World Footy News

GB Swans captain Laura Turner shares her thoughts in review of the IC17 tournament

And that's a wrap! IC17 is over and true to form it culminated in two nail biting finals which both went down to the wire. PNG survived late surges from New Zealand to win by one point at the MCG and later at Etihad Arena the Irish Banshees swarmed the ball in the dying minutes to stop Canada from capitalising on their late possession inside the forward 50.

You might be concerned that with the women's finals showcasing the same teams as in 2014 that the tournament had been a predictable affair. Quite the contrary, as the landscape of Australian Football outside its homeland is shifting and this is most prominent within the women's tournament.

Nearing half time in the early game on Ransford oval on Friday - South Africa had controlled general play but only had a 2 goal lead to show for it. Kicking to what appeared to be the scoring end - ruckman Malibongwe Mlamli was trying to be everywhere. In the absence of rucking partner Usenzile Gotyana who was injured the week before in Geelong - Mlamli was rotating forward with the much shorter Aubrey Velele giving him a 'chop out' in the ruck.

Why in the Battle of Opposites Papua New Guinea Mosquitoes defeated New Zealand Hawks

PNG 4.5 (29) NZ 4.4 (28)

A Cup of Mosquito Euphoria

Why did the Mosquitoes win?

 

Post Match Player Interviews:

Canada Northern Lights Vice Captain Hilary Perry was interviewed in place of Aimee Legault, the Captain, who had possibly broken her right hand and was on her way to the hospital with the coach. The Alfa Ireland Banshees' co-captains Laura Corrigan Duryea and Onora Mulcahy were also asked their thoughts on the game.

 

The Women’s International Grand Final between the Alfa Ireland Banshees and the Canada Northern Lights was held at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne on Saturday the 20th August at 4:30pm.

On paper this Grand Final looked like it would be a close encounter between two teams who know each other very well when it comes to the pointy end of the International Cup. As both teams have played in the past two grand finals, one win each with the Alfa Ireland Banshees winning the 2011 Grand Final and Canada Northern Lights getting the chocolates in the 2014 Grand Final.

 

First quarter action in the 7th place play off at Ransford oval saw North Wind player Morgan Whyte launch from behind over a couple of Fiji Tribe opponents to pull down a super contested mark - allowing Canada to transition from defence into attack during a vital phase of blunting the effectiveness of the Tribe with what looked to be the scoring end.

At the completion of the 2017 AFL International Cup here are the final positions of all the competing nations across the Men's and Women's competitions.

In the Men's Papua New Guinea now level their ledger with 3 championships and 3 runners-up, an incredible run stretching over 15 years and 6 International Cups.  Nauru's 5th spot was their equal best, as was Great Britain's 6th and France's 10th.  Fiji's climb continues, finishing 8th after 13th (2011) and 10th (2014) previously.  A lot of the improved rankings came at the expense of South Africa who crashed to 9th, their worst finish since the first Cup in 2002.  Croatia (11th) and Germany (12th) impressed on IC debut.  Keep an eye on China too, up to 13th after a previous best of 15th and more recently 17th, but went very close to a higher finish.  Sri Lanka's 15th was a good debut.

In the Women's Ireland and Canada continued to keep the Grand Final to themselves, but Great Britain announced themselves as a genuine threat with 3rd on IC debut.  PNG looked like their program is on track, being very competitive after a 6 year absence, and we welcomed the European Crusaders and Pakistan for the first time.  Hopefully we see both again but if things go well perhaps we'll see some of the Crusaders return representing their own nations as standalone teams.  And on that note we'd really hope to see New Zealand debut in 2020 and if so they might just jump up into the top echelon given they already have a significant program going.

The Kingdom Kangaroos have made it into their first ever grand final by downing the Edinburgh Bloods by 15 points in their preliminary final. It is a great occasion for the club, having joined the SARFL competition back in 2013. Whilst other clubs have started in recent years, the Kangaroos have managed to survive their infant stage and now reach the biggest match in the club’s history.

It sets up a huge grand final match when the Roos will take on the Greater Glasgow Giants tomorrow at the Linlithgow Rugby Club.

Whilst the Giants will go into the match as favourites, the game will not be a one-way street. The Kingdom Kangaroos defeated the Giants only a few weeks ago and have to be rated a chance of an upset by doing so again.

The 2017 AFL International Cup Women's World Team was announced last night at Crown Palladium. The full team is listed below.

The 2017 AFL International Cup World Team was announced last night at Crown Palladium. The full team is listed below.

Q by Q scores from the Men's Div 1 and Women's Grand Finals of the 2017 AFL International Cup.

Matches will also be streamed live here.

MCG 11:15am Men's Div 1 Grand Final New Zealand vs Papua New Guinea
Team	1/4	1/2	3/4	Final
NZ	2.0 (12)	3.1 (19)	4.3. (27)	4.4 (28)
PNG	1.1 (7)	3.2 (20)	4.4 (28)	4.5 (29)

Etihad Stadium 4:30pm Women's Grand Final Ireland vs Canada
Team	1/4	1/2	3/4	Final
Canada	1.1 (7)	3.2 (20)	3.3 (21)	3.3 (21)
Ireland	1.0 (6)	2.0 (12)	3.0 (18)	4.1 (25)

No weather concerns for the AFL IC17 Women's Grand Final. Under the closed roof of Etihad Stadium. Pre game both sides warm up with no worries of a torrential down pour as blighted the men at the MCG earlier this morning.

4:20 pm - The team photos taken pre game - the field is cleared. Umpires enter.
4:25 pm - Players and umpires assemble - national anthems played.
Canada kicking to the 'left of screen' - the Northern or Footscray Rd end. No noticeable breeze!!!