World Footy News

 Thinking of playing footy in Australia ahead of the 2014 International Cup? West Brunswick Amateur Football Club trains and plays on the grounds that were used for most of the International Cup games in Melbourne in 2008 and 2011 (Western Oval, McAlister Oval and Ransford Ovals in Parkville).  And they are looking for IC14 players to join them.

This is the exciting story of the “Croatian Knights quest to build the first Aussie Rules field in Eastern Europe.” The Croatian Knights have started an information and sponsorship drive to try to make their dream a reality – a proper Australian Rules football ground of their own.

As stated in their prospectus brochure, “In 2013 an opportunity arose for the Association of Australian Football - Croatia to build the first Australian Rules football oval in Eastern Europe. For years our players dreamed of having locker rooms and being able to train and play on a flat grass field. For years we dreamed of kicking in front of real footy posts.”

Back at training in Melbourne after the Christmas and New Year break the Hawthorn squad looked primed to carry on 2014 the way they left 2013. Most of the squad had a tour of South Africa under their belt and their opponents might have hoped that the Hawks were showing some serious battle scars from their premiership campaign.

New recruits and draftees were out on show. International Rookie Kiwis Heatherley and Tatupu were on deck too - Kurt looking quick and skilled, Shem looking a bit underdone and reportedly not long out of a moon boot.

But Hawks fans out at the Ricoh centre were wondering who the slim red headed kid was?

Being a quiet time of the year for footy across the world, a good old-fashioned feel-good story can often plug the hole. The following story is of an event last year, but on reflection deserved to be told then. Instead, we will tell it now.

Mid-way through last year’s footy season, Elliott Takolu from the Salamanda Port Powers club in Lae, Papua New Guinea, put out a call on Facebook. He was seeking a set of football jumpers if any clubs had a set to spare.

Elliott contacted me direct as my club, Pyramid Power, had already established many links with clubs across the world through their Brother Club Project.

Last weekend’s victory by the Toulouse Hawks over the Bordeaux Bombers has completed the pre-Christmas/New Year part of the season as winter tightens its grip over Europe. The results so far this season, however, will ensure a very tight finish when footy resumes again in mid-February.

With Toulouse Hawks defeating the Bordeaux Bombers 84 to 43, and the Fire Sharks Montpellier upsetting the Cergy-Pontoise Coyotes 110 to 100, the top four has started to take shape.

With the commencement of 2014 many (but not all) Australian football clubs will be thinking of a new season and how they can best prepare, not just in terms of improving existing players but in terms of developing their club.

WFN has used this quiet period to formulate a questionaire for the benefit of all clubs and leagues.  From the replies we will attempt to identify effective means of developing football club growth.

In effect, we are asking clubs what they have and haven't tried in an attempt to widen support for their club and to rate their experiences.

A number of leagues have been approached and they have expressed interest in the results which will be open to everyone, and hopefully serve as a future reference. We hope all clubs around the world will share their experiences by following the link below.

There's no firm cut off date, but we hope to collate results by the end of January 2014.

World Footy Development Techniques Survey
 
 

The Flying Boomerangs were just too good for the NZ Hawks u16’s. This is no surprise as these indigenous Australians realistically will have been playing footy from not long after they could walk. Meanwhile many of the Kiwis will have been identified through talent spotting competitions like the Hawks Cup, with most players unlikely to have played more than twenty games ever. Over time, as the juniors come through in NZ the gap between the two sides is likely to become less, but right now the tour is best seen as a great experience for all involved!

The AFL Flying Boomerangs were formally welcomed to New Zealand with a powhiri (a welcome to country), held at Te Marae within the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum, which served as a fitting introduction to the indigenous Maori culture of New Zealand.

Playing with an exciting blend of skill and speed, the AFL Flying Boomerangs were simply too fast for the Hawks to keep pace. However, the Hawks earned respect through their dogged commitment throughout both games.

In a repeat of last year’s Grand Final the Magpies turned the tables on 2012 Premiers Mt Roskill Saints. In a tense match, where the lead fluctuated throughout, it was the Magpies who managed to hold their nerve and maintained a late lead, eventually running out to a 76-65 win at the Onepoto Domain.

Mt Roskill lead for much of the start of the match, going into the 1st quarter break with a 3.4:22 – 3.0:18 advantage. Waitakere hit back hard, controlling territory for much of the 2nd quarter to go into the half time break 4.6:30 – 6.4:40 up.

The Saints were by no means out of the contest though, putting together an almost perfect third quarter to retake the lead, and the momentum in the match. With the final quarter looming, they moved out to a 7.10:52 -7.4:46 lead.

 

Irishman Zach Tuohy has become an important defender for the Carlton Football Club usually taking on the small forwards such as Luke Breust, Dustin Martin and Lindsay Thomas. His long kicking is very useful from defence but also comes in handy when he can pick off the ball when zoning off around the team's attacking 50m arc and kick some very handy goals.

The video below shows off some highlights of his 2013 season.

In a recent announcement, St Kilda's New Zealand international scholarship holder Joe Baker-Thomas will relocate to Melbourne from his home town of Porirua City in Wellington in early 2014.

Since being signed with the Saints in April this year, the 17-year-old has been based in Wellington undertaking an AFL development program implemented by St Kilda, and supported by AFL New Zealand.
 
 “Joe has come a long way in a short space of time considering he wasn't even aware of the AFL 12 months ago.  He has progressed significantly with his football skills and we hope to build on this development through his training in the Saints Player Academy program in 2014,” said St Kilda Head of Football, Chris Pelchen.
  
 

Since the end of the 2013 season in Cairns, much has been going on behind the scenes to ensure the further growth of the game in far northern Queensland. The Green light has now been given to new teams for 2014 which will strengthen both the junior and senior ranks playing within the AFL Cairns competition.

At the beginning of 2013, AFL Cape York proudly opened the doors to its first intake of boarding students. These young men came to the new establishment – AFL Cape York House – to live and receive their education through nearby secondary schools. They came from as far afield as the Torres Strait Islands, Cape York Peninsula communities and many other places. Opened in May of this year, most of the boys played Australian Rules football with local clubs North Cairns Tigers and Pyramid Power.