World Footy News

Football in New Zealand continues to be supported by high quality touring Australian teams.

Locally this weekend sees the Senior Championships (NPC), all local Leagues have played their Grand Finals or are due to and the school-age Hawks Cup has recently been completed. It is important that all of this local footy leads to opportunities for the players to be tested against Australians.

The schoolboys aged U16 from the Hawks Cup will play the touring Flying Boomerangs which provides real purpose for their involvement in AFL.

 

 

This opportunity is provided by the arrival in NZ from December 5 for a 10-day tour of New Zealand.

The Flying Boomerangs is a personal development and leadership program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young men aged 14-15 years-old.

Selected from the 2013 AFL KickStart Under-15 Championships, the Flying Boomerangs squad of 24 players will play two matches against the New Zealand Hawks in Wellington at Hutt Park,

The Boomerangs will be accompanied by AFL Indigenous programs mentor and former Melbourne Demons star Aaron Davey on tour.

AFL Head of Diversity and International Jason Mifsud said this is a great opportunity for these talented young men to develop on and off the field.

“The Flying Boomerangs squad is made up of the best rising Indigenous talent in the nation and they will be given the chance to represent their country and showcase Australia’s game in New Zealand when they play two exhibition matches against local teams.

“Throughout the tour the players will be exposed to elite training, as well as many cultural experiences which will be focussed on addressing the four core pillars of the program; Resilience, Identity, Decision Making and Communication.

“The tour to New Zealand is a significant event in the Boomerangs’ program as it focusses on personal development and leadership, helping the participants to develop into confident young men and leaders in their community.”

In 2013, six Indigenous players who graduated through the Flying Boomerangs program were drafted; Jarmen Impey (Port Adelaide), Malcolm Karpany (West Coast Eagles), Jay Kennedy-Harris (Melbourne), Karl Amon (Port Adelaide), Zac Bates (Geelong Cats) and Jack Martin (pre-listed with Gold Coast Suns).

Tour highlights:
Dec 5 – Depart for Auckland, Maori welcome at the airport
Dec 6 – Oteha Valley Primary School visit (AFL KiwiKick session)
Dec 7 – Cultural experience at Mitai Maori Village in Rotorua
Dec 8 – Rafting in Rotorua
Dec 9 – Tongariro Crossing Hike
Dec 10 – Visit Westpac Stadium
Dec 11 – Combined training session with NZ Hawks
Dec 12 – Game One, NZ Hawks v Flying Boomerangs at Hutt Park
Dec 14 - Game Two, NZ Hawks v Flying Boomerangs at Hutt Park
Dec 15 – Return to Melbourne

The second game played in Wellington will be the curtain raiser to the local Grand Final where the undefeated Eastern Suburbs Bulldogs play the North City Demons.

2013 Flying Boomerangs squad:
Shai Bolton (Meadow Springs, WA), Kobe Broome (Holland Park West, QLD), Lenny Christie (Kedron, QLD), Antionne Forrest-Yarran (Hamilton Hill, WA), Denver Garlett (Adelaide, SA), John Garlett (Parmelia, WA), Logan Gray (Banks, ACT), Jamie Hampton (Alice Springs, NT), Callum Harrison (Launceston, TAS), Dion Johnstone (Dennington, VIC), Jordan Jeffery (Palmerston, NT), Kym LeBois (Ceduna, SA), Keiran Martin (Alice Springs, NT), Liam Nelson (Surf Beach, NSW), Tommy Nickels (Northam, WA), Sam Powell-Pepper (St James, WA), John Pupangamirri (Mullumbimby, QLD), Jy Simpkin (Mooroopina, VIC), Kyle Thomas (Reservoir, VIC), Calvin Thorne (Rockingham, WA), Samual Walsh-Bannam (Milltown, VIC), Keenan Waterbury (Freds Pass, NT), Mathew Wilkes (Armadale, WA), Anthony Young (Newborough, VIC)
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