Revos Name Squad for Irish Tour

As the clock ticks towards the 2020 AFL International Cup, coach Tom Ellis is taking the USA Revolution men’s National team overseas to stretch its legs.

The Revos will head to Ireland this month for three matches, two of them against the Irish Warriors in Dublin, sandwiched around a midweek trek to Belfast to take on the Belfast Redbacks Football Club.

Below are the 22 men who will take to the grounds of the Emerald Isle wearing the red, white, and blue.  They are a mixture of veterans and up-and-comers from coast-to-coast, representing fourteen USAFL clubs.  Ryan McGettigan, who has spent eleven seasons with the Philadelphia Hawks and is a veteran of three International Cups, will captain the side.

“On the list we have players from the 2017 Cup, players that just missed out on the 2017 Cup and brand new players,” explained Ellis.  “We have a two players (Sam Murphy and Gabriel Martin del Campo) making the trip all the way over from Australia who are currently playing for clubs that were released to attend. We can’t thank those clubs enough.”

Both Murphy and Martin del Campo hail from the Los Angeles Dragons, and are having strong seasons for their clubs in Australia.  Murphy was recently elevated to the West Perth Falcons’ reserve side and is looking to join the senior side this season.

Several players have Revo experience in previous Parallel Cup and International Cup matches, including Columbus’s Rob Adams, Golden Gate’s Jim Blocho, Des Moines’s Caleb Dougherty, and Denver’s Peter Taylor.  Others are veterans making their debut, including kamikaze forward Jon Ginsberg from Philadelphia, and Nashville warhorse David “Frosty” Harris.

Among the new faces on the team is Jake Tarr, a gridiron player out of Hastings College in Nebraska.  Tarr played safety for the Broncos, an NAIA program, and was an all-conference selection.  He is embarking on a pathway curated by Ellis to help other college athletes get a foothold in Aussie Rules.  Tarr’s dad Steve will also pull on the Revolution jumper in Ireland.

Ellis’s staff remains largely intact from IC17, with player-coach Kyle Strenski joining Dan Sarbacker and Jason Becker as assistants.  Saleh Tyebjee, a two time member of the All-World Team and Roos medal winner with the Sacramento Suns, will come across to run for the Revos.

The first game against the Warriors will be at the Civil Service GAA Ground at Islandsbridge, Dublin on Sunday, July 29th, with the game at Belfast coming on Tuesday July 31st.  The second Warriors matchup is still to be confirmed.

Rob Adams - Columbus Cats
Alex Anbarcioglu - Seattle Grizzlies
Jacob Aulner - North Carolina Tigers
Jim Blocho - Golden Gate Roos
Nick Bowman - New York Magpies
Shane Branscum - Indianapolis Giants
Cody Burman - Golden Gate Roos
Ryan Cartwright - Golden Gate Roos
Caleb Dougherty - Des Moines  Roosters
Chris Fielder - Houston Lonestars
Jonathan Ginsberg - Philadelphia Hawks
Tony Grippa - Denver Bulldogs
David Harris - Nashville Kangaroos
Gabriel Martin Del Campo – Los Angeles Dragons / Blackrock FC (SFL, Victoria)
Ryan McGettigan, captain - Philadelphia Hawks
Bill McGovern – Los Angeles Dragons
Sam Murphy – Los Angeles Dragons / West Perth FC (WAFL, W.A.)
Kyle Strenski, player coach - Cincinnati Dockers
Jake Tarr - USA Revolution
Steve Tarr - USA Revolution
Peter Taylor - Denver Bulldogs
Zac Taylor - Golden Gate Roos

Head Coach – Tom Ellis
Assistant Coaches – Dan Sarbacker, Kyle Strenski and Jason Becker
Team Manager – Brad Anderson
Trainers – Jeff Merritt and Steve Budrick
Runner – Saleh Tyebjee