No cup but Lions are still winners

The Edmund Rice Centre Lions’ newfound passion for the game of AFL may not have been reflected on the scoreboard in their debut ‘Big Match’ against the Eastern Hills Hawks on the weekend, but coach Atot Amoly is still proud of his team who three months ago had not touched a footy.

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“Their performance was fantastic, it was a really great game,” said the 17-year-old coach, who was born in Sudan and lived in Egypt before coming to Australia in 2005.

“They’ve improved a lot since day one – which was only three months ago…looking at the score, we didn’t do too well but I’m not worried about the score, I’m still proud. As long as the boys play as a team and play for success that’s all I need.”

The Lions scored just two goals against a dominant Hawks side, who won the inaugural Harmony Cup 19.13 (127) to 2.1 (13).

More accustomed to the world game of soccer, the team of 22 newly arrived young people have turned their attention to AFL as a way of integrating into the Australian community.

“Playing AFL is way different for (the Lions players),” Atot said. “On the first day they couldn’t even catch a football, they didn’t know the skills of AFL. Now they can kick and mark.

“They love AFL because of the tackling. They see AFL on TV and a lot of people in Australia support the game and they want to be part of it, they want to be part of the Australian community.”

The Lions team features three AFL World Team players, is coached and captained by the Sports Team of the Edmund Rice Centre Mirrabooka Youth Leadership Group and supported by the likes of the WA Football Commission, the Department of Sport and Recreation, City of Stirling and the Office of Multicultural Interests.

Members of the team have been busy not only training, but also serving their community as role models and coaching AFL clinics for younger people in the community.

“From the start it has been a difficult project that has taken lots of time and has been stressful at times,” Atot said. “I remember the first session when we had very few people but as people found out about it, we slowly started to get more players.

Atot’s twin brother Lwal captains the team and says the road to the milestone match on the weekend has been a challenging one.

“It’s difficult to get multicultural youth to play footy because they have the skills and natural fitness but haven’t had the chance,” Lwal said.

Atot says his patience has helped him to persevere with the team.

“I always told myself ‘don’t worry, this team will come together’,” he said. “I had lots of help around me and that helped me to gain confidence. I always had a belief in what we were doing.”

Disney movie unfolding in Mirrabooka

Joe Moniodis doesn’t need to switch on the television to witness a ‘Disney moment’, he sees them all the time, and the stars are an Australian Rules Football team of 17 newly arrived young people who are taking to the field with a much bigger purpose than winning.

DSR helps Lions make their mark

A team from the Department of Sport and Recreation took part in a recreational AFL football match against the Edmund Rice Centre Lions at Coolbinia Reserve on Monday 31 May, as part of the Lions’ preparations for its ‘Big Match’ against the Eastern Hills Hawks in June.

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