Queenslander Chris Poppell helped introduce Australian Football in Finland as a teenager a few years back and he's now a key asset for Frankfurt's fledgling Redbacks team in Germany, helping them beat the Italian national team in Italy...

Chris in his Redbacks team guernsey

How does a bloke from Wide Bay end up playing and coaching AFL in Europe, especially since he was brought up in a rugby league household and played all the major football codes as a schoolboy?

It helped that Chris was introduced to AFL while still young, as a Year 5 student at Torbanlea School, and he also took up AFL umpiring as a teenager due to the lack of a junior division at the Maryborough Bears.

Chris sports a CQUni shirt as he ices his injured thumb alongside Redbacks team members in Germany

After high school, he had the opportunity to travel to Finland as a Rotary Exchange student and he managed to convince his host school to introduce (and retain) AFL on the syllabus, buying five second-hand Sherrin balls from ebay Australia and having them posted to Finland. (Chris returned to teach AFL at the school in Finland earlier this year).

"The first game at Loimaan Lukio is probably the first game of AFL in Finland and thus the most northern game in the world to that date. In 2006, Finland jumped on the European AFL bandwagon and has been competing both nationally and also within Europe and Australia (via the International Cup) since," he said.

Heading back to Australia, Chris decided to study a Diploma in Sports Development/Fitness at Wide Bay TAFE to help him become a better footballer. He gained 'recognition for prior learning' towards completing the diploma and progressed to work at a leading Adelaide gym while he started his Bachelor of Human Movements Science degree with CQUniversity, via distance education.

Then followed a stint on the Gold Coast working within a Queensland Academy of Sport gymnasium - everyone from stroke victims to cage fighters - and coordinating outdoor activities for school camps.

The next spark came with encouragement from Chris' German girlfriend (who he met in Finland) and a successful application for an internship with the Frankfurt Redbacks.

Chris was able to extend his involvement with Germany when CQUniversity helped arrange a Queensland Government scholarship to attend the International Winter University program at Kassel.

Despite the win over Italy, his time in Germany has not all been plain sailing. Key players have been injured, including an Italian based in Germany who was so concussed he put two pairs of underpants on in the dressing room after the game, before recovering in hospital. Lately, Chris himself has fractured and refractured his thumb.

On the positive front, he has been promoted from assistant to coach of the Redbacks and has also been helping with umpiring, strapping and massage. Chris has also joined former club president Malte Schudlich (his intern-caretaker) to teach Australian Football to German high school classes.

Sporting a beard which has developed from a 'Movember' charity event in 2008, he's been enjoying life in Germany, where he can have a casual lunch in a 500-year-old castle or visit the supermarket for a half-litre of beer at less than a dollar.

Chris is due to graduate from his CQUniversity degree in September and is starting to apply for sports-related jobs back in Australia, with a view to applying for education jobs in Germany next year.

Longer-term, he is looking at making the most of Finland's leadership in sports science by pursuing a Masters degree in that country. Chris would like to establish himself as a strength and conditioning coach and is even hoping to get some work at the London Olympics.

He says he is grateful for encouragement and assistance from CQUniversity staff members including Aaron Scanlan, Dr Peter Reaburn, Jacqueline White, Marilyn Wells and Samantha Willoughby.