World Footy News

Mal Michael, Papua New Guinea's most celebrated AFL footballer retired last month, but the effects on footy in PNG are yet to be known. Early signs are that he will spread his time between Melbourne and his country of birth.

Born in Port Moresby but raised in Australia, Mal was launched into an AFL career from the Morningside Football Club in Queensland to Collingwood's rookie list and made his AFL debut in 1997. He leaves behind over 200 league games at Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions and three premiership medals retiring at age 29. He consistently proved himself as the most feared fullback in the competition, however, somewhat controversially, was never selected on the prestigious All-Australian list. Most attribute this to his selfless defensive style and his focus on the crucial one percenters on which teamwork relies. He did, however, have the honour of representing Australia in 2004.

Mal joins a growing list of players who have walked away from the AFL not through age or injury, but disillusionment with the professional demands of the game at the top level.

Michael began a quest when he visited Papua New Guinea in 2002 to star in a now famous biscuit commercial. He discovered that the country had deteriorated to an extent that he felt the need to do something about it. Having established the Mal Michael Foundation as the first step, Michael aimed at eventually creating a sporting academy. The aim was to help improve the opportunities for PNG children and enable them to follow a similar path through football as he has, coming to Australia to pursue their careers. Michael's disillusionment was clearly evident about midway through the season with some of his onfield actions. Having unsuccessfully negotiated with Leigh Matthews to loosen his training schedule to allow him to pursue these interests, he decided it was best to leave the game and did so after the end of this season.

One could argue that the best thing for footy in PNG is for Mal to continue to play at AFL level. He may be a hero in his home country, but time will only tell if his fame persists outside of the AFL. And as much as it would be fantastic for footy in PNG for him to play for the Mosquitoes in the 2008 International Cup now that he no longer has AFL commitments, having learned Aussie Rules in Australia precludes him from doing so under the current criteria. He could, however, remain involved in some capacity, or even possibly coach the side in future.

Besides the foundation, it is still not clear what Mal intends to do in the near future, however he has speculated on a return to Melbourne to base his operations.

Mal Michael has long been critical of the AFL's funding of the region (which amounted to about $45,000 Australian Dollars in 2005 and a marginal increase in funding for PNG in 2006 of $15,000). His father Peter founded the Bomana Football Club and is President of the PNG Rules Council, which oversees the senior leagues there. He also helped establish AFL PNG in 2002, which focuses mainly on junior development and elite pathways. Peter recalled a time when PNG enjoyed a better quality of life and when Aussie Rules was as popular, if not more so than rugby league in the country. Since Mal Michael's involvement at the Brisbane Lions, they have seen enormous growth, with up to 30,000 players passing through junior ranks. Unquestionably though, without assistance, the full potential for the sport in PNG cannot be harnessed without proper financial support and may represent a wasted opportunity for Aussie Rules internationally if this does not happen. The Mal Michael Foundation is just one way of increasing this support for the game at the grass-roots there. With some of the quality players reaching Queensland state representative level (as reported in the recent article PNG junior star performs well), the Binatangs dominating Queensland Country Championships and the increasing profile of the sport in the country, many, including Michael, believe that PNG may yet produce the first home grown AFL recruit from outside Australia.

We wish Mal all the best in the future. Given the strong grounding provided by existing seniors and the AFL PNG juniors, if the feats of Mal's foundation are anywhere near his feats on the football field then the future of footy in PNG looks very bright indeed.

Note: Since this article was submitted the Herald Sun has indeed reported that Michael will share his time between Australia and PNG, through an agreement with the Victorian Ellinbank and District League side Nilma-Darnum Bombers. He will have a role as a playing specialist coach. This should keep him in form through to 2008 - just in case PNG can persuade a rule change to allow him to represent his country at the next International Cup - something that would be a promotional coup for the tournament and surely worthy of consideration. Read more in Mal Michael goes bush.