give an overview of their season to date and a look at the inspiration that Geelong’s Irish ruckman, Padraig Lucey has become to the club.

“The UCC Bombers started the new season in a positive manner with a win over the current Rebel Shield winners the Leeside Lions. This proved to be a close encounter with a highly skilled and experienced opposition. The Bombers came out on top in the first leg of the Rebel Shield competition with a 5 point margin and the final score being UCC Bombers 7.12.54 defeating Leeside Lions 7.7.49.”

The Cergy-Pontoise Coyotes have got their season of to a fantastic start, winning the opening match of the new Football Australien (CNFA) season for 2015/16. Up against last year’s premiers and most dominant team, the Coyotes left nothing in the tank and showed no regard for past reputations by downing their cross-town Paris rivals.

The final score saw the Cergy-Pontoise Coyotes 111 defeat the Paris Cockerels 82.

With the Paris Cockerels having spawned a new team, the Paris Cockatoos, over the off season it is likely that the Paris team may have been missing a player or two compared to last season, but that means little as the Coyotes, but their own admission, were “in the face” of their opponents from the outset and determined to fight. Certainly, the Coyotes took full advantage of playing on home soil to ground out their 29 point win.