World Footy News

The newest team in the AFL Middle East stable off talent enjoyed one of the most remarkable maiden seasons in any league for the 2014/15 season. To play their first game in the pre-season cup in October 2014 and go on to be grand finalists in March 2015 shows an incredible performance in just five months.

It is not the first such occurrence. Just last year the Raiwaqa Bulldogs in Fiji entered their first ever senior team and swept to premiership glory Fairy Tales do happen - Raiwaqa Bulldogs win AFL Fiji 2014 premiership, but this team had existed as an Under 16 junior team prior to that glory. The BM Bulls came from nowhere, almost.

Club President, Andrew Campbell, was involved from day one and was happy to share the story of the Bulls’ rise – as much for storytelling as it is a blueprint for development and success that other clubs may be able to replicate.

Earlier this year World Footy news reported on the rise of a new Australian Rules football entity in Poland, based in the city of Bydgoszcz. Since that time, Gareth Smith and his crew have worked overtime to get the team bigger and better.

The result is the Bydgoszcz Wildcats.

According to the club’s website, “at the moment, we train at the stadium at ul. Grim Piwnik in Fordon on Saturdays at 13:00. Everyone is welcome.”

“Most of the team are still novices to using the [oval] shaped ball, and all together we learn the sport.”

It is a week since the 2014/15 season finished in the Middle East, largely due to rest, recovery, work commitments and various celebrations. But in the clear air a week onwards, rather than the heady air of celebration or commiseration, a look back at the day tells a story of the day.

Huwy Jones, president of the victorious Dubai Dragons, provided his insight into how the day panned out.

“The Dragons had the wind in the first quarter and didn't capitalise with both sides kicking goals. Quarter time saw the Dubai Dragons 4 2 26 lead the BM Bulls 3 2 20.”

“The game turned our way during the second quarter - our five goals to one into the wind helped set up a very handy lead at half-time. Dubai Dragons 9 4 58 leading the BM Bulls 4 4 28.”

 

John McIntyre, president at the Glasgow Sharks in Scotland, is pretty proud of how his team is travelling in 2015. Apart from the usual match performances which tend to govern the day to day matters within a footy season, the club is also acutely aware that clubs cost money to run and that money doesn’t grow on trees.

 

The club’s venture, Bonus Ball Bingo, is doing just that – raising funds for the club. A recent article on the Sharks’ website details the idea.

 

 

Club President John McIntyre believes that Jacko’s Bonus Ball Bingo is only going to get bigger now and having raised a total of £1632, half going to the prize winner and half going to the club, in only 26 weeks John says that Adam has done a fantastic job and does a great job every year raising funds for the club through his tipping competition which has yet to start.

The West London Wildcats have won the inaugural AFL Europe Champions League tournament played in Amsterdam, claiming their place as the best Australian Rules football club across all of Europe.

 

Whilst it could be argued that with a shortened game time and just 10 European clubs in attendance a completely accurate story of which team is best is difficult. But the simple fact is that the Wildcats took on the best of the premiership winning teams across Europe from 2014 and won out on the day. With ten of the best teams across Europe in attendance, the Wildcats reigned supreme.

 

 

With the success of the day, and now a tournament that recognises the best club by title, it is hoped that the event can continue and grow bigger as clubs fight for the title of being Europe’s best.

The Dubai Dragons have won their third flag in four years today when they defeated the league's newest team, the BM Bulls, today in Dubai. In a match which would re-write the history books no matter what the result, it was the Dragons that made amends for their loss last year to the Doha Kangaroos by taking the 2014/15 flag.

The final score saw the Dubai Dragons 14 4 88 d BM Bulls 7 8 50.

This result in the ultimate decider brings to a fitting end an undefeated season for the Dubai Dragons. They took out the pre-season tournament back in October, also against the BM Bulls, going though undefeated, and backed that up with a perfect record in the home and away season before putting an exclamation mark on the season with their win in Dubai today.

World Footy News will have a match review in the near future.

The following is a story written by Charles Miranda in Amsterdam for News Corp. It details the decision made by AFL Europe to recognise Catalonia as a nation in the lead up to this weekend’s European Champions League tournament. The article appeared in today’s Herald Sun in Melbourne at: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/australian-football-league-recognises-spanish-region-catalonia-as-a-country-in-european-competition/story-fni5ezdm-1227269879164

 

In essence, the story follows the line that the AFL, through the efforts of AFL Europe, have given the region of Catalonia in Spain an independence not granted them through politics or societal influence. It marks a fascinating event where sport has had a direct hand in perceptions of nationhood.

 

AFL recognises Spanish Region Catalonia as a country in European Competition.

 

In the scheme of global politics it’s a pretty small thing.  

 

 

But the Australian Football League has done what three centuries of bloody wars and secessionist sentiment have failed to achieve and given nationhood status to the Spanish region of Catalonia.

The sounds of umpire’s whistles, half time sirens, advice from the crowd and parochial cheering are about to announce Australian Rules football to Amsterdam in a big, big way as the inaugural AFL Europe Champions League tournament takes place.

The draw has been released for the event which essentially divides the competing teams into two groups – Red and Black – which will compete in a round robin format to decide placings which will determine semi-finalists and other matches to decide final placings.

Teams in the Red Group are: Amsterdam Devils, Edinburgh Bloods, Solna Axemen, Zagreb Hawks and the West London Wildcats.

Black Group teams are: Malmo Redeyes, Toulouse Hawks, Rhineland Lions, Belfast Redbacks and the Manchester Mosquitoes.

 

With the 2014/15 NTFL season done and dusted there is some evidence coming through that the game in the Northern Territory, most particularly the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL)  is enjoying a strong and rapid growth. It is a long bow to draw to claim that the game is capturing a wider national audience, though there is evidence coming through which may support the idea.

 

A recent press release from the AFLNT noted that:

 

TIO NTFL Drawing Unprecedented Crowds in 2014-15 Season

The TIO NTFL attendance figures for the 2014/15 season are on record pace with more than 70,000 patrons through the gates since Round One in October 2014.

Analysis of the past five years reflects an increase of close to 12 per cent on the 2013/14 season attendance figures.

 

(Picture: Jubilant Wanderers players during NTFL Grand Final - source NT News)

Austrian Football in the form of the Styrian DownUnderDogs need you support.  They are taking part in the competition ' ING-DiBa Club Tausender' in Austria.

A total of 50,000 euros will be awarded to non-profit organizations nation-wide.  Every vote - counts as per category, the 10 clubs with the most votes receive 1,000 euros each for their club project.

Goto  https://www.ing-diba.at/vereinstausender/vereindetails?club_id=685.

 

The Sydney Swans have elevated one player to Bloods Legend status and welcomed two new faces to the Hall of Fame at tonight’s annual Guernsey Presentation and Hall of Fame Induction Dinner, presented by Volkswagen.

More than 650 guests attended the evening at Sydney’s The Star Event Centre.
 

Former Swans captain, coach, five-time best and fairest winner and the 1940 Brownlow medallist, J.Herbie Matthews, became the fifth player elevated to Bloods Legend status, joining Bob Pratt, Bob Skilton, Paul Kelly and Peter Bedford. He was among the inaugural inductees into the Swans Hall of Fame in 2009.
 

The following article from www.abc.net.au  looks at the recent Tiwi Islands grand-final played last weekend, but largely hidden by the larger NTFL grand finals. It is a fascinating account of both the game itself but also the people, heritage and culture that are as much a part of the game as the players themselves.

 

This is the first of two articles from ABC News which examine both the history and impact of the game on the people of the Tiwi Islands as well as looking at this year’s grand-final.

 

 

The Tiwi Islands – or by the native name Ratuati Irara (two islands) – are comprised of Bathurst and Melville Islands, 80 kilometres north of Darwin where the Arafura Sea meets the Timor Sea. It is also home to the NTFL team, the Tiwi Bombers.

 

(Picture: Bulldogs players receiving quarter-timee instructions)