Personally I welcome new clubs in our league which increases the participation rate and focusing on areas not traditionally tapped. Should the Shamrocks be too successful I did jokingly say I'm calling Immigration! If this club does get off the ground, based on the talent and skills displayed in the compromise game in October, they could potentially be one of the strongest debut clubs since the Newtown Breakaways which won in it's inaugural year of competition in 2002.
Please go to the Clubs Link page on your left to find their website.
The first Irish women’s AFL team in NSW have just held their first get-together in Sydney as a group of ex-pats joined forces to found the Bondi Shamrocks.
Inspired by newspaper suggestions that the AFL were considering an Irish-type branding of their proposed western Sydney expansion team, a group of Irish girs got together to begin working on forming the new club.
“The idea started from there I suppose. Why not have an Irish AFL team?” Cavan woman Jamie Fitzsimons said.
“A few of us were playing in SWAFL (Sydney Women’s Australian Football League) and we thought, why not get the GAA girls together and give Aussie Rules a go?”
Based out of Bondi Junction, the team aims to attract anyone with an interest in the oval ball, whether they be visiting or long-term residents in Oz.
And you “don’t have to be Tadhg Kennelly” to give it a shot, according to Fitzsimons, all ages and experience levels are welcome.
Sydney is home to a strong women’s GAA league but few players make the crossover, with SWAFL attracting only a handful of Irish players every year. That’s all set to change now though, so far official team numbers for the Shamrocks stand at 25, and interest is soaring.
“I think a lot of girls didn’t know about it or didn’t look into playing AFL,” said Fitzsimons. “The New South Wales GAA team played a Compromise Rules game against the SWAFL’s best recently and a lot of the girls found out it wasn’t as scary as it looked, as regards tackling.
“I think we have the pace, we’re quick at passing the ball off and we’ll be prepared for the tackles, giving as well as taking.”
“It will be different with the oval ball and getting used to different skills but I’m confident we can give it up to the other teams,” she added.
That game against SWAFL’s finest certainly gave a lot of former GAA-only players the confidence to take on the Aussies at their own game. NSW GAA outclassed the SWAFL selection team 49-14 but very quickly, more and more players started jumping on board.
The Shamrocks join a relatively young league going into its 10th anniversary year, and they will be pitted against six seasoned teams and one other brand new team.
“The Gaelic footy skills transfer well to AFL and I’m sure the team will be a force in the competition. I don’t think that the team will be viewed differently to any other,” SWAFL committee member Tracey Kick said.
While the Shamrocks will be 80–90 per cent Irish, taking the helm is a Kiwi and long-time GAA player, Lisa Roper. “Imagine the talent that will be coming into Australia in the next few months,” said Roper.
“We’ll attract a lot of the backpackers. The highest goal scorer in SWAFL this year was an Irish girl, Marie Keating. There is definitely huge talent coming in from Ireland, they just have to get a taste of the game.”
The Shamrocks are currently on the lookout for sponsorship and hope that their supporters jersey can be brought back to Ireland as a souvenir.
“It’s the only Irish AFL club jersey out there and we hope people will want to wear it,” said Fitzsimons.
“Plus if you say to someone you’re going to Sydney they automatically assume you’re going to County Bondi. So it will be very recognisable and will build up more support for the team.”
Women’s AFL is an ever-growing sport in Australia with more than 64,000 female participants Australia wide while almost half the AFL television audience is female.
The SWAFL league was won this year by the Western Wolves, with a number of Irish players helping them to victory.
“I have no doubt we’ll challenge the other teams, it’s more about developing the game, wins are bonuses. But I secretly think we could challenge the top four and you never know, we might beat the Western Wolves.” said Roper.
If you fancy togging out with the Shamrocks and giving AFL a go in Sydney, contact Lisa Roper at 0424 185 472 for more information.