World Footy News

Updates from Game 5 of the South Pacific Cup in Coffs Harbour courtesy of AFL South Pacific.
What another brilliant afternoon of Pacific football in Coffs Harbour! The rain was heavy and the toughness was even heavier. Oceania took on PNG in a fierce battle in the wet! PNG came away with the win but had to work very hard for it! The final score doesn’t pay justice to how competitive the game was. Katah Siwee again provided some highlights with another 3 hangers to his collection for the week!

The 2014 U/15 South Pacific Cup has been running across the weekend in sunny Coffs Harbour. With the Coca Cola PNG Binatangs entering as the reigning champs taking on the New Zealand Hawks and the combined Oceania squad (drawn from Nauru, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu and the Solomons).

Ed: As the Doha Kangaroos bask in the glory of the recent maiden premiership, the following Grand Final match review has been made available with the assistance of Matt Burn, president of the Dubai Dragons.

It was a hot day out at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai with no relieving wind at the ground. The match was played on the same pitch used for the Emirates Dubai Rugby Sevens and was in magnificent condition. A good crowd was in attendance with vocal supporters from both teams who stirred into the grandness of the occasion with the national anthem setting the scene for the day.

The opening quarter saw Doha start the strongest and looked switched on kicking the first 2 goals of the game. Just five minutes into the game Dragons lost their leading goal kicker Ryan Perkins with a fractured cheekbone from a big hit. However, the Dragons bounced back to take the lead, with utility Mark Browne making an impact. Just before quarter time another injury blow for the Dragons losing their captain Huwy Jones with a calf injury. At the first break the Dragons held the lead 25-21.

This week's international broadcast networks and airing times below.

Some good news for viewers in NZ with the Sommet Sports station that currently airs on free to air digital TV in New Zealand starting to also broadcast on Sky on the 14th April on channel 69 which should mean that 90% of New Zealanders should have access to 6 live AFL matches and three on delay each round.

The Tokyo Goannas held their season 2014 Launch on Sunday 6th April with an open training session (including Auskick drills for the kids) at Futkotamagawa riverside to kick the day off then back to the clubhouse at the Hobgoblin at Roppongi for a sausage sizzle and a Goannas Pint and Parma Special washed down with a beer.

Goannas merchandise was on sale and committee members collected player and social membership subscriptions during the day.

NZ  hosted their U16 National Championships. These Championships involve 3 teams of invited footballers held after the regional Hawks Cup competitions take place within the schools. By inviting a select number of students to attend it ensures that the best available talent can attend and that issues such as various regions lacking enough to field a team does not impact on whether an interested , and talented, footballer gets the opportunity to attend. The tournament involved the best Under 16 AFL athletes in New Zealand, and featured many players who have, or will go on to play for New Zealand.

The three teams, the Giants, the Suns and the Eagles, contested the Under 16 National Championships and itwas the Eagles who triumphed, led by strong performances from Te Kopa Tipene-Thomas, Carlos Donnell-Brown, Nathan Lenihan and Utusa’itoa Ah Kuoi.

The following press release from the AFLNT looks at the development of an exciting new footballing initiative for school aged players who wish to consider Australian Rules football as a personal development pathway. The Batchelor Area School is in the town of Batchelor located almost 100 kilometres south of Darwin.

NAB AFL Auskick Ambassador Shane Crawford, NT Thunder Head Coach Xavier Clarke along with Department of Education CEO Ken Davies, will today unveil the newest AFL Northern Territory's initiative at Batchelor Area School, announcing them as the first of many AFLNT Future Leaders Football Schools within the Northern Territory.

The Greater Western Sydney Giants have become the first AFL club to launch on Chinese social media.

 The Giants have created a club account on Weibo, one of the largest social networking sites in the world used by more than 500 million people.

The Giants have teamed up with the Shanghai-based Mailman Group which has created Weibo accounts for some of the biggest sporting clubs in the world including Liverpool and Manchester United.

This week's international broadcast networks and airing times below.

Some good news for viewers in NZ with the Sommet Sports station that currently airs on free to air digital TV in New Zealand starting to also broadcast on Sky on the 14th April on channel 69 which should mean that 90% of New Zealanders should have access to 6 live AFL matches and three on delay each round.

The Scottish city of Glasgow will again come alive on April to the sounds of umpires whistles, screaming crowds and calls of “Baaalll…!!” as the 2014 Haggis Cup celebrates its 10th year. The Glasgow Sharks will be hosting and organising the event, to be played at the GHA Rugby Football Club fields at Giffnock on the 12th of April.

This year’s event also boasts a distinctly international flavour in the men’s competition with English clubs the Huddersfield Rams and Tyne Tees Tigers being joined by French club, the Paris Cockerels to take on the three Scottish teams: the Glasgow Sharks, Kingdom Kangaroos and Edinburgh Bloods. The women’s teams will be confirmed and released shortly.

The following press release from the AFLNT details the Under 15 squad selections for the upcoming carnival in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales. As with previous seasons, many of these boys are just this step away from possible selection in the national indigenous team the Flying Boomerangs. The event will also feature teams from all other states and territories as well as the South Pacific Cup, this year featuring teams from New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the combined Oceania team selected from last year’s Oceania Cup in Fiji.

Thirty-six Territory boys will line up for the Northern Territory at the National Indigenous Kickstart Championships and the All Nations Carnival to be held simultaneously in Coffs Harbour, from April 11-16.

In a situation that might feel eerily similar to 1992 when the West Coast Eagles first removed the premiership cup from Victoria, the Doha Kangaroos have defied all odds and pinched the AFL Middle East flag. Not only does it represent the first premiership for the Doha Kangaroos, which in itself is a wonderful achievement, but it is the first time the premiership cup has left the United Arab Emirates.

The final scores saw the Doha Kangaroos 13. 5 (89) defeat the Dubai Dragons 8. 9 (57).

Going into the game, history was largely working in the Dragon’s favour. Recent wins against the Kangaroos, including last year’s grand-final, the emotion of a possible three peat for the Dragons and the Kangaroo’s own demons after losing last year meant that Doha would need to surmount enormous odds. And they did.