World Footy News

Irishman Paddy Brophy has decided to end his Australian football career and return to GAA football in Ireland.  He has cited personal reasons, including homesickness.  Brophy was originally identified in the AFL's European Combine before being signed by the West Coast Eagles. 

He played WAFL football in 2015 and 2016 but was unable to make a debut at AFL level.

The following was released on the West Coast Eagles website yesterday.

West Coast Eagles Irish import Paddy Brophy has called time on his bid to become the club’s first international rookie to play senior football.

Brophy, in his third year at the club, has decided to return to his home country where he will resume his Gaelic football career, with the aim of playing for County Kildare.

The popular Irishman has been a valued part of the club’s squad and has performed strongly at WAFL level, without getting an opportunity at the elite level. He has played primarily off half-back with East Perth and has captivated staunch Royals fans with his dash and dare.

The South Pacific Under 16 team today kickoff their 2017 Queensland Under 16 Championships  at the Moreton Bay Central Sports Complex, Burpengary.

Representative teams from Brisbane South, Brisbane North, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, North Queensland and South Pacific will compete in the four day carnival.

The squad selected from across the South Pacific is dominated by PNG, with 14 representatives. 

The Queensland Under 16 State Academy Squad will be chosen at the completion of the carnival and will go on to play in the NAB AFL Under 16 Championships in June.

AFL Asia has previewed Anzac Day Commemoration activities and Matches taking place over the coming days and Anzac Day. For a full wrap and match times see www.afl-asia.com  

There is no doubt Anzac commemorative games are now a massive part of the Aussie rules footy landscape, but no more so than in Asia where the connection to the people and places effected by the wars of the past are so strong.

This weekend once again will see a number of AFL Asia’s Clubs host commemorative matches right across the Asian region, with the AFL Asia Anzac Round of matches getting bigger and better every year.

Irishman Conor McKenna of Essendon was charged with making forceful contact from front-on against Riley Knight, Adelaide Crows, during the fourth quarter of the Round Four match between Essendon and the Adelaide Crows, played at Adelaide Oval last weekend. He subsequently accept a one-match sanction with an early plea.

The available evidence and a medical report from the Adelaide Crows Football Club meant that the incident was assessed as careless conduct with medium impact to the head. The incident was classified as a two-match sanction. The player has no applicable record which impacts the penalty. His early plea enabled him to accept a one-match sanction.

The AFL Commission met today in Sydney and reviewed the first season of the NAB AFL Women’s competition.

The Commission also considered expansion of the competition, but has requested more information before making a decision in the coming weeks on the 2018 season.

AFL Commission Chairman Richard Goyder said the Commission was extremely pleased with the first year of the competition and congratulated all players and the eight teams involved, and wished to thank the AFL’s partners and fans across the country for their support of the new league.

Port Adelaide’s historic first AFL game for premiership points in China has sold out.

Remaining tickets went on sale on Thursday afternoon at 2.00pm, and were sold within the first hour.

With 24 days to go before the historic first bounce on Sunday 14 May at Shanghai’s Jiangwan Stadium, the successful sale of all tickets gives the club great momentum heading into the ground-breaking game.

Round 5 of the 2017 AFL Season kicks off in Adelaide tonight with the Port Adelaide hosting Carlton at the Adelaide Oval. 

The full international broadcast schedule can be seen below.

In addition to the TV networks you can also subscribe to the Watch AFL service that will give you live access to all the matches and more (outside Australia only).  You can access that service by clicking on the link here or the  Watch AFL banner below and paying the subscription fee.

 

MATCH	DATE	TIMESLOT	MATCH	VENUE	LOCAL TIME	GMT
1	21-Apr	Night	Port Adelaide vs. Carlton	Adelaide Oval	19:20	09:50
2	22-Apr	Day	Western Bulldogs vs. Brisbane Lions	Etihad Stadium	13:45	03:45
3	22-Apr	Twilight	Gold Coast SUNS vs. Adelaide Crows	Metricon Stadium	16:35	06:35
4	22-Apr	Night	Sydney Swans vs. GWS GIANTS	SCG	19:25	09:25
5	22-Apr	Night	Fremantle vs. North Melbourne	Domain Stadium	17:40	09:40
6	23-Apr	Day	St Kilda vs. Geelong Cats	Etihad Stadium	15:20	05:20
7	23-Apr	Twilight	Hawthorn vs. West Coast Eagles	MCG	16:40	06:40
8	24-Apr	Night	Richmond vs. Melbourne	MCG	19:25	09:25
9	25-Apr	Day	Essendon vs. Collingwood	MCG	15:20	05:20

The 2017 NAB AFL Academy Level 1 Squad will depart for Wellington today as part of a High Performance Camp that will include a clash against an open-age New Zealand side on Monday, April 24 at Westpac Stadium.

The challenge match will be the sixth year an Australian Under 17s side has played against a New Zealand team, with players part of this year’s Level 1 Squad following in the footsteps of Melbourne’s Jesse Hogan, West Coast Eagles’ Dom Sheed, GWS’ Josh Kelly, St Kilda’s Luke Dunstan and Jack Billings, North Melbourne’s Luke McDonald and Gold Coast Suns’ Jack Martin who were part of the NAB AFL Academy in 2012.

AFL National and International Talent Manager Kevin Sheehan said the opportunity to represent Australia and develop as individuals and footballers presented an incredible opportunity for NAB AFL Academy members.

“Australia’s best under 17 players really value the opportunity to play for their country against another country in a foreign environment,” Sheehan said.

“We all know someone that is suffering from a mental illness.” Clark said.

 

If there was one thing that was learned last week being witness to the 2017 AFL National Male Kickstart & All Nations Championships it was that the multicultural game is growing in numbers and standards. The future of the game’s growth both in Australia most likely overseas could get a huge boost as the multicultural carnivals drive growth.

This claim is highlighted rather dramatically by the growth since the 2015 carnival in Cairns. At that event the team numbers were smaller, as was the playing field. Fifteen players a side played on a makeshift mini-field within the larger Cazaly’s Stadium. It looked very much like the set up for junior matches.

Fast forward to 2017 and the All-Nations competition (made from teams where player’s ancestry of themselves or their parents was having been born overseas) and teams played 16 per side, no wings and on a full sized oval. Not only that, but the standards of play were a far cry from the tournament in Cairns.

The ALFA Lions from Lyon in France have achieved something that even their most hardened supporters find absolutely amazing – thy have reached the 2016/17 CNFA Grand Final against the Paris Cockatoos. Undefeated all season, this pride of Lions played their first finals match against the Paris Cockerels and won their way into the big one.

It speaks volumes for the effort and dedication of the Lyon team that created this club only a few years ago and have already climbed to within breathing distance of a premiership. Back in the early 2013/2014 season, when the club first played in league matches, one of their founders, Charles Bernigaud made the proclamation “but we are an ambitious team, be aware of this.” What followed was two wooden spoons and a sixth placing, yet that ambition has shown itself clearly this season.