“Goaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!”

It makes grown men cry, drives perfectly normal women crazy and has been known to grind an entire nation to a halt. It’s now coming to London… and proves that better things come out of Oz than Vegemite and Greg Norman.

Brits may think Football makes the world spin but Aussies are safe in the knowledge that Australian Rules football reigns superior. It’s not the place for a debate… gawd knows I’d be strung up between the goal posts and left to dry. The fact of the matter is, its a fast paced, physically demanding game with a high scoring rate, spectacular moves and fanatical supporters. Sports fans of all nationalities unite – Saturday’s match is set to pulverise the turf at the Brit Oval to within an inch of its grassy existence.

Each year, two Aussie Rules footy teams make the trek across the pond to face each other in front of a crowd of live AFL starved expats. For the first time in twelve long months fans can revel in the raw energy and emotion surrounding a match. And for the ladies… it’s a time to get so close you can smell the sweat off your heroes’ bodies. Oh, and did I mention the SHORT shorts?

This year’s teams are Victorian team Geelong and Adelaide’s Port Power. Both teams performed below their usual standard during 2006 and will be keen to prove they’ve still got what it takes. It’s a chance for upcoming stars to get a run with their team-mates and word has it, they’ll be cruising for a bruising. Port’s premiership win is still fresh in their minds and Geelong finished top in the pre-season competition. An impressive line-up of players will risk injury in what they know is an important morale building match. Geelong giants Matthew Scarlett, Darren Milburn, Corey Enright, James Bartel and Josh Hunt (to nhame a few) will take on Port Adelaide’s Chad Cornes, Domenic Cassisi, Danyle Pearce and Darryl Wakelin.

Rest assured, it’ll be intense as both teams attempt to prove they’re on form ahead of the 2007 season. Bring on the sweat, tears and pure grunt for which AFL is famous. The beer will flow across the tongue with more reglarity than the Aussie slang and the white clad umpires are sure to entertain. Tell your mates and make a day of it…

‘Carn the Power!

I’ll be chatting to the guys on Thursday night and will report live from the match on Saturday. If you have any burning questions for the Aussies let me know. ***
Tickets are on sale now at www.surreycricket.com, priced at ?20 for adults and ?10 for under 16’s. The match will start at 1:30pm on Saturday 21 October.