Future stars of the AFL come to London - AIS-AFL Academy vs European Legion

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Future stars of the AFL come to London - AIS-AFL Academy vs European Legion

Tuesday, March 29 2011 @ 07:59 am ACDT
Contributed by: Aaron Richard
Views: 4,359

In a first-ever for Australian rules football in Europe, the AFL’s future stars from the Australian Institute of Sport will take on a representative European side in London on Saturday April 23.

Newly-appointed AFL Europe General Manager Ben MacCormack views the event as a perfect opportunity for Aussies and locals with an interest in Aussie Rules to get a sneak peek at the future of the AFL.

“We are excited this event is coming to London as it is a great opportunity for not only the Aussie community living in the UK but includes locals being introduced to a sport that flows in the veins of so many Australians” MacCormack said.

The AIS-AFL Academy squad will be made up of the best 16 & 17-year-old footballers in Australia. In the past over 80% of players in this squad have been drafted on to an AFL list and some have become champions of the game. Players in previous academies include the likes of Chris Judd (West Coast/Carlton), Luke Hodge (Hawthorn), Joel Selwood (Geelong), Lance Franklin (Hawthorn), Adam Cooney (Western Bulldogs) and David Swallow (2010 #1 Draft Pick – Gold Coast)."

“AFL Europe are extremely pleased to have secured the services of Glenn Lovett (ex-Melbourne FC player) as coach of the European Legion which is a squad of Under 21’s made up of players from Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden and Wales. These boys have the talent to surprise a couple of the AIS young guns which will lead to a great spectacle” MacCormack added.

The AIS-AFL Academy is a commitment made by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), through the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), and by the Australian Football League to enhance the sporting, the personal and the educational and vocational opportunities of Australian rules football's best young players.

Each year the AIS-AFL Academy offers thirty 12-month scholarships to young athletes who are entering the last year of their junior football development.

Previously as part of the program the squad has toured South Africa, however in 2011 the tour will come to Europe for the first time. The group will train at the AIS facility in Verese, Italy, they will then visit London and play a game against combined European team which is being put together for this event. The tour will culminate with a visit to Turkey for Anzac Day commemorative ceremonies.

Along with the junior players, the touring party will include:
David Matthews – General Manager AFL National & International Development
Peter Schwab – AFL Director of Coaching and ex Hawthorn player and Coach
Kevin Sheehan – AFL National Talent manager
Michael O’Loughlin – Academy Coach and ex Sydney Swans champion
Brett Kirk- AFL International Cup Ambassador and ex Sydney Swans champion
Matthew Lloyd – Assistant Coach and ex Essendon champion
Robert DiPierdomenico – AFL Ambassador and ex Hawthorn champion
and other AFL recruiters.

The venue will be confirmed in the next week and sponsorship opportunities are still available. Tickets will be available online at www.australiantimes.co.uk in the coming weeks.

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Future stars of the AFL come to London - AIS-AFL Academy vs European Legion

Authored by: Cam Homes
on Tuesday, March 29 2011 @ 01:28 pm ACDT

The AIS/AFL v European Legion clash is part of a double header with Ireland playing Great Britain in an international I believe.

AFL Ireland has another clash with Great Britain on Sat. 2nd April at Islandbridge, Dublin. Is this also a full international which would need to be factored into the World Rankings as well?

Future stars of the AFL come to London - AIS-AFL Academy vs European Legion

Authored by: Aaron Richard
on Tuesday, March 29 2011 @ 06:04 pm ACDT

As far as I know, the GB vs Ireland in Dublin this Saturday is indeed a full international, both sides are using it as a warm-up for the IC squads. I'll email for confirmation of the squads and try get a preview up before the weekend.

Future stars of the AFL come to London - AIS-AFL Academy vs European Legion

Authored by: Aaron Richard
on Wednesday, March 30 2011 @ 06:43 am ACDT

I just got confirmation that both the Dublin test and the London test will be full internationals - so plug em into the rankings :)

Future stars of the AFL come to London - AIS-AFL Academy vs European Legion

Authored by: Cam Homes
on Wednesday, March 30 2011 @ 12:29 pm ACDT

Thanks Aaron.

The Ranking calculations for this weekend's international between GB and Ireland look like this:

Assume match points difference less than 40 points:

Ireland win their rate change is up 0.11 to 47.88 Rating Points

Great Britain lose their rate change is down 0.11 to 40.99 Rating Points

No Change in Rank for either nation.

However if Great Britain win then their rate rises by 2.89 to 43.99 Rating Points. Great Britain will rise from 10th to 7th Rank.

Ireland losing will see their rate fall 2.89 to 44.48 Rating points which has Ireland's Rank fall from 4th to 6th Rank.

This match and the return game later this month could very well play a bearing in which Division of the IC11 the teams end up playing in(depending on if there are 3 x team divisions or 2 x 12 team divisions) of course that's if the IC11 organisers dare to use the World rankings as a guide.

eg GB win at least (especially the away game)one then they might avoid the cut off if only 8 teams in division one.

Cam

Future stars of the AFL come to London - AIS-AFL Academy vs European Legion

Authored by: Brett Northey
on Wednesday, March 30 2011 @ 01:42 pm ACDT

Anyone wondering what these rankings are, you can get at them by pointing at Countries then going to World Rankings on the horizontal menu across the top of this website.

Or go straight there: http://www.worldfootynews.com/staticpages/index.php/World_Rankings

Cam's number crunching shows that Ireland need to win to confirm their number 4 ranking, and GB have a lot to gain by knocking off such a highly ranked team.