World Footy News

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?)

As we get set for the back half of the 2015 USAFL season the Nationals at Austin are now just 3 months away.
 

Last Weekend’s Games

Last weekend was the final of the regional tournaments as 14 teams headed for Racine, WI for the Central Regional Tournament. Beyond that, there were also two full games that happened during the weekend.

@ West Potomac Park in Washington, DC: Baltimore/Washington Eagles vs. North Carolina Tigers
From the outset, the Tigers were putting the hammer down on the Eagles as they lead from the opening bounce and didn’t let up at all.
 

The recent AFL premiership match in Far North Queensland attracted a crowd of just under 9500 fans and curious spectators.  The figure was lower than anticipated (hoping for between 10-12 thousand or more) and made it another year where attendances dropped – though not significantly.

 

Over coming months the AFL decision makers in Melbourne will chat with their people in Cairns to thrash out whether or not Cairns deserves to hold another AFL match. Since 2010 the Gold Coast Suns have come to the northern city. They started in 2010 in a VFL fixture against the Essendon affiliate the Bendigo Bombers, then from 2011-2013 they played the Richmond Tigers before 2014-15 saw the Western Bulldogs come to town. Will there be moreω

 

 

Both teams made commitments to that effect whilst in town last week, stating their desire to return. But that might not be enough. At the end of the day the decision may be made purely on number-crunching, but the following reasons should be considered also. Here are five reasons why there is more to this than just numbers.

Paddy Brophy and Sean Hurley are both International Rookies from Ireland. They were both taken in the 2014 National Draft and they are both on strongly performing AFL club lists and playing the Western Australian Football League (WAFL).

Brophy is probably the earlier bolter of the two. On the West Coast Eagles list and playing with East Perth, Brophy has played in all East Perth’s league (1st XVIII) team matches this season and is averaging 14 disposals per game and a high of 20 disposals in both matches against Subiaco.