I made a new friend last night in Germany, especially when I taunted him for saying the best music to come out of Canada was Rush.

I knew Rush was big in Europe, but not the best thing to come out of Canada when competing against The Guess Who, The Band, Neil Young, Sloan, Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo, Max Webster, David Wilcox, Teenage Head, Martha and the Muffins, and Alanis (in her early Debbie-Gibson-inspired-mall-dancing version).

At least I didn’t do my patented falsetto karaoke of Greedy Lee singing Closer to the Heart (And the men who hold high places …).

I also taunted my new friend for his lack of hockey knowledge, and proclaimed that all other sports would be far more interesting with full body contact – tennis, golf, baseball, basketball, lawn bowling and shuffleboard.

But the closest thing to the speed and mayhem of hockey that I’ve found is Australian rules football – AFL.

Fans will be relieved to know that West Coast midfielder Daniel Kerr is back to normal after overcoming a worrying case of food poisoning, but fellow on-baller Matt Priddis remains in doubt for Sunday’s AFL clash with St Kilda at Patersons Stadium.

Not only do they write like that down here, they talk like that. It’ll be awhile before I learn Australian.

AAP reported that Kerr’s eyes almost closed over and his face was left heavily swollen after suffering an adverse reaction to a meal on Monday, with teammate Nic Naitanui posting a graphic picture of Kerr’s plight on twitter.

Eagles’ coach John Worsfold was unsure what food caused the allergic reaction, but said West Coast’s medical staff treated the problem and Kerr had since made a full recovery.