PORTLAND’S Harry Kerr and Dylan Barr’s football trip to the United States went about as well as they could have hoped for, with the pair of Aussies helping the Austin Crows’ senior and reserves sides to premierships in division one and division four of the USAFL Nationals in Florida earlier this month.

The USAFL has a grand total of 46 teams which are dotted throughout mainland US from New York to Los Angeles to Portland (Oregon), plus a team all the way over in Hawaii.

Kerr, who had to play in the reserves side due to a rule saying that first-year Australian players have to arrive in the US before August 1, said it was an awesome all-around experience, and he was taken aback at the talent level on display.

“A lot of the Americans I played with and met really understood and loved the game… to be honest it was impressive to see the skills on display from people who wouldn’t have grown up with the game,” he said.

“Even hearing them use the footy talk in their own accent was a bit surreal.

“I was actually glad to be a part of the reserves side… they hadn’t even won a game before, so to help them not only do that but go on to win a national championship was awesome.

“The seniors and women’s team won theirs as well… having all three teams get up was pretty cool as well and it had never been done before.”

Meanwhile, Barr was able to play in the senior side as this was his second time competing at the tournament, having previously played back in 2019.

He said this season has played out a little bit differently to his last go around, perhaps on account of his lack of time on the field in the lead-up.

“Last time I played I had finished a full season with Portland, this time I was fresh off a four-month holiday in Europe, so I felt a bit out of touch,” Barr said.

“The big improvers I saw compared to last time were the American players… after a couple of seasons developing, they make a difference in each game.

“This time I also had to babysit Harry Kerr which took a lot of my energy.”

Barr explained that competition is stiff in these games, and that they had to be almost perfect throughout to come away with the victory.

“You basically have to win all of your games to make it through… the games were all pretty physical and close for the first 10 minutes of each game until we kicked away,” he said.

“We played Denver in the final… (it) was a scrappy game, but we were able to get the job done.”

Kerr said that while Aussie Rules football is far from being a mainstream sport in the US, the level of professionalism that was on display was also impressive.

“In between games it was cryotherapy, IV drips, massage therapy and stuff like that… they take it pretty seriously,” he said.

“But you kind of need to… playing multiple games of football in a day in 38-degree heat is pretty full on.

“The games are actually played in halves, although they stop midway through each half so that teams can get a breather, but no coaching is allowed.”

Kerr himself had an impressive individual tournament, winning the league best and fairest for his division.

“The boys in my team were telling me I should shoot for it, I didn’t think I’d actually get there though,” he said.

“It was kind of the cherry on top to be honest, a bit of a bonus and a nice way to cap off the whole experience.

“The awards were presented by (Collingwood AFL footballer) Mason Cox which was pretty cool as well.”

Outside of football, Kerr said it was a great all-round trip, especially during his time in Austin which has an abundance of notable people in its midst.

“We went and saw a Joe Rogan stand-up show and saw (former NFL player) J.J. Watt and (actor) Paul Rudd randomly in a bagel store,” he said.

“There were a fair few AFL players about as well enjoying their off-season, it was pretty cool.”

Asked if he was considering going back for a second go, Kerr answered with a resounding “yes.”

“I’d love to go back and do it again, we got to most places we wanted to see but there’s obviously heaps to do over there.”

Barr, who is currently in New York before he finishes up his trip in Mexico, said he certainly expects to be back for another go-around.

“My brother (Stefan) lives in Austin so seeing his family is very special to me… I’ve also made lots of close friends at the football club there,” he said.

“Winning flags with my brother is too much fun so I’ll probably be there again.”