World Footy News

The 2014 AFL U/15 Oceania Youth Carnival got started on Monday with a Lightening Cup tournament held at Albert Park in Suva, Fiji. With national teams from host Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga and Nauru as well as a composite Pacific All Stars side – the tournament was well contested and a good warm up for the main tournament matches to follow.

AFL Pacific Development officer Ben Drew described the opening day as a terrific day of footy. Each side bringing something of their own to the games - "Tonga were tough, Vanuatu were slick, Fiji were silky, Nauru were skillful and the Pacific All Stars fought hard all day"

The following story from Jennifer Phelan at afl.com details the granting of funding to Richmond player, Bachar Houli, to allow his leadership academy for Islamic participants to develop and grow further. In keeping with the previous article looking at the Multicultural Community Programs initiated by the AFL, the Bachar Houli Program and Bachar Houli Leadership Academy represent further cultural advances as the AFL itself, and through individual initiatives such as these, which will continue the link between the game and the communities and cultural groups which embrace it.

 

Bachar Houli has received a $200,000 grant from the Australian government to help push the 'Bachar Houli Program' into western Sydney. This year, the program engaged more than 5000 participants from Islamic schools across the country.

 

In 2015, the national Bachar Houli Leadership Academy, based at Punt Road, will include 35 participants – up from 25 – and will further increase its encouragement and engagement with young Muslims aged between 14-17 across Australia. And, it will create another leadership academy in western Sydney, which will include a further 35 participants.

The Saints have returned with their Community Camp Camp to their 2nd home, and have met with supporters, local AFL players and schools.

Players and club staff visited Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, with a busy schedule in each location of coaching clinics and public appearances
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In Wellington, a highlight was the homecoming of Porirua teenager Joe Baker-Thomas, now an International Scholarship holder with the St Kilda Saints.

Joe Baker-Thomas brought some of his teammates to his former school Porirua College, where they trained and played with students at the school.
Other school visits covered the breadth of the Wellington region.

On Tuesday the players visited Amesbury School, Johnsonville School, Fraser Crescent School and Hutt Central School. On Wednesday they saw kids at Paremata School and Rangikura School, along with the Porirua College visit.

This year's NPC will be held in Wellington this weekend. With 4 teams competing- Auckland, Canterbury,Otago and Wellington it should be a great weekend of footy.

Auckland's team is dominated by the AAFL's Grand Final winning University Blues and their opponents, the Waitakere Magpies. It is a team that is chock full of International Cup experience and includes current Hawthorn international scholarship holder Siope Ngata and previous scholarship holder, Rhys Panui-Leith, They are defending champions and will be a formidable team.

Canterbury won the three previous titles and will be ready to reclaim their Cup. They too are a team chock full of experience internationally and will possibly be part of the title deciding game on Sunday afternoon.

Having this week received both a recommendation and invitation to become a Multicultural Ambassador, I thought it prudent to brush up on information about their role and the wider aims of the AFL’s Multicultural Program. Along the way it became clear that this concept, whilst no longer in its infancy, is still some way from its potential. It is entirely possible that the Multicultural Community Ambassadors could play a greater role in the wider uptake of the game internationally as well as here in Australia.

 

The AFL’s own website features pages which detail both the Multicultural Program in its entirety as well as a brief about the role of the ambassadors. It says:

 

“The aim of the Australia Post AFL Multicultural Community Ambassador Program is to further engage multicultural communities in Australian football through a network of dedicated volunteers. The ambassadors will connect AFL staff with their particular communities and promote AFL activities as a vehicle for engagement and inclusion. The program will also provide community leaders with an official platform to become involved in the introduction and coordination of AFL related programs in their communities as well as opportunities for professional development.”

 

 

The Australian Inaugural AFL Indigenous Woomeras Tour to New Zealand will depart from Melbourne for Auckland on Saturday, December 6.

Launched earlier this year at the National Youth Girls Championships in May, the Woomeras is a national Under-18 female Indigenous development program which immerses participants in an elite training environment with the aim of increasing football skills, personal development and leadership skills.

The squad of 21 will meet in Melbourne today for a two day training camp where they will be mentored by Hawthorn three-time Premiership star Shaun Burgoyne, before they depart internationally for the first time on a 10-day tour of New Zealand.

With the 2014 AFL Rookie Draft complete, the final list has a predicted yet pleasing smattering of international players. Most of these had already been announced by clubs earlier in the year when they nominated their international recruits or “B List” rookies.

But it places a full stop on these selections when they are seen formally listed on draft day.

The list was kicked off by the West Coast Eagles when they announced Irish recruit, Patrick Brophy, as their Pick 45. He was the first of five Irish players to make their way to club rookie lists in 2014.

Last weekend saw the long-awaited and much anticipated grand final rematch between last year’s AFL Middle East combatants, the Doha Kangaroos and the Dubai Dragons. A usual with these re-matches the reigning premiers would be keen to restamp their authority on the competition in a bid to set up a shot at back-to back titles. On the other hand, the vanquished from last season’s biggest day would be seeking their own shot at redemption.

 

 

The following is an extract from the Dubai Dragon’s club newsletter which gives an insight into one of the year’s biggest games for the Middle East competition. The big day started as a military style operation as a contingent of 35 Dragons (players and support) packed the plane to carry out their plans for a Doha heist. The club can take over the story…

 

 

Phil Manassa & Elaine Gilmore named Quebec’s best & fairest for 2014.

AFL Quebec’s night of nights saw Phil Manassa awarded the league’s top honor after a tightly contested points race which went down to the final round of voting. Going into the final regular season round Manassa held a one vote lead over Daniel Robinson, who had led the voting through the majority of the season, and Morgan Whyte, who had climbed the leader board late.

Despite Manassa’s West Island Wooders winning the final game of the season he polled only 3 votes leaving the door ajar for Whyte. However, Whyte’s Montreal Demons fell to the Laval Bombers courtesy of a 9 goal exhibition from Todd Rogers leaving Whyte in the runner-up position ahead of Robinson who missed the Wooders game through injury. Last years winner Bogdan Rotaru finished fourth while Rogers’ dominant final round display saw him pick up 5 votes to round out the top five despite missing the opening 3 rounds.

With the AFL Youth Oceania Cup just a week away - the Vanuatu Volcano's are set to re-appear with a full team. It's not cheap and not easy but each time a full squad is able to travel and represent their nation the pay off for the local game is huge with a new group of potential leaders - obviously the chance of making the Oceania and then South Pacific squads offers access to a talent pathway that leads to playing footy in Australia.

A fortnight back the Volcanos were raising funds running a car wash (at Wilco hardware). To help get them over the line - player sponsorships are available - anyone able to help can contact AFL Vanuatu via their facebook page or aflvanuatu@gmail.com.

The Volcano's began with a 35 member training squad training for several months before trimming to a 22 member squad. Training included a session with Sydney Swan Kurt Tippett and former Swan Nick Davis who were in town for a Melbourne Cup function. Read more here.

I went downstairs this morning to find my cricket bat. I wanted to join the legions of people honouring the passing of Phillip Hughes by putting it outside the front door of our house as a mark of respect to the young man. But I couldn’t find it. I guess at some point we had given it away and I’d forgotten. I cried a little. The only time I’d have picked the bat up for a truly worthwhile reason and it wasn’t there.

Instead I settled for my daughter’s Vigoro bat: a similar game for women with a bat that looks more like a paddle, yet can slice a ball through point with equal effectiveness. It might look odd, but it sits out front representing just as much respect.

Phillip Hughes was not bought up with Australian Rules football. His background was more with cricket and the rugby codes. But there is an inextricable link between cricket and Aussie Rules which goes back to the 1850’s when Aussie Rules was created as a way of keeping cricketers fit during their “off-season”. But apart from that, most sportspeople have an admiration, or at least respect, for all other sports. Elite level players of most sports recognise the levels of skill and commitment of players in other sports.

The following article appeared on the AFL Footywild (South Africa) website, contributed by Tom King at K-ROCK Football. It tells the fascinating story of the experiences of the Geelong based St Mary’s football team, a member of the Geelong Football League, and their recent experiences on a trip to South Africa to play footy.

The article clearly shows that whilst football is the vehicle by which these young players take their opportunity, it is the life experiences on their journeys which are most profound and often life-changing.

 

“(It’s) about getting the kids to a different environment and culture, and understanding how lucky they are to live in Australia.”