I'm trying to get some new players for an Aussie Rules team that I coach in Terenure. A lot of Irish people seem to have heard about Aussie Rules through the media recently, with all the stories about agents from AFL coming to Ireland and trying to steal the young Gaelic players. So the sport is getting a bit of a bad rap at the moment, which is a shame.

As far as I know, Aussie Rules actually evolved from the Gaelic game and it's pretty easy for the Irish guys to switch over. The main difference is that the ball is shaped like a rugby ball so they just have to learn how to kick and pass a different type of ball.

Aussie Rules has the reputation for being a rougher game because it's a full contact sport. The Irish guys find that a bit strange at first but they get used to it and it's not as physical as rugby. You don't need to be overly big and strong but you do get the opportunity to grab someone and roll them in the dirt, which you don't get in Gaelic, so we really like it.

We've got around 25 Irish guys playing with us at the moment and about 40 players in total on the full squad. A lot of Irish guys have been to Australia and got a taste for our footie on their travels. The rest of the squad is mostly made up of Aussie ex-pats and the occasional French man. Luckily there are lots of Aussies living in Dublin, particularly around the south side of the city where the team is based, so there was enough interest to get the squad started.

It's quite funny because most of us Aussies are married to, or in long-term relationships with Irish girls, so we're in the same boat. We're all here for love and it's a good way for us to get together and socialise.

I've been in Dublin for about two-and-a-half years. I met my wife in a London pub while I was living there a couple of years ago. She bought me a drink and it turned out she was at the tail end of five years of studying in London and was about to move back to Dublin. It was bad timing. She was leaving and I'd only just arrived but we kept a long-distance relationship going for about two years.

Then after a lot of too-ing and fro-ing, I decided it was time to move to Dublin and we ended up getting married in July of last year.

It's been very easy to settle here. The Aussies and the Irish are a very similar sort of people. Both nationalities are very laid back and don't really get too stressed about things.

Every other Irish person at the moment keeps asking me "What are you doing here?" I suppose it seems like everyone is going the other way but I genuinely really enjoy living here. The weather is a drawback of course but apart from that, it's a good lifestyle.

I do miss things about Melbourne though. The main one is my family. It's the big family events like my dad's 60th in particular that I hate missing but we chat on Skype and probably talk more than if I were in Australia. I tend to get home in spurts.

My wife Sarah sent me home for my 30th last year and we both went back for my brother's wedding in October, so it's unlikely that I'll get home this year.

The only other thing I miss is the excitement of the footie season in Oz but I just get up early and listen to the games online and that keeps me up to date with it.

What started out as group of Aussies kicking a ball around a field because they missed footie and home has grown into a proper squad and we really want to keep that going, so we need some new blood.