World Footy News

Not unlike Smaug, the devilishly gold driven dragon from the J.R.R Tolkein novel, The Hobbit, the Dubai Dragons are becoming fiercely protective of their glittering jewels. Whilst other teams slog it out to challenge and steal the loot, not unlike so many dwarves and hobbits, it is the Dragons that, for now, sit above all others.

Undefeated so far this season, the Dubai Dragons have already qualified for their fourth consecutive AFL Middle East grand-final, and are a red-hot chance to make it three glittering trophies in four years – their only hiccup being the loss to the Doha Kangaroos last season.

Matt Burn, President of AFL Middle East, has given a brief rundown on where the 2014/15 season currently sits.

The weather was kind. Well it was not hot. Maybe just a little damp even, and about 20 degrees Celsius. The second session for the first graduates of American Footy Star ran out onto North Port Oval joining the Port Melbourne pre-season training.

The timing, curious. By now Port Melbourne pretty much have their lists finalised. But better late than never.

Both former college athletes Charles Winston III and Torrey Harkness could have made it to the big time of American sports. But that was not to be. These two were found by Miro Gladovic in his campaign to convert and American to a footy star. Has he done it? Not yet*.

Despite the enormous efforts of the AFL Middle east and the Oman based  Clann na hOman GAA and Muscat Magpies AFL, the team has announced it will not formally continue the current season. In a blow to the Middle East competition, the Magpies will bow out and work towards a stronger club for next season and beyond.

 

The president of AFL Middle East, Matt Burn, released the following statement:

 

 

Unfortunately the Muscat Magpies have withdrawn from the 2014/15 season. The Magpies have struggled for numbers since the beginning of the season and sadly the situation has only become worse over the year.

Footy is back. Well in the pre-season NAB Challenge format at least. The NAB Challenge will be officially launched today and will see the first match played on Thursday night (Melbourne time) at Aurora Stadium in Launceston where powerhouse Collingwood will take on reigning AFL Premiers Hawthorn.

We bring you the international broadcast schedule (below). Notably missing is NZ coverage. Free to air digital channel Sommet Sports http://sommetsports.co.nz/ that provided possibly the best free to air coverage of AFL football in the world in 2014 has collapsed financially. It seems that funds promised to the network did not come through and they have ceased broadcasting late in 2014. At the moment they are following some expressions of interest to revive their service, but at this stage that would likely be a streaming service if they are to return at all (and no guarantee they will have AFL rights).  It looks at this stage that there will be one match per week broadcast on Sky as in previous seasons for NZ unless further deals can be done.

At a time where the full impact of the ASADA investigation into the “Essendon 34” for alleged use of banned peptides is yet to reach a conclusion, news from the neighbouring world of Rugby League regarding the supply and trafficking of Cocaine to other players and members of the public has further hammered the image of the game.

Front and centre in this latest Rugby League furore is former Gold Coast Suns AFL footballer, Karmichael Hunt. Along with lesser known Gold Coast Titans players, and separate investigations into past great players, a new cloud has fallen over professional Australian team football codes, which is sure to have further implications as the net of investigation gets cast wider.

Most disturbing for Australian Rules football are the charges laid against former AFL footballer, Hunt, whose legacy as a code-hopper made a wonderful story of possibility for future generations. With the formation of the Gold Coast Suns, Hunt signed on with the fledgling club in 2009 for a seven figure sum to become a poster boy for the new entity. After becoming a start Rugby League player for the Brisbane Broncos, playing State Of Origin football for Queensland and being selected to play for the Australian Kangaroos, Hunt sought a different direction.

(Picture: Karmichael Hunt's match winning goal after the siren against Richmond in Cairns, 2012)

Our thoughts are with the communities of the Northern Territory, particularly those on the northern coast and islands adjacent to Arnhem Land. The dangerous tropical storm is expected to hit those remote communities overnight.

Amongst those communities to be affected are Maningrida, Gapuwiyak and Nhulunbuy on the mainland coast and also Galiwinku on Elcho Island. Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria is also in the warning zone. All communities are lovers of Australian Rules football with very strong following of the game across the entire region.

In recent times Kevin Sheedy has visited Galiwinku and other remote communities as have players from many AFL teams to help grow and promote the game further. A major footy carnival is held within the region once a year which brings most of these settlements together.

(Left: Footy on the beach - Courtesy Maningrida Footy)

The following article featured in Scotland’s Daily Record newspaper after initially being written for the Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser. It looks at a new dream for some young Scottish converts to Australian Rules football.

 

Danel Mossie discovered Australian Rules Football when he was channel-hopping one night.

 

Now he is dreaming of representing Scotland in the sport.

 

The 21-year-old from Sunnyside watched an AFL match when he couldn’t get to sleep.

 

And after being impressed with the no-holds barred physical sport, he decided to see if there was a chance of playing it. 

 

(From Left: Daniel Mossey, Kyle Christie, Jack Tuffley, Ryan McGuigan)

The final round of the NTFL home and away season today decide the 2014/15 finalists, but also left question marks hanging over the longevity of some of those teams contesting.

After the Round 18 matches completed today, St Mary’s found themselves four and a half games clear on top of the ladder – miles ahead of their nearest rivals, Southern District. Their emphatic 107 point win over fellow finals aspirants, Tiwi Bombers, further confirmed their premiership status in their quest for a three peat effort. For the Tiwi Bombers, they will need to regroup very quickly before their elimination final next week against Wanderers.

St Marys 20 20 140 d Tiwi Bombers 5 3 33

Wanderers, last year’s grand finalists, defied the pundits after two consecutive losses to beat Palmerston and snare fifth place. They will now take on Tiwi in the Elimination Final with a momentum they had lost but is now reignited at the right time. For Palmerston, their campaign came to a crushing end after having stayed in the finals race until the final round.

The release of the new playing fixture for the 2015 season in Germany contains some very welcome and pleasing additions to the roster – both an extension on 2014 and an expansion across the league which highlights the game’s growth in the country.

The league welcomes the Dresden Wolves and the Ludwigsburg Taipans for their first seasons in the new national format. After a season spent on “the bench”, the Frankfurt Redbacks also return to the fold.

The new season will feature two halves. An eight round draw from April to June will feature a nationwide AFL 9’s competition. Whilst this is a drop in on-field player numbers, it also ensures that thee competition will extend to 10 viable teams. Hamburg Dockers and the Rheinland Lions will enter two teams each, whilst Munich Kangaroos, Berlin Crocs and Stuttgart Emus will be joined by the new teams from Dresden, Ludwigsburg and the returning Frankfurt Redbacks.

USAFL Club the Portland Steelheads are currently in an online battle for the title of Portland’s Best Sports Logo in Portland (Oregon). 

The competition has come down to the final four and the Steelheads Logo is going strong even knocking off the Timbers MLS soccer team.

They are now up against Pacific University Boxers rugby team and trailing by 200 votes.  So support an Aussie rules team (with a great logo) and help to raise their profile in the city that once hosted a post season match between Melbourne and West Coast (attendance 14,787).

Here is a link to the vote: http://www.portlandsports.com/portland/final-four-portlands-best-sports-logo/

Linda Dessau was yesterday named as Victoria's new Governor. For those outside Australia the Victorian Governor is the representative of Queen Elizabeth II (Australia's head of state) in the state of Victoria. The position is largely ceremonial with the day to day running of the state by the elected Premier and his/her government.

In footy circles Linda (pictured far left with fellow Commisioners at IC14 Women's Grand Final) is best known as one of the current AFL Commissioners. From an international footy perspective Linda has been a visible presence at IC11 and IC14 matches and official functions. Linda also contributed financially to the St Alban's Spurs playing tour to the US in 2014. The support of individuals on the AFL Commission no doubt shapes the resources and attention given to the game outside Australia, so it disappointing from that point of view to lose her.

AFL Commission Chairman Mike Fitzpatrick today said the appointment of Commissioner Linda Dessau as Governor-elect of Victoria recognises her outstanding contribution to the community in various roles, including her legal career, and was a great honour for the wider football community.

The following article written by Claire Shapland for the AFL England website details the changes occurring within the structure of the GB [Great Britain] Bulldogs team. With an exciting future coming over the next few seasons, opportunities exist for positions that are either vacant or advertised.

 

Anybody interested, either in Europe or even from Australia, who may wish to take on these roles, can contact AFL England on the contacts at the end of this story. This would be an exciting opportunity to be at the forefront of the game in England and across Great Britain.

 

With the departure of Mark Pitura, GB Bulldogs are seeking a new Head Coach alongside various other voluntary positions on the organising committee.

 

 

With the expansion of the Women’s game in the UK, a ladies team at the International Cup 2017 is a very real possibility so the Bulldogs Management team needs to be expanded and strengthened. The following positions are out to application: