World Footy News

Just at the moment all I want is a set of footy cards. Not those big, burly blokes that usually grace the cards. I want a set of women’s league cards. They probably already exist, but I imagine that there will be more of them made featuring more players and available in more places when the national women’s league gets underway next year.

In the past I have found that cards have been a great giveaway for kids. They help to generate excitement as kids are maybe lucky enough to stumble across a card of their hero.

After last night’s match at the Whitten Oval, where the Western Bulldogs downed the Melbourne Demons in an historic first victory, the footy world was rewarded with a collection of “marquee” players, young guns of the future and old hands steadying the ships. That these players were our most elite women showed just how far the game of Australian Rules football had come in recent times and was a vision through a crystal ball of what will come.

 

The success this year of Essendon player Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti has prompted media calls to scour the Northern Territory for more talent, almost as if it is an unmined vein of rich talent. But history has already proved that the Northern Territory has already produced outstanding talent on a regular basis for 100 years. Some of that talent has graced the lists of VFL/AFL clubs, whilst others have excelled in other state leagues or just remained local heroes in Darwin or Alice Springs.                                                                                                                           

The following media release from the AFLNT announces the final “TEAM OF THE CENTURY” to help celebrate and honour 100 years of Northern Territory football.

The Mt Isa football community is in shock and a state of grieving after a young footballer died last week after having collapsed in a match the previous weekend. The young man from the Lake Nash All Stars team (a community just 17 kilometres from the Northern Territory/Queensland border on the Territory side and roughly 375 kilometres by road from Mt Isa) collapsed after being taken from the ground.

The All Stars team travels each match day from Alpurrurulam (the correct name of the community) on a round trip of around 750 kilometres for opportunity to play.

According to the local North West Star newspaper, in an article by Samantha Walton:

The 2016 AFL Norway season is close to wrapping up with the Oslo East team leading the pack as premiership favourites. East last won the title in 2014, with the Ås Battlers taking the honours in 2015. It marks a big turnaround for East after missing the final altogether in 2015, with Oslo West reaching their first ever Kenguru Cup Grand Final.

Throughout the 2016 season, East have been the dominant side, both on the field with an impressive array of victories, and off the field with strong numbers which have been responsible for turning the club’s fortunes around.

The next player of African descent will hit the turf this weekend in the final home and away round for 2016 when Richmond’s Mabior Chol debuts. A product of the Brisbane Lions Academy originally, Chol was snared by the Tigers with pick 30 in last year’s Rookie Draft. Along with Reuben William (Brisbane) and Gach Nyuon (Essendon), Chol was the third rookie from Sudan to be selected in that same draft.

They joined Majak Daw (North Melbourne) and Aliir Aliir (Sydney) as players from Sudan to be on AFL team lists. With Chol’s selection, only Essendon’s Gach Nyuon is yet to make his senior debut.

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.