G'day,
 
4 hard weeks of training have finally culminated, and I have my first game today! I am more than excited, moreover, I am getting the start on the Seniors team as Ruck. We’ll see how we go. From weekly kicks at SJU beginning in January, to a first week up in Fremantle where Tiger and I took a 9-mile RT run to Cottesloe Beach and had 5 trainings between the Yankaroos and CBC Fremantle Football Clubs, to three intensive weeks of training down here with my team the Denmark-Walpole Magpies…I hope I am ready!
 

When I arrived in the afternoon of the Magpies first game, the 29th, I got to watch them dominate 2.5 quarters, until the team’s combined fitness level let them down, and we lost big at home. I am excited to add a little bit of fitness to the club, hopefully my tackling skills will come in handy as well (although I hope to not light myself up with another broken nose as I did against Nashville, just in case, I have The Mask). A bye and a break for Easter Week gave the team and I time to work on areas of improvement, hopefully we put together a good showing today. 
 
Yesterday was a big day for the Great Southern Football League, our rivals today (North Albany) hosted a WAFL (Western Australia Football League) game between the Claremont Tigers and the South Fremantle Bulldogs. North Albany is who we host today. I took the initiative to support and show my South Freo pride by wearing my South Freo footy socks, as they are Thee Team that made the Yankaroo Program possible. My support was needed, as a very physical, brawling, and exciting game left the Bulldogs on top by two goals at full time.  I was one of the inaugural 18 Yankaroos; this semester the program has expanded to 50 students, including women. It’s at the South Freo Oval where all of the America students each semester at UNDA learn the game of footy. It is on their field where it all started for me, the Yankaroos, the SJU Australian Rules Football Club, and the addition of the Johnnies to the MN Freeze.
 
Now their initiative to share The Game with international students developed into a program and relationship between USFooty and the WACFL (Western Australia Country Football League) to bring us 4 Americans down here for a full season. I am thrilled to be one of them!
 
And then my host family argues that I should be a Claremont Tiger’s fan! "Take those Bloody socks off!"  Haha, when they make an effort to help Grow the Game. Just kidding, I respect them a lot too, I learned that Claremont is a large recruiter of this league (GSFL), and the head coach is the Father of an AFLer, Daniel Kerr, who has taken 2nd and 3rd in Brownlow Medal voting (MVP). My host family is very good friends with the Kerr’s and I got to meet and talk with mother Roxanne during the game!
 
Hope all is well!
 
Mergo