World Footy News

A battle royale looms in the Northern Territory Football League over the remaining two rounds of the 2014/15 season. With the “Call To Arms” round being played this weekend, Round 17, that just leaves this weekend and next for teams to jostle for positions for the finals.

Currently three teams – the Tiwi Bombers (4th), Palmerston Magpies (5th) and last year’s grand finalists Wanderers (6th) are each locked on 32 points. Only two of them can make the finals, and the cull starts today.

Perennial league leaders, St Mary’s, still hold top spot safely, three and a half games clear of any rival. Nightcliff and Southern Districts hold second and third spots, though both had a case of the wobbles last weekend. Nightcliff crashed badly, thrashed by Saints. Southern District made their job harder losing to bottom placed Waratah. They are probably safe though, a game clear of the pursuing three.

Reports came through last week that the Brisbane Lions’ vice-captain, Pearce Hanley, had injured himself and could miss up to 12 weeks. A visit to the surgeon, however, found that the hip cartilage damage was worse than originally thought and the star player would not return until about Round 14.

Hanley had been carrying the injury, but when it became too uncomfortable to bear it was decided to have a cartilage clean-up. This procedure unearthed additional damage that would require more comprehensive surgery than first thought.

The Brisbane Lions club and fans would be disappointed, especially as Hanley had been enjoying a “promising” pre-season in readiness for being a key part of the club’s 2015 assault on a hoped for finals berth.

The slow, glacial trickle of USA athletes to Australia continues with two more players headed to the VFL willing to try their luck with Port Melbourne for the 2015 season. “The Borough” will play host to Carl Winston and Torrey Harkness, both of whom have been described as “NFL/Olympic sprinter-calibre athletes” by their Los Angeles-based agent, Miro Gladovic, from AFS (American Footy Star).

 

[Carl Winston (L) and Torrey Harkness (R) playing for the Los Angeles Dragons – Herald Sun]

 

This news comes quickly on the heels of a recent story about New York magpie, Alex Aurrichio, who will play this season with Carlton’s VFL affiliate, the Northern Blues, and the recent transitions of Eric Wallace, Mason Cox and Jason Holmes. These three players, who have played VFL with North Ballarat, Collingwood and Sandringham respectively, have made the leap from diverse elite sporting backgrounds back in the USA to reach the penultimate tiers of the Australian national game.

 

 

Both Carl and Torrey are imposing athletes. The biggest difference with these lads is that most players to have come and tried our game have been from basketball backgrounds, but these two are both ex-college football players with bodies more readily adaptable to Australian Rules football – in theory.

Necessity is the mother of invention. So the saying goes. And there are times in the international world of Australian Rules football when that saying is very close to the mark. In the case of teachers trying to introduce the Australian game into every day can be a new invention to find ways to generate and maintain interest up against so many other options.

 

It is not that teachers do not have access to resources – a visit to the AFL website, or even a half decent scroll around google can unearth plenty of free documents, manuals, videos as well as a host of subscriptions for more.

 

 

But the isolation of a teacher who might be the only person for many miles trying to kick-start the game can be profound. In my own case I am lucky to have another keen teacher in the same school, but in past schools I have been a lone voice competing against rugby codes, soccer, basketball and more. And that’s here in Australia.

 

Below is a press release from the AFLNT which details their own Cancer Council’s Call To Arms round this weekend to highlight the impacts of cancer on all Australians - in this case the people of the Northern Territory.

 

According to the Cancer Council’s own website, “in 2006, despite a decision by the Australian Football League (AFL) to the contrary, Essendon Football Club players wore yellow armbands, in the inaugural Clash For Cancer match against Melbourne Football Club, to support team-mate Adam Ramanauskas who was undergoing intensive treatment for yet another cancer diagnosis.

 

The AFL fined Essendon $20,000 for wearing the armbands, and later agreed that the fine could be donated to Cancer Council, Essendon's preferred charity.

 

In 2007, the AFL agreed to allow yellow armbands to be incorporated into the sleeve of the Essendon jumper for subsequent Clash For Cancer matches.

Last week saw the 47th anniversary of the independence of Nauru. Formerly known as Pleasant Island, the Republic of Nauru is the smallest state in the South Pacific and by population is the 2nd smallest state in the world after the Vatican City. Nevertheless – and despite a windy and wet day – the national game (along with weightlifting) of Australian Football played a hotly contested North vs South Independence Day match.

The following report is from AFL South Pacific.

The winter break is nearly over for the CNFA competition in France with the annual Coupe Du Sud (effectively the Southern Cup or Cup of the South – or more exactly South Cup) to be held in Pau, home of the fledgling CNFA hopefuls, the Pau Bears. The tournament will be held at the Stade Asptt Rugby ground in Pau this Sunday, 7th February.

The history of the event can be traced from this translation of the description of the Football Australian (CNFA) website:

“Created in [the] winter [of] 2010 [by]the club Perpignan Tigers, this competition has established itself in the [CNFA]schedule to host the winter break. Indeed, despite the cold, some southern clubs had the opportunity to play and have easier access to ground through a milder climate than the so-called northern clubs.

The following is an extract from my own new book which explores the early days of Australian Rules football in the districts to the south of Cairns in North Queensland. It looks at the history of clubs such as the Babinda Magpies and the mighty Centrals Aloomba teams of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s through to their modern day incarnation, Pyramid Power.

 

Along the way the deeds of great local people such as the legendary Howard Kennedy from Woopen Creek, the tragedy of Des Trannore and many more are looked at within the fabric of the game’s development in the tropics.

 

From the centre circle at Power Park I look south towards the majesty of Walsh’s Pyramid, the small mountain that watches serenely over Gordonvale and the surrounding district.  It is the landmark from which our club, Pyramid Power, has taken its name and is a symbol for the club, most local schools and many local businesses.

 

 

Occasionally my reverie is diverted by the irritated squawk of a nearby plover, or the gentle grazing of a flock of ibis. 

New York Magpie, Alex Aurrichio, has been signed by Carlton’s VFL affiliate the Northern Blues for the 2015 season. The 198 centimetre former baseballer and soccer goalkeeper had come to Australia and trained with Collingwood as well as VFL clubs Coburg and Sandringham. But it was the blues that threw out the first concrete lifeline to give Alex a go.

Leaving his home, and his native club in New York last November, Aurrichio had held a dream to try his hand at reaching the highest levels of Australian Rules football in the heartlands of the game. His bold move has already paid handsome dividends, with the Northern Blues prepared to take the chance.

According to the http://www.afl.com.au website, Garry O’Sullivan, the General Manager of the Blues, stated that the club was prepared to play the waiting game and allow Aurrichio’s talents to grow and blossom. “"We all know that we've got a long way to go, however we're very hopeful that it will prove to be a fruitful project both for us and for Alex.”

There is an interesting argument swaying back and forth within the AFL concerning the fairness or otherwise of the various talent academies. The following link http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-01-26...tem-unfair describes the pros and cons of having them and whether their very existence undermines the integrity of the AFL national draft.

Of interest to those who look at the game on a more global scale is the idea of whether or not clubs will still be able to rookie international players at will and restriction free compared to indigenous talent in Australia. Will there come a day when AFL clubs will actually need to bid for players, or more dramatically use a high draft selection to obtain international players?

(Left: Isaac Heeney, Picture: Sydney Swans)

There will be some who see this as folly and a flawed way of looking at the issue. Many believe that the amount of, and impact of, international players will never reach that point, therefore it is a moot argument.

The second Fitzpatrick Cup for Australian Rules football playing university teams in England and Ireland takes place today at the University of Birmingham. The previous inaugural event was held in Dublin late in 2013. It was contested by the NRC Eagles from Northern Ireland, DCU from Dublin, the visiting Oxford University team and was won on the day by the UCC Bombers from Cork.

The second incarnation of the event will see the defending champions, UCC, and fellow Irish team the DCU, up against a larger field which includes the host team, University of Birmingham and the teams from both Oxford and Cambridge universities.

The event is fast becoming an important fixture in the calendar of university based teams, not just for the bragging rights that go with victory against other fellow teams, but for the experience that players can gain and the prestige and confidence that go with victory.

Cristiano Colizzi has played since 2009 for Roma Football Club in Italy, as well as handling media and a host of other things for AFL Italia. Also known as “Pint” (as in a pint of beer), he has provided World Footy News with a rundown of footy in Italy for the second of our “Through The Looking Glass” stories examining how footy has been going, and where to next for the game in countries and leagues across the world.

“As you remember AFL in Italy started in 2010 with four teams: Roma Football Club, Milano Footy Eagles, Genova Dockers and Lugano Bankers. Unfortunately in 2012 we lost Lugano Bankers (they quit playing AFL 9 per side) and in 2014 we also lost Genova Dockers who had just 5 or 6 players remaining.”

“So the Milano Footy Eagles acquired a few players from both Lugano and Genova. They have a great team for now! But the history says....not enough!”