World Footy News

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:

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.