World Footy News

With the AFL season drawing to an end tomorrow, so too have been many regional and suburban leagues and, also, near by international leagues. The 2016 AFL Fiji mens season wrapped up on Saturday with the Raiwaqa Cooparoos taking on the West Coast Eagles at Albert Park in Suva.

The Suva based Cooparoos (Roos) won 14.7.91 to 10.11.71.
Best on ground was the Roos captain Juita Vateitei, who is also a Fiji national volleyball representative who attributes footy as assisting his development in that game too.

The victorious Cooparoos.

That one day in October is almost upon us.  The Western Bulldogs (or Footscray for us older folks) will take on the might of the Sydney Swans (once South Melbourne) at the home of footy, the MCG.

If you want to know when you can see the footy on TV in your part of the world, check out the full schedule below.

As always schedules are subject to change at the discretion of the local broadcaster so please check local guides for updates.   At this stage the times for the European coverage are still to be confirmed.

Also of note is that the game will be broadcast by ECONET in Africa after there has been no televised coverage there this year. 

We have confirmation through AFANA that the coverage finish is flexible in the US so that in the event of extra time being required hopefully the coverage will continue.  We cannot confirm that is the case for any other networks however.

The AFL Grand Final is now just a couple of days away. It is the pinnacle of the season and the place of the Holy Grail. But just the other side of that great day comes the real “silly season” as clubs finalise playing lists and adjust their player strategies hoping for the chance to recruit the players that will take them further.

But to recruit also means to delist and clubs are now gnawing away at their lists, making decisions on who goes and who stays. Players near the end of careers, or restricted by injuries, are usually first to go – but so are project players, and many international selections fall into that category.

Photos: Padraig Lucey, Geelong (ARFLI website) and Paddy Brophy, West Coast Eagles (West Coast FC website)

Just four years ago – 2012 – the world was a little different. Barak Obama still sat in the White House, but the British Prime Minister was David Campbell and Julia Gillard was PM in Australia. The film “Argo” won best picture at the Oscars and the music charts were dominated by One Direction, Florence & The Machine, Rihanna, Flo Rida and Carly Rae Jepsen.

The Sydney Swans won the premiership, their fifth including their South Melbourne days, and Essendon’s Jobe Watson won the Brownlow Medal.

The Swans will now attempt to chase their sixth flag in a world that hasn’t dramatically changed much since their last glorious day in the sun in 2012.

Whilst he didn’t defeat eventual winner, Geelong’s Patrick Dangerfield, Mason Cox, Collingwood’s American recruit, created his own history on Brownlow Medal night. With his single vote this year, Cox became the first American player to poll a vote in the prestigious award.

Cox polled his vote in Collingwood’s Round 8 clash against the Brisbane Lions. His individual performance of 9 possessions, 3 marks, 11 hit-outs, 4 goals and 2 behinds for the day clearly caught the attention of the match umpires as they awarded him one vote for his efforts.

The Dubai Dragons have created an amazing dynasty in recent years. With four flags from the past five seasons there is an argument that maybe it’s time for a rebuild and maybe the new season will belong to fellow Dubai teams the rising Bulls or the rebuilding Dingoes, the Kangaroos from Doha or the Falcons from Abu Dhabi.

But the club, whilst losing some players, have also rebuilt their list for yet another flag tilt.

Former club president and now AFL Middle East President, Matt Burn, updated the Dragon’s progress. “The first session for the pre-season was August 16. [The team] have been training twice a week since then with numbers getting better each week.”

Carlton today announced the Kate Shierlaw of the Wimbledon Hawks will be one of their rookie players for the inaugural season of the AFL Women's league in 2017.

Shierlaw is originally from Adelaide and is a huge Carlton fan, but only began playing Aussie rules this year in London for the first time.  Kate is the first woman to be signed to an AFL club from a club outside Australia. 

Senior women’s coach Damien Keeping said of Kate "(she) is returning to Australia from the UK which demonstrates her passion and dedication to the game.

 

“Although she has only recently taken up the sport, Kate is a tremendous athlete with a strong work ethic and deep desire to develop and hone her football skills.”
 

The new AFL Middle East 2016/17 season is now only weeks away and the Multiplex Bulls have already thrown down a gauntlet to make this season their own. After entering the competition just two seasons ago they have twice reached the AFL Middle East Grand Final and twice the pre-season tournament. Only last season did they taste victory in any of those grand finals, most recently going down to the Dubai Dragons in last season’s finale.

But, according to the club, that is all about to change.

 

The following story by Ben Guthrie at the www.afl.com.au website looks at the recognition paid by Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull towards Sydney Swans defender, and Sudanese talent, Aliir Aliir. The article highlights Aliir’s almost automatic multicultural value as a community leader, made even more wide ranging given his example being used at a UN General Assembly leader’s summit on refugees. It is an inspirational story. 

 

PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull has spoken of the remarkable story of Sydney Swans defender Aliir Aliir at a United Nations conference in New York. 

And then there were four.  The Preliminary Finals kick off in Melbourne Friday night with Geelong hosting Sydney at the MCG.  In the other match GWS host the travelling Western Bulldogs at Spotless Stadium in Sydney.

If you want to know when you can see the footy on TV in your part of the world, check out the full schedule below.

As always schedules are subject to change at the discretion of the local broadcaster so please check local guides for updates. 

The 2016 AFL Grand Final is just a few days away where the Western Bulldogs will take on the Sydney Swans at the MCG.  For over 10 years, World Footy News has collated an extensive list of Grand Final Parties around the world to help viewers find them.

We are now calling for clubs around the world to send details of your party to us, so that fans of the game in your country/city can watch the big game with you. 

You can either post details as a comment below (you must register before you are able to post a comment or login via Facebook) or email troy@worldfootynews.com - all these details will be collated as per previous years.

The following is an article from the staff writers at www.afl.com.au introducing the new logo for the AFL Women’s national competition.

THE Logo for the AFL Women's competition features a stylised 'W', with iconic goalposts and a goalsquare.

The logo, developed in consultation with the AFL women's advisory group, was released in Melbourne on Monday morning.

 

The AFL said the 'W' logo paid tribute to the heritage of the AFL logo, with the posts and goalsquare presented in a "contemporary, energetic, and youthful manner".