World Footy News

The Finland Australian Football League (FAFL) Grand Final will be played this weekend when last year's champions, the Helsinki Heatseekers, take on the Turku Dockers for the 2016 title. The match, to be played at Talin-Urheilupuisto in Helsinki, will see the two best performed Finnish teams battle it out in what could be a surprise result.

The Heatseekers go into the match as short-priced favourites, largely on the back of their last meeting back in June when they downed the Dockers by 95 points in Paimio - final scores seeing the Heatseekers 134 to the Dockers 39. The game started evenly, but the Heatseekers kicked six unanswered goals in the second term and never looked back. It was a powerful performance, but doesn't tell the whole story.

AFL Japan has announced that a team made up from University students will be touring Australia to play matches and train with a local club and attend two AFL matches.
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The AFL Japan University Warriors arrive in Melbourne Friday 26th August where they will undertake a visit to AFL House.

On Saturday they will attend the Essendon v Carlton Clash at the MCG and then on Sunday 28th will play a match against Keysborough Thirds at Keysborough Reserve then rush to the MCG to watch the Hawthorn v Collingwood match.

 

The final home and away round, Round 23 kicks off in Adelaide on Friday night with the Crows hosting the West Coast Eagles at Adelaide Oval. 

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. 

 

 

GAME	DATE	TIMESLOT	MATCH	VENUE	STATE	LOCAL TIME	GMT	HOST
1	26-Aug	Night	Adelaide Crows vs. West Coast Eagles	Adelaide Oval	SA	19:40	10:10	SEVEN
2	27-Aug	Day	Geelong Cats vs. Melbourne	Simonds Stadium	VIC	13:45	03:45	SEVEN
3	27-Aug	Day	Essendon vs. Carlton	MCG	VIC	14:10	04:10	FOX
4	27-Aug	Twilight	Sydney Swans vs. Richmond	SCG	NSW	16:35	06:35	FOX
5	27-Aug	Night	North Melbourne vs. GWS GIANTS	Etihad Stadium	VIC	19:25	09:25	SEVEN
6	27-Aug	Night	Gold Coast SUNS vs. Port Adelaide	Metricon Stadium	QLD	19:25	09:25	FOX
7	28-Aug	Early	St Kilda vs. Brisbane Lions	Etihad Stadium	VIC	13:10	03:10	FOX
8	28-Aug	Day	Hawthorn vs. Collingwood	MCG	VIC	15:20	05:20	SEVEN
9	28-Aug	Twilight	Fremantle vs. Western Bulldogs	Domain Stadium	WA	14:40	06:40	FOX

The following story comes from The Bogotá Post newspaper in Colombia, South America. For years the Santiago Saints have waited for an opportunity to play against other clubs, especially since the falling away of the teams in Argentina. The article, written by Kieran Duffy (and photos by Travis Crockett) gives details to date of the upcoming event.

The Bogotá Bulldogs, the capital’s first Australian Football club, are due to play their first ever competitive game. On September 3 they will face a team from Santiago de Chile which will come to Bogotá for the Bulldogs’ debut. 

 

Having only begun practising in November 2015, the Bogotá Bulldogs have already attracted a large panel of players who will be keen to represent Colombia in the first Australian Rules football (also called AFL or ‘Aussie Rules’) game to be played in the country. While many are Australians, the panel also includes a large number of Colombians as well as Britons, Spaniards, Dutch and Irish, all new to the sport.

The footy oval at the rear of Freshwater State School in Cairns is a delight. Conservatively, the eastern goals are possibly four feet higher than the western goals. Wind advantage is irrelevant. Whichever team wins the toss and kicks “downhill” gets the biggest advantage. On a good day, a kick from full back could roll through for a goal at the other end simply through inertia.

It also has a terrific “grandstand” with eager after-school care students lining their balcony to cheer on the home team. Parents mingle – some understanding the game at hand, others confused by the lack of calls for “knock-ons”, “offside”, “forward pass” or the whistle that signals a try. Such is life in a heavily Rugby League city. Though, that is changing.

The 2016 European Championships have thrown up a number of surprise results and unexpected movement in the (unofficial) WFN World Rankings by taking exception to the rule that the higher rated/ranked nation will win more often than not.

In the men’s competition the Ireland (rank #3) versus Sweden (15th) and Germany (18th) and Great Britain (9th) versus Sweden (15th ) and Germany (18th) matches went as predicted by the Ranking scheme but Ireland v Great Britain and Germany versus Sweden matches proved to be exceptions to the rule.

St Kilda Sharks spearhead Moana Hope reached the 100 game milestone against Seaford in the Victorian Women's Football League on Sunday.  Hope, who has recently been announced as one of the marquee players for Collingwood in next year's AFL national womens league has New Zealand heritage. Her family and friends rewarded her milestone with a performance of the Haka in the post-match.

See the video below.

 

Irish code crosser Colin O'Riordan was last night named in the NEAFL's team of the year.   O'Riordan in his first season at an AFL Club was signed by Sydney at the end of 2015.  He has yet to make his debut in the AFL but has clearly had a consistent season in the Swan's reserves team that plays in the NEAFL.

O'Riordan did not play with the Swans this past weekend as he suffered a punctured lung in the match the week before in Darwin.  He was unable to return with the team following that match due to that injury.  His progress this season is very positive as he bides his time and builds his knowledge of the Australian code.

 

It lasted just 15 or so minutes, but while it was happening an entire future of footy flashed before my eyes. When today’s AFL match between the Sydney Swans and North Melbourne started on a cold and showery Blundstone Arena in Hobart, Tasmania, two Sudanese players lined up on each other in key positional posts in an AFL match.

When the siren sounded to get the match started, North’s Majak Daw, armed with more muscles than are probably necessary, lined up at Full Forward. Beside him in the goal square was Sydney’s Aliir Aliir, the Full Back responsible for keeping club veteran Ted Richards out of the team. Well, that’s probably unfair as injury and other players have also had a hand in that…but let’s not ruin a good story!

 

Callum Twomey from the www.afl.com.au website looks at the rise and rise of Essendon’s Irish recruit, Conor McKenna. In recent weeks, McKenna has had a chance to establish himself in the team’s line-up ahead of the return to the club of banned players for their 2017 season.

THE MOST difficult thing Conor McKenna found when wrapping his head around the AFL code two years ago upon joining Essendon had nothing to do with kicking the Sherrin. The Irish product could do that well already, and on both feet.

 

It wasn't the running that was required, and the physicality didn't bother him either. McKenna was already one of Gaelic football's most gifted youngsters when he left there at the end of 2014 to pursue a career with the Bombers.    

The following article from The Glasgow South and Eastwood Extra website looks at the success of the Glasgow Sharks on the biggest day of the Australian Rules football year in Scotland last weekend.

Glasgow Sharks were crowned Scotland’s Australian Rules Football champions after defeating city rivals Greater Glasgow Giants at Linlithgow Rugby Club last Saturday.

The Scottish Australian Rules Football League (SARFL) Grand Final between the city rivals was a fierce one, with the Giants having the better first quarter.

But just like the rest of the season the Sharks were the comeback kids, meaning there were only two points in it by the end of the third quarter