World Footy News

Portland is one of those teams that we haven't heard too much about. This year in the USAFL the Steelheads move from third to second division and are looking to maintain momemtum.

 

Portland's womens team, the Sockeyes currently have 9 members and are looking for some external competition. Both the men and the women play in a four team metro league. They manage about a 9 game season with three 18-a-side games against the Seattle Grizzlies.

The first hitout for the Portland Steelheads and Sockeyes on a Wednesday evening at Duniway Park saw a small but enthusiastic turnout. The location was conveniently across the freeway from downtown Portland but the weather threatened downpour as it did, if only moderately.

The games are done and dusted at the 2016 AFL London Pre-Season Cup, and the warning bells would already be ringing for AFL London teams as the powerhouse West London Wildcats won the Men’s title. The GB Swans took the honours on the day in the Women’s draw and the Wandsworth Demons were triumphant in the Supers (Over 35’s) competition.

One of the very interesting features of the event was the appearance of the Northern Storm representative team from the AFLCNE (Central & Northern England). Whilst the team went down to the Putney Magpies, London Swans and Wimbledon Hawks in their three pool games, the squad did their league proud playing in what is often regarded the strongest competition for Australian Rules football outside of Australia and being very competitive.

With the completion of Round 7 in the CNFA competition in France, results have effectively seen a separation between the top four teams and the bottom four. Barring something quite miraculous in the remaining two rounds, the Toulouse Hawks, Paris Cockerels, Paris Cockatoos and Cergy-Pontoise Coyotes appear destined to fight out the finals series in June.

Results so far in Round 7, split across last weekend and this weekend, have seen:

Cergy-Pontoise Coyotes 105 d Bordeaux Bombers 62
Paris Cockatoos 158 d ALFA Lions 47
Toulouse Hawks 176 d Perpignan Tigers 13
Paris Cockerels 154 d Strasbourg Kangourous 31

At the recent National Diversity Championships in Townsville, I was allowed access to the Northern Territory Kickstart teams coach’s bench during their Preliminary Final against the Victoria/Tasmania team. It was a match of two well performed teams, and the winner would go on to play the Western Australia juggernaut in the Grand Final. There was a lot riding on the match, but their coaches were generous in letting me have a close up view of what happens inside that inner sanctum of coaching.

Northern Territory coach, Shannon Motlop, knows a thing or two (or three) about footy. After a 54 game career at the North Melbourne Kangaroos, including an AFL premiership in 1999 with them, he went on to be recruited by the Melbourne Demons as a replacement for Troy Broadbridge who tragically died in the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. Stints playing and coaching across country Victoria added to his repertoire of practice.

There has been plenty happening of late across England and Scotland as local competitions gradually build towards the start of their respective 2016 seasons.

 

The Haggis Cup was played last weekend at the CSE Peffermill Playing Fields in Edinburgh, Scotland. After a hotly contested event which featured Scottish teams – Greater Glasgow Giants, Glasgow Sharks, Falkirk Silverbacks, Kingdom Kangaroos and the Edinburgh Bloods – AFL London club the Wimbledon Hawks, ARFLI’s own Leeside Lions, the Netherland’s Amsterdam Devils and a combined Huddersfield Rams/Tyne Tees Tigers team (AFLCNE), it was the Wimbledon Hawks victorious.

 

 

In the men’s final the Hawks downed the Greater Glasgow Giants to take the 2016 Haggis Cup. In the women’s competition it was the Saltires defeating the Wolves.

In 2015 it was the debut of Jason Holmes and now the second full graduate of the AFL's US Combines looks set to debut in the AFL for Collingwood. After Mason Cox attended the 2014 AFL Combine in Los Angeles the AFL couldn't rush him out here quick enough where he auditioned for a number of clubs and settled on Collingwood as his choice of club.

Today Collingwood upgraded him to the senior list for the injured Matt Scharenberg.  And tonight they have named him on an extended interchange bench for the match against Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday.  There is no guarantee he will play in the final 22 and could have another week in the VFL.

The match will not be shown in the US on TV but it can be streamed via www.Watchafl.afl.com.au

The Essendon Bombers have upgraded their Irish International Rookie, Conor McKenna for their Round 4 clash against Geelong in the “Country Game”, a new idea from Bomber legend Kevin Sheedy. In recognition of the contributions of country and farmers across Australia, Sheedy has created a match between Essendon and Geelong to help raise rural awareness by staging another marquee game – think ANZAC Day match and the “Dreamtime at the G”.

 

The following article is from the www.afl.com.au  website.

 

IRISHMAN Conor McKenna will play for Essendon against Geelong on Saturday after being elevated from the club’s rookie list.

 

He made his debut last season against Richmond in the second-last round and also played the following week against Collingwood.

 

 

The Port Adelaide Football Club is proud and delighted to welcome Shanghai Cred as a new partner under a three-year, multimillion-dollar agreement connecting one of China’s leading property developers with one of Australia’s most successful sporting organisations.

The partnership – announced in Shanghai this morning – aims to bring the people of Australia and China together through a mutual passion for sport.

Port Adelaide and Shanghai Cred will work together to continue the development of Australian football in China through the support and sponsorship of the South China AFL, Guandong AFL, Team China and Auskick.

The AFL and Port Adelaide Football Club are one step closer to playing an AFL game for premiership points in China after both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding this morning in Shanghai with Shanghai Cred Real Estate.

The historic signing was witnessed by the Prime Minister of Australia the Honourable Malcolm Turnbull in his first act in China as Prime Minister.

As part of the Memorandum of Understanding all parties will use reasonable endeavours to play an AFL match, in which Port Adelaide is a one of the participating teams, for premiership points in Shanghai during the 2017 AFL season.

The 2016 AFL season rolls into Round 4 Friday night with Richmond travelling to Perth to take on the West Coast Eagles at Domain Stadium. 

If you want to know when you can see the footy on TV in your part of the world, check out the 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	NETWORK
1	15/4	Night	West Coast Eagles vs. Richmond	Domain Stadium	WA	18:10	10:10	SEVEN
2	16/4	Day	Essendon vs. Geelong Cats	MCG	VIC	13:45	03:45	SEVEN
3	16/4	Day	Hawthorn vs. St Kilda	Aurora Stadium	TAS	14:10	04:10	FOX
4	16/4	Twilight	Brisbane Lions vs. Gold Coast SUNS	The Gabba	QLD	16:35	06:35	FOX
5	16/4	Night	Carlton vs. Western Bulldogs	Etihad Stadium	VIC	19:25	09:25	SEVEN
6	16/4	Night	Adelaide Crows vs. Sydney Swans	Adelaide Oval	SA	19:10	09:40	FOX
7	17/4	Early	GWS GIANTS vs. Port Adelaide	Manuka Oval	ACT	13:10	03:10	FOX
8	17/4	Day	Collingwood vs. Melbourne	MCG	VIC	15:20	05:20	SEVEN
9	17/4	Twilight	North Melbourne vs. Fremantle	Etihad Stadium	VIC	16:40	06:40	FOX

 

 

 

MEDIA RELEASE FROM THE AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

 

The AFL is pleased to announce the 2016 Boomerangs and World Team squads to compete at the 2016 NAB AFL Under-16 Championships on the Gold Coast in July.

 

 

Selected by AFL Club recruiters following the 2016 AFL National Diversity Championships held in Townsville, the respective squads of 30 young men has been chosen based on school attendance, leadership skills, and football ability.

Croatian international, Josip Habljak, playing at Sturt SANFL club was named  to lead the ruck in his second game for the Sturt reserves on Sunday 10th April.

Sturt lost this match against Central District 18-9 (117) to 13-4 (82).

His Champion Data stats for the game were 3 Kicks, 3 handballs, for six disposals, 2 uncontested marks, 3 contested possessions and 2 uncontested possessions, which again doesn't put him amongst Sturts best players.