The North Stars are training hard for an upcoming tournament in London, England, and coach Dan Robinson says the boys are hungry to bring back some silverware.
Like their newly christened nickname, the Canadian men’s Australian rules football development side will be looking to shine bright when they compete against the Great Britain Bulldogs, the Wandsworth Demons and Wales.
Robinson said despite the travel factor, he would accept no excuses from his team.
“We have 22 fit and hungry men heading over for battle and I strongly believe it will not be a question of skill when we get there. I believe our squad has enough skill to cancel that factor out,” he said.
“What it will come down to is heart and desire to win. Our culture here in Canada with the national program is based on heart and desire and I believe we will put up some great battles.”
The men’s development side has played many matches against the United States development side in the 49th Parallel Cup, but this European tournament will be the first time the North Stars have left the continent.
Robinson said the tournament was a good opportunity to develop future national players.
“From this trip, I am looking to work with our team to really build a tight group for the future as many of our men are young to the game and will be the future of AFL in Canada,” he said.
“I really want to build a great culture with this group and help them in any way possible to better themselves as people and as footballers.”
The passion shown by the players has been important in the lead up to the first bounce, with difficulties getting 22 players from across Canada together to train overcome by player dedication and the use of technology.
“It is difficult training in such a large country with so many guys from each end of it, we are doing trainings in small groups and as individuals and we keep in contact with each other over social media,” Robinson said.
“Our assistant coach Rowan Shields has put together a training program for the boys.
“Come May, we should be ready to go.”
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Last Modified on 22/02/2019 15:30