World Footy News

One of the most endearing images from the 2017 National AFL Male Kickstart & All Nations Championships was former Port Adelaide Power premiership coach, Mark Williams, standing beside a young African player on the All Nations oval after a match stepping him through the basics of how to kick. As this story is being typed he is doing it again with a young Queensland indigenous player.

In a decorated career spanning playing days in the SANFL (West Adelaide & Port Adelaide) and VFL (Collingwood & Brisbane Bears) and a variety coaching, assistant coaching and his most recent specialist coaching role in the AFL with Richmond (Head Development Coach), Mark knows the coaching game backwards, forwards and sideways. The son of the “father of Port Adelaide” – Fos Williams – Mark holds one of the finest pedigrees in football. It is that pedigree he is bringing to the championships, coaching the coaches and watching over the players.

Micky O, as he if commonly referred to, has had an incredible journey in AFL football and is in a unique position to share his vast experience with the next generations of footballers. At the 2017 National AFL Male Kickstart and All Nations Championships Michael did exactly that when asked to motivate the boys with a talk about his background.

 

The following story is taken from a transcript of his presentation to the players during the championships. Not a pin drop could be heard as Michael entranced his audience.

 

 

I’m originally from Adelaide and moved to Sydney as a 17-year old to play footy with the Swans. I’m from a little place called Salisbury in Adelaide where I spent a lot of time at the Central Districts footy club. I guess the journey to get to Sydney has been a pretty tough one.

 A huge round of footy in Nauru on the weekend saw the top of the table clash decided by a goal and the other two matches by five points.  The Magpies cemented top spot with their 6 point win over the Bombers with Kenneth Oppenheimer kicking three goals for the winners.  Both sides will play off again next week, this time in the Qualifying final for a spot in the Grand Final.

FRIDAY APRIL 7, 2017
CATS SCRATCH DOGS IN A THRILLER
It was a tight and tough contest from the outset as players went in hard. The contest was tough as both teams tried hard to gain control but nothing could separate them going into the last quarter. Going with a slight breeze in the last quarter, it was the Cats that won most of the ball and kept the game in their half for most of the quarter.

But despite winning more possessions in the last, the Cats squandered their opportunities frequently missing easy shots at goal. The Bulldogs were more accurate and with young player Blame Maaki kicking 2 goals in the last quarter, they remained dangerously close.

In the dying minutes Cats dangerman Shawn Kemp Maaki slotted a goal from a tight angle to take the lead and they held on to win by 5 points in a thriller.

The AFL today announced the venues for the Grand Final's for both the men's and women's divisions at the 2017 AFL International Cup to be held in Melbourne from August 5th.

The previous men's final was played at the MCG in 2014 with PNG defeating Ireland. The women's final was played earlier that day with Canada defeating Ireland at Punt Road oval. Details of competing nations and schedules are still being finalised and should be known in the coming weeks.

The full announcement follows.

Peter Dye, coach of the Victorian team at the 2017 Kickstart Championships, has a skilled team around him. Apart from his assistant coach Dylan Harvey, and team manager Jack Henty, he is also surrounded by some seriously experienced firepower. Former AFL players in Aaron Davey (Melbourne), Chris Johnston (Brisbane, Fitzroy) and David Rodan (Richmond, Port Adelaide, Melbourne) bring many hundreds of game’s experience to the coaching bench.

The two coaching components come together – the formal and the additional – to prepare the Victorians for their next match: a clash with the NSW/ ACT team. It soon becomes apparent that these boys cannot have too many coaches and too much advice. They are fortunate, and they will respond by bringing every coach’s wishes or instructions to life.

Pre-game and the coach re-addresses the pillars around which the team’s game plans will hinge. Effort is broken down into clearer, more measureable pieces. Work rate, tackling, communication and being first to the ball are the themes that will galvanise these boys once the siren blows. Focus is also placed on the one percenters – the small actions on which great success grows.

Chris Johnson certainly experienced the highs and lows of football as a player. Drafted by the Fitzroy Lions in 1993, he went on to play for the club until their demise in 1996 – experiencing some of the leanest times of any VFL/AFL club. His move to the Brisbane Bears at the end of the 1996 season coincided with the rise of a new entity – the Brisbane Lions.

He went on to become a celebrated and decorated legend of the club, playing in three premierships, being an All-Australian selection as well as a member of the Indigenous Team Of The Century. He briefly co-captained the Brisbane Lions and in 2005 was co-captain with Andrew McLeod in the Australian International Rules team.

With a resume as hard-earned and impressive as that it seems only natural that his experience and philosophies be passed on to new generations of indigenous and multicultural players. At the 2017 National AFL Male Kickstart & All Nations Championships in Blacktown, that is exactly what he is doing.

On a beautiful, sunny day at the Blacktown International Sportspark in western Sydney, the sirens have blown and the football is well and truly under way. It marks the business end of a long process for those U15 boys who have made it to the final selection to represent their state’s Kickstart or All Nations teams. Now, all of the training and hard work pays off.

The tournament commenced with an opening ceremony at the Rooty Hill RSL. All players entered the function room during the Smoking Ceremony, performed by Uncle Greg Simms. Councillor Brad Bunting offered the official welcome from Blacktown City Council on behalf of Mayor Stephen Bali before Sam Graham, CEO of AFL NSW/ACT welcomed all to such a prestigious event for New South Wales. Narelle Long, AFL Championship manager also welcomed the layers, officials and supporters.

Last night I sat in the comfort of home watching a thrilling game between Collingwood and Sydney. I don’t support either, but was grateful that I could turn on the television and (with the power of two remote controls) watch a genuine thriller. To live in a world where every AFL game can be live in the home is, to many, normal.

But it wasn’t always that way.

I am a product (proudly) of 1961. Hawthorn won their first flag, probably not directly because of me. It started something of a trend, with the Hawks winning far too many since. Geelong took out the “consolation” night series, Roos got the spoon and Carlton got the Brownlow & Coleman (John James & Tom Carroll). Meanwhile, I did little more than crawl around the floor making gurgling sounds (still do, occasionally!).

Teams from across England and Scotland have assembled ready for this year’s Haggis Cup, this year being played at the West Of Scotland Rugby Club in Glasgow. Fifteen teams across men’s and women’s competitions have arrived ready for what promises to be a huge, exciting tournament.

The women’s competition will see host city, Glasgow, represented by both local clubs – the Glasgow Sharks and the Greater Glasgow Giants – as well as two teams from the Wandsworth Demons and a single team from the Wimbledon Hawks representing AFL London. The Nottingham Scorpions women’s team will be there flying the flag for the AFLCNE. The Wimbledon Hawks are on a high, having just been crowned women’s champions at last weekend’s AFL Europe Champions League tournament in Amsterdam.

Round 3 of the 2017 AFL Season kicks of in Sydney tonight where the Sydney Swans host Collingwood at the SCG.

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	7-Apr	Night	Sydney Swans vs. Collingwood	SCG	19:50	09:50
2	8-Apr	Day	North Melbourne vs. GWS GIANTS	Blundstone Arena	13:45	03:45
3	8-Apr	Day	Richmond vs. West Coast Eagles	MCG	14:10	04:10
4	8-Apr	Twilight	Geelong Cats vs. Melbourne	Etihad Stadium	16:35	06:35
6	8-Apr	Night	Port Adelaide vs. Adelaide Crows	Adelaide Oval	19:10	09:40
5	8-Apr	Night	Fremantle vs. Western Bulldogs	Domain Stadium	17:40	09:40
7	9-Apr	Early	St Kilda vs. Brisbane Lions	Etihad Stadium	13:10	03:10
8	9-Apr	Day	Carlton vs. Essendon	MCG	15:20	05:20
9	9-Apr	Twilight	Gold Coast SUNS vs. Hawthorn	Metricon Stadium	16:40	06:40

 

The National Diversity Championships kicks off this weekend in Sydney, comprising both the Kickstart Championship for indigenous U15 players and the All Nations Championship for multicultural heritage players. World Footy News will be at the event all week, reporting on many facets of this event with progress updates, interviews and informative articles.

MEDIA RELEASE FROM THE AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

The AFL wishes to advise the annual Under 15 AFL National Male Diversity Championships will begin this Saturday April 8 at Blacktown International Sports Park in Blacktown, the traditional land of the Darug people.

Currently in its fourth year, the AFL National Male Diversity Championships has been developed to provide a supported talented player pathway that compliments the NAB AFL Under 16 Championships and exposes Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander and Multicultural players, coaches, umpires, doctors, and trainers to an elite AFL Program environment.

The beautiful capital city of the Czech Republic, Prague, has played host to a three team tournament featuring the city’s own Prague Dragons, the Dresden Wolves from Germany and England’s University of Birmingham Lions. Back in September, the city hosted the final round of the Central European Australian Football league competition, and now they have followed up with another great promotion for the game in the nation.

According to Martin Hák, PR manager for the event, “the main takeaway [from the tournament] is that it was a great day for everybody and the fans saw quite some quality football too.”

“The weather was beautiful, the organisation perfect (including an outstanding barbecue), the referee was delighted by the spirit and fairness on the field and others were outraged by the extraordinary cultural program (Birmingham's Got Talent).”