World Footy News

One of the big surprises of season 2010 was the inclusion of not just one, but two International squads in the NAB AFL Under 16 National Championships. With the 2011 tournament a month away (beginning in Sydney on July 10), it’s been good to see that both squads will have a 2011 incarnation. Whilst the World XVIII squad is still to be finalised; below is the recently released South Pacific list.

AFL Asia Pacific Development Manager Andrew Cadzow describes the formation of the squad, “After holding two Oceania Cups of which the standard of the second in Tonga had improved vastly, we are confident that the South Pacific Squad will be a better team than last year's very successful first attempt. More Countries involved; improved programs and more games of footy augers well. With 11 players returning from last year, we are well balanced with 15 top age (18s) and 14 younger (16/17) making up the squad.”

The South Pacific defeated the World XVIII last time and pushed Queensland to 15 points, so will be looking for an Australian scalp this time around. While the squad is dominated by PNG players, there are also representatives from NZ, Tonga, Fiji, Nauru, Samoa and the Solomon Islands. The full squad is listed below.

Emergencies (in no order):