World Footy News

It's pleasing to be able to report that former AFL Commissioner and football visionary Colin Carter continues to push the international cause despite moving back to "clubland" as Geelong Cats President.

Carter was instrumental in the emergence of the Australian Football League, with his 1985 Blue Book laying the path to a national competition, which along with the 2001 Carter Report into game development provide most of the pillars on which the League is based.  Unfortunately his push for international development and in particular a bigger South African investment has not swayed the AFL Commission sufficiently to invest large enough sums to make the dreams a reality.  AFL South Africa does continue to grow, as does international footy, but the trajectory right now suggests none of us will live to see semi-pro leagues outside of Australia or an international side ever competitive against an All-Australian side.

So it's good that Carter, a very accomplished individual outside football as well, is still advocating for an acceleration in investment.  Most involved in international football know the AFL commitment has grown overall over the last decade, but it ebbs and flows, it changes direction, it focuses on talent identification and development and on sustainability (a worthy goal) but it never really quite invests enough in any one spot for critical mass to see a true explosion.

The NAB Challenge will move into week two Thursday night (Perth time) at Fremantle Oval in Western Australia where Fremantle will host Melbourne.

We bring you the international broadcast schedule (below).  GWS vs Suns and Port Adelaide vs West Coast will not be telecast internationally on the television networks. 

The AFL this week announced that Australia Plus has assumed the rights to broadcast matches in the Asia/Pacific region from Australia Network.  The announcement follows and appears to be a broadening of the audience.  We would like to hear from our Asia/Pacific readers how this is likely to affect them by posting a comment below.

Under the new arrangement that covers key markets across the Asia/Pacific region, Australia Plus will broadcast six matches per week during the Toyota AFL Premiership season, along with all matches in the Toyota AFL Finals Series. It will also broadcast a weekly highlights program across 28 weeks.

The following article written by Jon Ralph at the Herald Sun looks at the possibility of a new national AFL competition for women as early as 2017. The extraordinary rise in numbers for the women’s game nationally certainly warrants an extension of existing pathways for women to follow.

 

Here in Cairns I have had the pleasure of coaching some tremendously talented young women. Some have continued with existing pathways and opportunities, whilst others have sadly left the game. To have the ability to aspire to a national level will see more women remain in the game and pursue a broader dream.

 

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan has set in train ambitious plans for a national women’s football competition as early as 2017.

 

Women’s football is taking off in Victoria, with 52 senior women’s teams in seven divisions and plans for massive expansion in coming years.

The NAB Challenge for 2015 has been in swing for a few days now. First cab off the rank was Collingwood defeating Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania. Friday night saw the West Coast Eagles dispose of Carlton at Mandurah, south of Perth. The Saturday games saw the Brisbane Lions just hold on against St Kilda at Burpengary, a northern suburb of Brisbane whilst at the old Whitten Oval in Footscray the modern day Western Bulldogs comfortably accounted for Richmond.

But today was the second biggest AFL day in North Queensland when Townsville hosted their own NAB Challenge match at Tony Ireland Stadium. In a fixture that has now been in place for three years, the largest city north of Brisbane once again came alive to the sounds of sirens, cheering, trampled hot chips and umpire whistles.

In front of a crowd well over 4000 people, and on a hot day with 32 degrees and light winds, it was an undermanned Gold Coast Suns that got the biscuits, downing the Geelong Cats by 8 points in the end. Two late goals from Cat recruit, Mitch Clark, just made the score more respectable, but it was the Suns’ day.

Late last year the AFL Middle East competition welcomed a new team to the league with the BM Bulls becoming the third Dubai based team and a sixth team for the league. Whilst people may have dreamed of great things at the time, most felt the Bulls might need a season or two to get their rhythm and challenge for a flag.

The pre-season competition was played back in October and to the surprise of many the Bulls reached the grand-final against the Dubai Dragons. Beginners luck? Getting ahead of themselves? Playing above their station? Maybe, maybe not.

But this weekend’s final competitive round of matches saw the BM Bulls take on the in-form Dubai Dingoes for a small chance of grabbing a grand final berth. The Bulls not only needed to win, but had to make up a big percentage to do so. But, that is exactly what they managed to do in their debut season.

The following article in the Herald Sun features the decision by the St Kilda AFL club to select their USA recruit, Jason Holmes, in their NAB Challenge teams this pre-season. Holmes, who has served an apprentice ship with the Sandringham VFL club, hopes to be the first player born and bred in the USA to play a senior AFL game.

 

FORMER college basketballer Jason Holmes has taken another step closer to becoming the first American convert to play AFL football with his inclusion in St Kilda’s NAB Challenge squad.

 

Holmes, drafted by the Saints as an international rookie 14 months ago, is one of two ruckmen in the squad to play Brisbane on Saturday.

 

 

Sandringham coach Paul Hudson, who has worked extensively with Holmes in his role as the Saints’ development coach, said his selection “typifies how far he’s come over the past year’’.

For Sam Michael, a former Cairns junior, the current misfortune at Essendon in the wake of the suspension of players under ASADA investigation for the NAB Challenge might be a lifeline. The situation has offered Sam a chance to be a “top-up player” for the Bombers, and if he makes the most of the chance, Sam might find his way back onto an AFL list.

Sam recently told http://www.afl.com.au that “I've still got aspirations of playing at the highest level so it's the perfect opportunity for me and [I'm] grateful that Essendon came to me and offered it.” He went on to add that if his services were needed beyond the NAB Challenge he would be happy to play for the Bombers.

In recent years the Far North Queensland city has had its own small production line of AFL players. Back in the late 1970’s future Essendon premiership star Leon Baker played in Cairns, though not a born and raised northerner at the time. Former Brisbane Lion, Troy Clarke, who sadly passed away in 2013, was another who played in Cairns. Both won Crathern Medals, the local equivalent of the Brownlow.

(Picture: Sam Michael in his Brisbane Lions days - now Essendon bound, briefly)

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.