World Footy News

After having the luxury of most games on Free to Air TV in NZ last year, 2015 has seen the return of the bad old days for TV coverage of the Australian code after the collapse of Sommet Sport network. Each week just one game has been available on the Sky Sports network this year.

But just in time for the finals comes the announcement that footy will return to Free to Air for the 2015 AFL Finals series. TVNZ will show the matches on Freeview NZ Channel 13 with eight of the nine finals matches being shown live. Even better is the news that this is part of a three year rights deal that will run from 2016 to 2018.

The AFL tonight confirmed the fixture for week one of the 2015 Toyota AFL Finals Series, to be as follows (all times are local):

Friday September 11
Second Qualifying Final, West Coast v Hawthorn at Domain Stadium, 6.20pm

Saturday September 12
First Qualifying Final, Fremantle v Sydney Swans at Domain Stadium, 1.20pm
Second Elimination Final, Western Bulldogs v Adelaide Crows at the MCG, 7.20pm (series ticket match)

Sunday September 13
First Elimination Final, Richmond v North Melbourne at the MCG, 3.20pm

The recent trend of European premierships being won by teams going into Grand Finals as underdogs has continued in Norway as the Ås Battlers defeated the Oslo West team by just three points in the Kenguru Cup Grand Final.

Norway’s premier Australian Rules football league had been dominated this season by the Oslo West team this year, with the team finishing the final round of the home and away season in top spot for the first time. It was history making for the Oslo team, but despite finishing well clear on top of the ladder the real job was yet to start.

The Ås Battlers finished in second place, well behind West in terms of win/loss ratio and for/against. But come Grand Final day this counted for little as the Battlers held on in a thriller to win their second flag in three years and make a claim for the best team in Norway in recent years.

While this video was produced with Australia in mind, we thought it worth sharing with the world. #heroesforzeroes

Violence against women is a disgrace at any level but when you consider some women face this day in day out in their own homes it’s heartbreaking. Approximately 1 woman will be killed per week in Australia due to Domestic Violence. Education is the key. We know one little video can’t change the world and we are also respectful that there are many other big issues in Australia. This one is close to my heart and the one we would like to make a difference in. Let’s be honest, most men know this is a cowardly act and don’t do it. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to reach the young men who don’t hear this message whilst growing up. The plan is to share and like this video as much as possible.

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To celebrate the first ever AFL match where an American born and raised player (Jason Holmes) competed against a Canadian born and raised player (Mike Pyke) last weekend the AFL have released "What is AFL?". The video is a 5 minute snapshot explaining the basics of Australian Football to viewers overseas who may not be familiar with the game.

This version (below) is aimed at helping to educate our North American friends in particular. The AFL are also creating versions for other regions and in different languages.  More details on these as they are published.

The final home and away round of the 2015 season kicks off at Docklands Stadium with Richmond hosting North Melbourne. Once again viewers around the world can access matches live or delayed on a number of TV networks or stream the telecast via subscription to Watchafl.com.au. 

The broadcast schedule for this round can be seen below.

 

Much has been made of the recent match-up between these two North American products after they lined up against each other in the ruck last weekend. When Sydney Swans took on St Kilda, much of the Australian Rules football world was salivating at the thought of an American and a Canadian player locking horns at the highest level of the game.

But, for all that anticipation, how did they actually go?

To look at pure figures is a long way from a fair comparison. With Sydney walloping St Kilda by a massive 97 points, through a great team effort, any comparison of two directly opposed players would always be a little skewed.

The new NTFL season is just weeks away as the AFLNT begins to celebrate its 100th season. Footy in the Northern Territory got under way back in 1916 and this season the AFLNT is set to augment the on field footy with plenty of opportunities to celebrate 100 years.

Amongst the proposed activities there will be a permanent and static display of Northern Territory footy memorabilia housed in the Michael Long Learning & Leadership Centre adjacent to TIO Stadium in Darwin.

But the biggest ticket item is the commencement of the new season and the AFLNT has just released the draw for the 2015/16 season. The action gets under way with a triple header on Saturday 10th October at TIO Stadium.

(Picture: Wanderers players celebrate their 2014/15 premiership win - Photo: NT News

The South Dublin Swans have continued their rise of recent weeks to peak at just the right time and take out the 2015 ARFLI premiership, downing the raging hot favourites in the process. The Belfast Redbacks had been the dominant Irish team throughout most of the season, but on the day that mattered most it was the Swans that triumphed.

By half time the Swans had already stated their intentions, pulling out to an 11 point lead, 3 7 25 to 2 2 14. The Redbacks knew they had a challenge on their hands and came back hard in the second half, but the stoic Swans held out for a thrilling two point victory, winning 6 9 45 to 6 7 43.

The Swans had already dented the Redback’s armour in their final round clash where the result saw the Swans pull away to an eventual 25 point win. It would be Belfast’s only loss for the home and away season, but looking back the result was profound.

The final round of the Norwegian Australian Rules football competition, the Kenguru Cup, was completed last week with results going heavily in favour of the Oslo West team which secured their historic first Grand Final berth. After two years in last place, Oslo West won both games in the final round to take top spot – in the process recording the highest amount of wins in the competition’s history with eight from ten games.

They will take on the second placed Ås Battlers which won its final match against Oslo East by a big margin after earlier going down to Oslo West by just one point.

This sets up a fascinating Grand Final, to be played at the Voldsløkka Rugby Field in Oslo on Thursday, September 3rd (Norway time) against the 2013 winners, the Ås Battlers, and the newcomers to the big day Oslo West.

 

The following story by Travis King at www.afl.com looks at the next potential cab off the rank of North American sportsmen who have left behind their native codes to try their luck at Australian Rules football on the highest stage – the AFL.

 

AMERICAN man mountain Alex Aurrichio says he's been inspired to keep chasing his AFL dream by Jason Holmes' action-packed debut for St Kilda.

 

Holmes' high-leaping ruckwork had a major impact in the Saints' draw with Geelong last Saturday night.

 

 

And it proved to rookie hopeful Aurrichio that there's rewards on offer if he persists and builds on an encouraging first season playing VFL for the Northern Blues.

Arguably the biggest story in Australian sport this week was the amazing effort of former Parramatta Eels Rugby League player, Jarryd Hayne, bamboozling opponents in his new found code, American Football. In trying out for a contract with the San Francisco 49ers, his run, agility and power left experienced players in his wake and made the code’s recruiting people think that maybe there are more Aussies that possess the skills to succeed in the American national game.

In the days since his break-out game other potential Rugby-League and Rugby-Union players have been touted as the “next Hayne”.

Code-hopping in itself is not new. The AFL’s recent experiments with Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folou were well documented, though both ultimately fell short of their intention. They were local stories moving from one Australian code to another. But trying another code in another country is arguably harder. This is territory that past AFL players have dabbled in with Ben Graham, Sav Rocca and “Diamond Jim” Tilbrook some of the better known VFL/AFL players who have cracked the American national game.