World Footy News

The development of Australian rules in New Zealand takes another significant step forward in September with the best young athletes from around Aotearoa (the Land of the Long White Cloud) (aka New Zealand) coming together to compete in the Barassi International Australian Youth Football Tournament in Canberra.

The team has been selected from throughout the country with an even spread of players from Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury with some outstanding athletes being recruited from other sports. The selection process began in earnest at the National Provincial Championships held earlier this year in Auckland and the NZAFL High Performance Committee is confident of a strong showing at the tournament.

This report courtesy of the NZAFL's Jim Lucy.

The code has attracted several junior stars from other sports including Samuel Briggs from Ashburton (the area from which recent Fremantle debutant Adam Campbell hails) and Cameron Murray, who played in the last Barassi tournament held in Christchurch in 2004. Some of the Auckland players to watch will be Shaun Johnson, Johann Timmer and Logan Dodds. Players from Wellington who have shone out to selectors are forward Jason Woodward work and dominant midfielder Kura Lalaga.

The team is being prepared by coaches in the individual provinces leading up to the tournament. Three coaches are travelling with the team; Craig Ashton, a key member of the successful Senior Falcons International Cup team in 2005, Canterbury Regional Development Officer Ross McWhinnie, who has recently completed his Level 2 accreditation and another Level 2 coach Lachlan Keating who has experienced Premiership success as an Under 18 coach in Queensland. In addition, Auckland RDO Andrew Lydiard will assist the Auckland team prepare and Gordon McKenzie, a native of King Island in Tasmania, is coaching the Wellington contingent prior to departure.

After the success of the NZ Junior Falcons at the Barassi Cup in 2003, which has seen several of those players advancing to the Senior Falcons team and playing in the International Cup last year, it is now the time for this new group to show their skills. This is a great indicator for the future of the sport in New Zealand.

This tournament will further establish the code in NZ and the players will filter into the provincial leagues after the tournament. The Auckland league will have a full under 16s season this year with the 6 local clubs all fielding junior teams. The other provincial leagues, Waikato, Wellington and Canterbury will have abbreviated under 16s competitions this year with a view to full 16s competitions in 2007.

The 2007 National Provincial Championships will see all four provinces compete at 16s level for the first time with a view to establishing a national secondary schools competition in 2008.

As always, the hard work done by Management, Coaching and Administration staff would not have been possible without the generous support from Team Sponsors:

Genesis Energy
Rainer Irrigation, Ashburton
New Zealand Community Trust
Tyres 4 U
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Scenic Circle Hotels
The Southern Trust
Players Sponsors
Ewart Douglas Pharmacy, Christchurch
Harcourts Gold, New Brighton, Christchurch
Life Savers Cleaning, Whangaparoa, Auckland
Aranui High School, Christchurch
"The Waipawa Lions"
Minders Golf Club, Hawkes Bay
Mana Trust, Wellington
Christchurch City Council - Pegasus / Burwood Area
Ashburton Licensing Trust
Syngenta Crop Protection