World Footy News

The following story is a little late in arriving, but courtesy of AFL Footywild in South Africa we can now share their account of the recent visit late last year (2013) of the newly crowned AFL premiership team, Hawthorn. This follows on from a recent series of stories published by World Footy News concerning the School Sports Australia Under 15’s tour to the nation to play the South African Lions team. In coming weeks we will have further insights into the more recent developments of the game in South Africa.

AFL South Africa would like to thank the Hawthorn Football Club for their hospitality in allowing us into their sanctum for the day. It was an experience that will stay with the Lions players for many years to come, and motivate them to hopefully play AFL in Australia one day. We wish Hawthorn the best of luck for the rest of their stay in South Africa and for season 2014.

In a very special event for AFL South Africa, AFL Premiership team Hawthorn invited members of South African Lions players and umpires to visit them during their 12-day preseason training camp in Rustenburg, South Africa.

Article courtesy of Anthony Nolan of the Tyne Tees Tigers

The old saying that “Aussie Rules is a man’s game with no rules” was well and truly kicked over the boundary line by Newcastle based Aussie Rules team Tyne Tees Tigers ARFC when they held a taster session for women in the area at their Shieldfield training base.
 
A total of eighteen women fronted for the taster session, run by the club on Saturday. Ageing from 13 through to a few 30+ year olds (a women never reveals her age I’ve found!) and displaying skills that led one male player at the club to ask “Do the girls qualify to play in our team?”
 

Northern Territory football fans, and particularly the excited fans in Alice Springs, are gearing up for one of their biggest matches of the year when the Melbourne Demons take on the Geelong Cats at Traeger Park on Friday 28th February as part of the AFL’s NAB Cup pre-season competition.

A few days earlier, Townsville gets its moment in the sun when the Gold Coast Suns return to the city to take on the Brisbane Lions at Tony Ireland Stadium.  The North Queensland city, recipient of the effects of successive cyclones (Dylan and Edna) last week, will be looking forward to the excitement of big time AFL football again after successfully hosting the Suns v Kangaroos match last year.

The touring School Sport Australia Under 15’s team have completed their tour of South Africa earlier this week by whitewashing the series against the South Africa Lions. But, although the results might suggest three wins, the margins of 30 points in Game 1, 70 points in Game 2 and a 59 point result in Game 3 suggest three solid wins, but no blowouts. The South African team remained committed to their goal of making life as tough as possible for the visitors, and succeeded.

MATCH 3 RESULTS
24 JANUARY 2014- KHAYELITSHA CRICKET GROUND, CAPE TOWN

School Sport Australia 12.11.83 d South Africa Lions 3.6.24

The AFL will hold an AFL 9s skills session and game next Saturday (1 February) at the Midsumma Festival, Victoria’s annual arts and culture festival for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex (GLBTI) community.
 
In conjunction with Carlton player Brock McLean and Yarra Glen footballer Jason Ball, the AFL 9s session will give members of the GLBTI community a chance to try the AFL’s newest form of the game as part of the Midsumma Team Melbourne Sports Day.
 
AFL 9s is fast, free-flowing and involves nine players on each team playing on a smaller field with no tackling, making it suitable for everyone. It enables people of all ages and ability to participate in male, female or mixed competitions that fit around their busy lives and provide an environment where fun, enjoyment and safety are a priority.
 
The skills session and game are part of the AFL’s ongoing efforts to promote AFL 9s to new audiences as well as to further encourage diversity and inclusion in Australian football.
 

Advertising Feature

World Footy News welcomes aboard a new sponsor - Tribal Sport, headed by David Lake, International Cup coach of Papua New Guinea as well as QAFL club Morningside and previously coach of Mt Gravatt in the NEAFL.  Here Tribal Sport discusses their origins and a deal on offer to all countries competing at the 2014 AFL International Cup.

The brand Tribal Sport was built on serving the Sporting Communities of the Pacific -  Supporting the players, the volunteers and fans so that they too could send their message to competitors about their Pride, Heritage and Culture. The gear is made with all those things in mind as we attempt to accentuate the virtues of the participants from these regions.

As they have developed and supported the brand in the Pacific we have now taken our place in the Australian market as a key supplier to all the different sports AFL, Rugby, Netball, Cricket, etc.

As we continue to form key alliances in the Australian and South Pacific markets we look to strengthen our position as a key supplier in the supply of Sportswear to clubs/schools and corporates.

With the upcoming IC14 coming along in August this season we are looking to further expand our brand through Australian Football teams across the World. What better way than to offer starter deals so you can get your country's team looking its best. Click on the Tribal Sports banner link to view the deals we have put together for you. If you can’t see what you want please contact us on mytribe@tribalsport.com.au and tell us how we can best give you what you need for your country.

So far it's ‘welcome to the tribe’ Papua New Guinea and Tonga.

We look forward to making our brand at Tribal your vehicle to success at the upcoming IC14.
 

Contributed by Rod Shaw.

The Kiwis very nearly defeated the AIS AFL Academy in Wellington last Saturday.Though it is a game of mainly men (NZ Hawks) against boys (AIS) this aspect has not changed and therefore the performance of the Hawks shows evidence of significant progress on-field for the Kiwis.
 
With so many of the AIS players going on to be listed by AFL Clubs this annual game provides a clearly defined benchmark for quality development. The AIS AFL Academy is well known for producing top quality footballers. From the 30-man team that toured New Zealand in 2011, 29 now have contracts with AFL clubs.
 
 

The second of three matches for the School Sports Australia Under 15 team in South Africa was played on Tuesday at the Mohadin Cricket Ground in Potchefstroom. After the first game, won by the visiting School Sports Australia team by 30 points, the South Africa Lions would have taken heart from that scoreline. However, the visitors triumphed today by a far more comfortable 70 points.  

SCHOOL SPORT AUSTRALIA TOUR - MATCH 2 RESULTS
21 JANUARY 2014- POTCHEFSTROOM

School Sport Australia 16.9.105 d  South Africa Lions 5.5.35

The AFL's Kevin Sheehan spoke to Radio Sport in New Zealand ahead of yesterday's talent combine in Wellington, the audio can be heard below.

In great news for footy viewers in NZ the Australian Football League today to announced Sommet Sports and SKY Sport have renewed their international rights for the next three years.

New Zealand sports fans will be able to watch every AFL game in the 2014 Toyota AFL Premiership Season on either the Sommet Sports or SKY Sport channels.

Each week Sommet Sports will broadcast a minimum of five matches live and the remaining matches on delay. The rights include live broadcast of the Toyota AFL Finals Series matches (including the Grand Final) and a weekly highlights program that will air over 28 weeks (on holdback).

In an extraordinary display of international friendship, Cairns based junior club, Pyramid Power, have just gained their 100th international Brother Club.

 This week, the Port Adelaide Football Club, one of the 18 national teams in the AFL, agreed to become the 100th club to join the Pyramid Power Brother Club Project. This extraordinary gesture sees the tiny idea from a tiny club in North Queensland reach an unprecedented level of acknowledgement and acceptance from one of the biggest clubs in the world of Australian Rules football.

The Brother Clubs Project was commenced in 2012 when Pyramid Power sought to expand its supporter base through the use of social media and make genuine friends with Australian Football clubs all over the world. What started as a small group of clubs who commenced sending messages of support has now grown to include teams from almost 40 countries across the world. Many of these clubs jointly assist each other when needed as well as simply keeping in touch.

The New Zealand Hawks and the AIS AFL Academy will renew their annual competition at The Westpac Stadium in Wellington, on the 25th of January 2014. Entry into the stadium will be free.
 

The New Zealand Hawks last played the AIS AFL Academy in January 2013, in a match that finished with the Australians emerging with a hard fought win. This year the fixture promises to be equally as competitive. Though NZ do not have the Hawthorn Rookies Kurt Heatherley and Shem Tatupu, Melbourne’s International Scholarship holder Maia Westrupp nor AFL legend Wayne Schwass who made his debut for his country last year there is no doubt the team will be tough competition for the talented juniors at the AIS.
 

The squad will blend youth and experience, and feature New Zealanders based both around the country and in Australia. Contingents of players are currently training in Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, Otago, Melbourne, and the Northern Territory of Australia.