Kevin McSorley, Development Officer for Australian Rules Football League Ireland (ARFLI), has taken the game of Australian Rules football and transformed it from simply a sport to a subject of study, opening the game up to a legion of students. The club he has established in Magherafelt, Northern Ireland, has used the Start-up Club Program (SCP) grant to attract interest (and recruitment) to the game through an entirely different medium – education.

“The NRC Eagles are the college team of North Regional College, a technical college for students aged 16 plus. The team had competed in the Fitzpatrick Cup but my direction is focused more on skill development and game understanding than competition as the other similar teams in Ireland, such as DCU and UCC Bombers, are university teams meaning my students in the 16-20 year old bracket (mostly 16-18 years old) would be competing against much older players.”

Tomislav Vlaović, current president of the Slavonski Brod Tigers in Croatia, knows his club has benefitted from the AFL Europe grants program. “We received both grants: the Goal Post Grant (GPG) and Start-up Club Program (SCP).”

“Included in the Start-up Club Program we received the 6 footballs. We obtained the Richmond footy kits ourselves, thanks mainly to my dad, Andrija Vlaovic. AFL Europe made first contact with the Richmond Tigers before I came to club but never got past that.”

“The Goal Post Grant (GPG) included financial assistance in helping erect goal posts on our current playing ground. We applied for 4 x goal posts and 4 x behind posts. Our application was successfully approved and we are very grateful to AFL Europe in helping us to build the first AFL full size ground in Eastern Europe.”

Myles Treanor from the Dublin City University (DCU) is the current club chairman and has put together the following information regarding the fledgling club from Ireland. DCU were the recipients of a Start-up Club Program grant (SCP) in 2014 which will kick along their progress as they compete on a broader scale and grow.

“[In] September 2014 aims we received a grant from AFL Europe over the summer with 6 balls. This was our first year of our own gear. We have used it regularly during trainings so far. DCU’s sport staff are currently helping us design jerseys and fund further equipment.”

Myles goes on to detail the origins and growth of the club.

“The club was founded in September 2013. Myles Treanor and Caoilte O’ Baoill competed for Ireland in the Euro Cup 9’s in Bordeaux. When we returned we set up the club in DCU with no funding or backing. It was made an official DCU club in September of this year.”

“It might not be the biggest of grants, but it was so important when we were only nine guys running around talking about making Odense Lions into a big club. We don't use the footballs we got anymore (we got new real Sherrins now) and we will replace the jumpers next year with new ones. So we are moving on from the first start grant we got, but even that small grant was very important for us. We would have had a hard time without it. It can seem little now with 35 players and two teams (male and female) but it was so important back then.”

These are the words of the Odense Lions and their gratitude for the Start-Up Club Program grant from AFL Europe. Whilst the grant may seem small compared to the resources that might follow, Odense have succinctly summed up the value of the grant, and this is echoed by other clubs across Europe.

Since the early days when the grant helped kick-start the Lions, their adventure has been a success story for Australian Rules football in Europe, and particularly their home nation, Denmark.

The provision of grants by AFL Europe to new and emerging football clubs has seen some successes in recent years that have helped to populate national leagues with new clubs, expansion and greater opportunities for players.

It will be interesting to see which clubs are successful in obtaining grants in 2015. There are always whispers of new clubs coming to fruition across Europe, and there is no doubt that some of these clubs have made it under their own steam. But it is also true that the “Start Up Club Program (SCP)” has helped launch many of these new clubs.

There have been whispers of new clubs in France for some time now. The ALFA Lions and Nancy Bobcats have arrived, but interest remains over the teams from Toulon and Pau. There has been some talk of a club starting in Zenica (Bosnia & Herzegovina), and there have been overtures in Bergen (Norway) for a possible club to start, though that is not much past conversational stage at the moment. But this short list (and there are others, without doubt, that I have not mentioned) could potentially be the candidates for SCP grants for 2015.

Without the ability to watch all teams over the course of all matches at the Euro Cup it is difficult to do an all-team analysis. For that reason, this analysis looks at the performances of all teams over the course of the event by looking at the numbers. This analysis looks at both the men’s and women’s teams.

 

Some readers who were there may see things slightly differently, but we would welcome any constructive insights in the comments section of this article below.

 

The corresponding article after the 2013 Euro Cup in Bordeaux was sub-titled “Something for Everyone” - http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php/20130922221122206 , which was true in that all teams had periods of success or performances which suggested a positive experience.

 

The Euro Cup for 2014 is well under way. The games for the group standings have been completed and the results for both men’s and women’s are listed below. The semi-final results will be added to this story in the comments section below, with the finals results posted in a separate story early tomorrow. This will include playoff results for Euro Bowl and Euro Plate.

 

Men’s Draw Results

 

Prince Charles Group:

Italy 5 6 36 d Netherlands  1 4 10

Germany 5 5 35 d France 4 5 29

Germany 5 5 35 d Italy 2 2 14

France 3 2 20 d Netherlands 0 0 00

Germany 7 4 46 d Netherlands 0 1 1

 

Italy 4 6 3 d France 3 4 22

Irishman Tommy Walsh has advised the Sydney Swans that he will return home to Ireland. Walsh was recruited to the Club via a trade with St Kilda at the end of the 2011 season. He made his AFL debut in round 8, 2012 and played a further two matches that year. Walsh was almost a late inclusion on Grand Final day in 2012, but luck was not with him.  The Swans went on to win the flag that day.

He returned to the team again in 2013 but his season ended when he was struck down with a serious hamstring injury.  Walsh struggled to return this year after that injury but finally played a number of good games in the NEAFL but not good enough to break into the ladder leading AFL team. 

A recent story by World Footy news reported on the great AFL/VFL eras. The article left open the possibility of clubs around the world coming forward with their own eras of greatness. It certainly hasn’t taken long for one great dynasty to show itself, and the story is quite remarkable. Enter, the Farum Cats from Denmark.

Ian Hill, creator of The Footy Record and long-time stalwart of the Australian Rules football scene in Denmark responded to the article (Dynasties, Cycles and Golden Eras - http://www.worldfootynews.com/article...2721192556 ) with his own comment on the Cats’ efforts.