New Zealand Hawks to take on Australia

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New Zealand Hawks to take on Australia

Authored by: Rory Slater
on Tuesday, December 13 2011 @ 10:01 pm ACDT

Flying high

There is no cultural affinity of note for Australian footy in NZ in fact I would go so far as to say there is little more than contempt.

There is far better talent in PNG but they are not the focus and why, because NZ offers the AFL a commercial tele market, one that pits them against League, Soccer and Union.

NZ potentially will leap frog our heartlands for the next expansion bid, void of any criteria aside from the AFL's commercial one.

NZ's contribution to the AFL is farcical in this context and any suggestion that it seriously deserves consideration is an insult to the loyal demographics that continue to struggle for elite membership while NZ is being touted as a future AFL base, despite a total lack of pedigree or cred and on the back of what, a token schools PE type presence courtesy of the Hawthorn footy club.

The NZ Hawks still struggle to compete with the cobbled together VFA selections of 17 & 16 year olds and here we are talking up this country of philistines as a future AFL talent pool and even AFL base for elite club.

If these sentiments render me idiotic I will live with that.

New Zealand Hawks to take on Australia

Authored by: flyinghigh
on Tuesday, December 13 2011 @ 11:50 pm ACDT

I think your missing the point Rory.this is great news for us the fans and great for our game..and NZ is only 1 of many counties which the afl would like to crack into.

the AFL international board is only about 5 years old..of course theres no cultural affinity to aussie rules(and thats every country)in NZ BUT we have to start somewhere and this is just the start.the AIS travel every year and we should be rapt they(the AFL) are doing these tours.

PNG might have more talent but for some reason have decided to go to NZ this yr,money/better grounds??who knows.

I dont understand why you post your heartland lines here when we are talking about a AIS class going over seas,which they have been doing for 10 yrs.

we should think big and support these international programs they take on...I think we should put another side in sydney...move north melb there and call them NORTHSIDE KANGEROOS.just like the old days sydney swans can have the south, north can have the north of sydney;)

we as fans cannot wait till we play a international side(which will happen)but the only way in the near future is for our juniors to play international teams.

this is just the start of what we hope will grow bigger and bigger over time..sit back and enjoy the ride.

New Zealand Hawks to take on Australia

Authored by: Harley Vague
on Wednesday, December 14 2011 @ 11:42 am ACDT

I think it's time to set the record straight. Australian Football started in NZ in much the same way as Australian colonies. The first NZ teams were established in the 1860s and a Moari team travelled to Melbourne where it defeated the premier side South Melbourne. Like NSW the height of Australian Football was the new 20th century with leagues being created and a maximum of 131 teams being in existance. The national council changed it's name to Australasian Football Council to reflect this involvement. NZ travelled to the Australian National Football Championships where it defeated both NSW and QLD. Unfortunately WWI decimated football in NZ as did in Australia and never recovered there. Today we can be seen as attempting to re-establish football in NZ similar to that which has occured in NSW and QLD. Hopefully we can achieve the same result by using recent models. By comparison PNG's history extends back to WWII and does not share the same colonial link as NZ.

Rory, you have mounted an argument that AR is "easy" to learn. Well let's hope that is indeed true and all New Zealanders give AR a go and we have the beginnings of an AFL(Australasian) side.

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