| Full name | Manchester Mosquitoes Australian Rules Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | 'The Mozzies' |
| Strip | Black jumper with a gold 'V' on the chest. Black shorts and socks with gold trim. |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Sport | Australian Rules Football |
| League | Central and North West |
| Club song | "See the Mozzies fly up" |
| President | Brendon Edwards & Rosie Marsiglio |
| Coach | Matt Weilgosz, Chris Sproule, Jordan Gurry, Alasdair Lindop |
| 2010 | Premiers |
The Manchester Mosquitoes are an Australian Rules Football club based at Burnage Rugby Club, south Manchester, England.
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The Mozzies were formed in 2005 by a group of Australian and British AFL fans who, after many weekends of kicking the footy around in the park in Chorlton, decided to form their own club and join the British Australian Rules Football League (BARFL) Regional Competition. The Mozzies played their first season in the BARFL in 2006 and finished 3rd overall.
Since then, there has been an increasing participation in Australian Rules Football in the UK and the league structure has changed with the formation of AFL GB which consists of more than 30 clubs encompassing the Welsh League, Scottish league, the London Premiership, Conference and Social leagues, the Southern League, the North East League, the University League and the Central and North West League to which the Mozzies now belong.
Prior to the 2010 season, Manchester Mosquitoes trained and played at Turn Moss Playing Field, Turn Moss.
In 2010 the Manchester Mosquitoes competed in the newly formed CNW (Central & North West) league that also included Huddersfield, Nottingham & Sheffield and after an undefeated season, secured their first Premiership, beating Nottingham Scorpions in the CNW Grand Final at Wolverhampton.
2011 was a transition season, with many players from the 2010 Premiership winning season moving on and several players joinging the club new to the game. After a tricky start to the season, the Mozzie's finished on a high, with wins over Birmingham and Wolverhampton.
Pre-season training for 2012 has begun, with players keen to run off their Christmas excess and get their hands on a footy as much as possible!
| Name | Number | Position | Nationality | Years Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ste Watts | 34 | Forward / Midfielder | English | - Present |
| Paul Murphy | 24 | Defender | Irish | - Present |
| Adam Chaffey | 14 | Ruck | Australian | 2009–Present |
| Johnnie Hayes | 3 | Midfield / Forward | Irish | 2008–Present |
| Brendan Edwards (Ass't Coach) | 9 | Midfielder | Australian | 2010–Present |
| Nik Wheeler | 2 | Midfielder | English | - Present |
| David Fearnley | 13 | Forward | - Present | |
| Alasdair Lindop | 23 | Midfielder / Defender | Scottish | 2010–Present |
| Wayne Summer | 17 | Forward | English | - Present |
| Matthew Weilgosz | 12 | Defender | Australian | 2008–Present |
| Matthew Kilheeney | 32 | Forward | English | - Present |
| Stuart Jennion | 20 | Midfielder | English | - Present |
| Andrew Smee | 77 | Forward | English | 2010–Present |
| Mark Foster | 4 | Midfielder / Forward | English | - Present |
| Paul Henderson | 6 | Midfielder | Irish | - Present |
| Phillip Day | 7 | Midfielder | Zimbabwean | 2010–Present |
| Name | Number | Position | Nationality | Years Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wes Tronson | 9 | Midfielder | Australian | 2005-2009 |
| Dylan Sanderson | 11 | Midfielder / Forward | Australian | 2010 |
| Nathan Blakey | 1 | Ruck | Australian | 2005-2010 |
| Scott Emmett (Co-Founder) | 1 | Midfielder | Australian | 2005–2006 |
| Andy Weaver (Co-Founder) | Forward | English | 2005 | |
| Ben Freke | 15 | Ruck | Australian | 2008–2010 |
| Chris Morgan | 45 | Forward | Australian | 2010 |
| Chris Sproule | Midfielder | Australian | - 2009 | |
| Grant Aubrey | 21 | Midfielder | Australian | - 2010 |
| Brad Richardson | 26 | Defender | Australian | 2007–2008 |
| Zac Cockerill | Midfielder / Forward | Australian | 2009 | |
| Jim Poole | 19 | Defender | English | |
| Kevin Gauchwin | Ruck | |||
| Brenton Breukers | 23 | Ruck / Defender | Australian | |
| Campbell Harriman | New Zealander | |||
| Brett Saward | 8 | Australian | ||
| Clint Hampson | Ruck / Defender | Australian | ||
| Leo Richardson | 11 | Irish | ||
| Jamie Wilson | 18 | Australian | 2010 | |
| Matt Shelton | 5 | Defender / Midfielder | Australian | 2008–2010 |
| Year | Best & Fairest | Runner Up | Leading Goal Kicker | Best European Player | Most Improved Player |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Jayden Hocking | n/a | Matthew Kileheeny | Alasdair Lindop | n/a |
| 2010 | Grant Aubrey & Alasdair Lindop | n/a | Matthew Kilheeney | n/a | n/a |
| 2009 | Zac Cockerill | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 2008 | Brad Richardson | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 2007 | Chris Sproule | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 2006 | Brad Richardson | Clint Hampson | Mark Mansour & Clint Hampson (12 each) | John Fitzpatrick | Nick Marston |
In 2010 Mathew Kilheeney & Alasdair Lindop were selected to represent Great Britain and competed at the 2010 EU Championships, finishing 4th overall [1]. Both players were selected in 2011 for the International Cup held in Sydney and Melbourne. Unfortunately, Kilheeny suffered a broken thumb weeks before the tournament and was unable to travel, however Lindop flew over and helped the Bulldogs to a best-ever 7th place finish [2].