ROTARY exchange student, Jacob Nilssen, made a welcomed return to Stawell to visit members of the Stawell Rotary Club.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Stawell Rotarians and friends took the opportunity to enjoy a meal with one of their favourite 'sons'.
Jacob came from Sweden to be an Exchange Student with the Rotary Club of Stawell in 2011-2012. He spent time with three families in Stawell, two of which had boys of the same age.
Valerie Nicholson, who was president of the Rotary Club during Jacob's exchange year, described the youngster as a 'most personable young man and a very successful exchange student'.
While in Stawell, the sport loving Jacob, who had played ice hockey and soccer in Sweden, took to AFL football like a duck to water. He played with the Stawell Warriors and became a keen supporter of the Melbourne Football Club.
Returning to Sweden after an eventful year in Stawell, Jacob repeated year 11 and commenced studies for the International Baccalaureate. As he had to travel two hours to play with the nearest AFL football team, there hasn't been many opportunities for practice games since Jacob returned to Sweden.
Now Jacob is back in Australia to represent Sweden in the 2014 AFL International Cup. This football competition is the AFL equivalent of the Soccer World Cup.
There are eighteen male and seven female teams and the competition, which got underway on the weekend, will run through to August 23.
Back in Australia for a month, Jacob spent a week in Stawell to catch up with old friends and has now moved to Melbourne to watch, practice and play football.
Jacob knows that his team will play three games against New Zealand, Finland and United States of America and is hoping they will make it to the finals.
Jacob's parents have stated that if the Jacob's team reaches the grand final, they will fly over from Sweden to watch him play.