Two young Raiders Football stars, Eli Boyd and Will Lake, both 16, had a thrilling, albeit cold Gaelic football trip. The trip through Wanderer’s Australia saw the local lads take on some of Ireland’s best young Gaelic footballers as they joined 40 students travelling to the other side of the globe.

The 40 students made up two teams, playing five games apiece, and both teams undefeated.

After a 24-hour flight over, the young men were keen to look around.

“We started in London and went and saw a few castles,” said Eli.

“After that, we flew over to Dublin and got into it.”

Flying from Australia’s summer to the northern winter was a shock to the system.

“It was very cold, it was around 3 degrees,” said Eli.

“They said it was a very cold week of winter for them. I didn’t pack enough warm clothes, that was for sure.”

“There were a couple of days of snow, which was nice,” added Will.

While on tour, the pair had a chance to stay with host families in Ireland.

“They were nice families and nice homes, it was really good,” said Will.

“The families were very comforting and welcoming,” said Eli.

“They did have some different foods, like black and white pudding. All the Irish were really nice to talk to and get along with.”

When it came to the footy, there was practice for the AFL players, then it was straight into it.

“They were pretty handy with the football, they were alright,” said Eli.

“Saw a few good goals out of them.”

“Some games there was no tackling, other games you could,” said Will.

One of the expected highlights for the trip was the London soccer match between Watford and Hull City.

“No one scored and it was really cold, still good though, good seats,” said Will.

“I expected the soccer game to be the highlight, but it was crap,” said Eli.

“It felt like I had frostbite on my feet and no goals were scored.

“It wasn’t the best, but the highlight of the soccer match was the mascot, he was pretty funny,” added Eli.

With the soccer match less than imagined, the real highlights came in different forms.

“Climbing the Eiffel Tower was unreal, the views from up there were amazing,” said Will.

And for Eli, it was, “The games we played, and staying with the host family.

“That was the main highlight of the tour.

“I’d probably go back to Ireland in the future. We saw all the spots at London and Paris but didn’t really have a connection with the people.”

This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 12 January 2023.