World Footy News

Already regarded as one of the most powerful Australian Rules football clubs across Europe, the West London Wildcats further enhanced that reputation on the weekend. Playing against the well credentialed Wandsworth Demons, the Wildcats showed little remorse romping home to a powerful 72 point win to book their place in the 2015 grand-final. They will enjoy a week’s break as the preliminary finalists do battle.

For the Demons it will be a week of soul-searching as they initially need to win their preliminary final to earn a rematch with the Wildcats. But that is not guaranteed. But assuming they do clear their next hurdle the Demons face a tough period of planning to find a way to bring down the Wildcats.

Their opponents will be the North London Lions which won their semi-final on Sunday against the London Swans. In a tighter, low scoring game it was the Lions with the answers at the end to hold the competitive Swans at bay by just 11 points in a game where the respective defences had a large say in the result.

As expected American Matt Korchek, one of the standout talents at this year's Draft Combine in Florida has made the trip to Melbourne late last week. But he has not come alone. Jalen Carethers, James Johnson and Kye Kurkowski are here too.

The foursome have been at Carlton's home base Ikon Park and have been making the most of the club's facilities as well as working out with the Sherrin while getting tips from the likes of Brenton Sanderson. On Sunday the four prospects appeared on Channel 9's TAC Cup Future Stars program in Melbourne. All four will show off their physical attributes and their newly acquired skills when they train in front of AFL club recruiters this Wednesday.

The combatants for the 2015 AFLCNE Grand Final have been decided after the semi-finals were played over the weekend. Once again the Manchester Mosquitoes powerhouse has reached the final match of the year, continuing their incredible domination of the league over recent years. But this year another challenger will step up to the plate – Sheffield Thunder.

For the Mozzies the salivating prospect of five grand finals in the past 6 years is a reality – and a fourth premiership over that time lingers large on the AFLCNE landscape. Last year the Huddersfield Rams did their best to stop the Mozzie juggernaut. That didn’t work, so the Thunder now has a chance.

So far this season the ledger is squared at one win apiece. The first meeting at Tyne back in Round 6 saw the Thunder roar to the top of the ladder with a big 74 point win over the Mozzies. They fired the first salvo in the war of psychology between the sides this year. By Round 11 it was the Mozzies that hit back – just – with a narrow 3 point win on Sheffield's home turf. The Mozzies won, but the Thunder knew they had what it takes to beat the Mozzies – especially since the Grand Final will be played at Sheffield. It makes for a fascinating grand-final.

Essendon Football Club in conjunction with Travel and Taste and Antler Luggage is proud to announce the documentary #EmbracingIndia, will air on FOX Footy (In Australia) at 9.30pm Tuesday 28 July.

The documentary follows Dyson Heppell, David Zaharakis, Joe Daniher and Zach Merrett on their ten day journey of self discovery across colourful and chaotic India.

Like the 2014 International Cup, the Northern Lights and the Midnight Suns will compete against the USA Freedom and USA Liberty respectively in the 49th Parallel Cup.

The following is written by Sam Rothwell.

It will be a new look AFL Canada National women’s team that will take the field on August 1st in Fort Lauderdale for the 49th Parallel Cup. From the starting 18 that won a historic 2014 International Cup over Ireland, 13 are due to miss the upcoming game against the USA Freedom. There are four players missing due to playing commitments in Australia, while another nine others will also miss due to a combination of being injured, pregnant or unavailable.  The depth of talent in Canada is sure to be tested.

The fierce competition between Canada and the U.S.A. in Australian Football ventures continues away from it’s namesake for the first time (with the arguable exception of Edmonton) at the end of  July.
 

The Canadian population clings to it’s Southern boundary like the Australian population  clings to it’s ocean border. It has been easy for the Canadians to find convenient venues for the 49th Parallel Cup without venturing too far.

Friday night footy at Etihad Stadium kicks off Round 17 with Carlton hosting Hawthorn.  We welcome new International Broadcast partner RDS in Quebec that will be showing delayed replays of the West Coast Eagles vs Sydney match.

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.

 

Another big week for International players in the VFL as Round 14 was played in good conditions. The standout performances were the ruckwork of Mason Cox and the goal kicking of Shem Tatupu.
 

Conor McKenna (Ire) was goal-less and had 5 kicks, 9 handballs, 1 mark, 2 tackles in Essendon’s 22 point win over North Ballarat.
 

An all American ruck contest at Werribee saw Jason Holmes (USA) with 23 hit outs and with the slight statistical advantage over Eric Wallace (USA) with 22. Wallace did hit the scoreboard though kicking 1.1 but it wasn’t enough to put his team in front of Sandringham who won by 13 points.
 

 

 

The AFL London season moves into overdrive from next weekend as the finals series gets under way across all divisions. With the home and away season now done and dusted, teams can now take the next step in a bid to win the 2015 premierships.

 

In the Premiership Division, the scoreboards reflected that finals urgency as teams hit the “on” button in preparation for the weeks ahead. The result saw the West London Wildcats, Wandsworth Demons and North London Lions sharpen their respective claws or tridents, while the London Swans found themselves on the wrong side of a fired up opponent.  

 

The final round results saw:

- Wandsworth Demons 30.21.201 defeated Putney Magpies 1.5.11

- West London Wildcats 26.19.175 defeated London Swans 5.3.33

 

- North London Lions 21.19.145 defeated Wimbledon Hawks 4.6.30

Two of the three Americans from the American Footy Star program playing at Temora recently featured on AFL Riverina TV.

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The recent decision by the Victorian Government to partner with the AFL this year to promote the upcoming Multicultural Round will be a huge bonus for the uptake of the game across Australia. When Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews made the announcement last week that the state government would sponsor the weekend’s activities and promotions through funding from the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship, it became a game changer for the AFL’s hopes, plans and dreams. Events across Victoria would now have the funding to reach a greater audience.

 

Not only can the first ever AFL Multicultural Festival in Yarra Park go ahead as planned during the Round 19 AFL fixtures from 7th to 9th August, but Premier Andrews also launched a new social media campaign called “Embrace Diversity” which uses noted Australian football identities to spread the word of the Multicultural opportunities the game can offer. The full story regarding the partnership between the AFL and Victorian Government can be viewed at: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-07-16/afl-victorian-government-promote-special-round

 

 

To view the message of “Embrace Diversity”, go to: www.embracediversity.com

The AFL competition across Central and Northern England has finished off the home and away season for 2015, but not in the circumstances expected. Rather than having three matches which may help teams tune up for finals action or allow for last minute upsets from lower teams seeking to create havoc, the round saw two games forfeited and another decided by such a large margin that it is likely neither side gained what they needed from the hitout.

With Huddersfield Rams already a spectator this round due to their bye, they were joined by Sheffield Thunder and Tyne Tees Tigers with both clubs receiving the four default points when Nottingham Scorpions and Birmingham Bears respectively failed in their attempts to field a side. For Thunder the result simply reinforced their second place finish. The Tigers, however, would have been delighted with the result as it gave them a fourth win for the season and dragged them off the bottom of the ladder, avoiding the wooded spoon.

(Left: 2014 Premiers - Manchester Mosquitoes - Which team will take the 2015 flag?)