World Footy News

The Greater Western Sydney GIANTS today announced the appointment of former Australian Test cricketer Simon Katich as Player Development Coordinator.

Katich will deliver a range of programs and initiatives to provide on and off field leadership and mentoring to the club’s leadership and playing group.

As Player Development Coordinator he will work closely with Head Coach Leon Cameron, General Manager Football Graeme Allan and Slater & Gordon GIANTS Academy Coach Mark McVeigh.

Jason Lassey of Bigfooty Media interviews AFL Canada's Bruce Parker about the how the game is played in Canada.

In signs of footy in Europe taking the next step beyond its more casual beginnings, four locals have recently gained their Level 1 Umpiring Accreditation.

Shane Hill, AFL Europe Umpire Co-ordinator assessed the umpires over three separate matches and gave the umpires the tick of approval. Ian Kafka (England), John Enright (Ireland), Josh Davey (Wales) and Nilss Lode (Germany) all have vastly different journeys to umpiring and earning their accreditation.

John Enright and Josh Davey's names will be familiar to many readers in their playing capacity, with Enright having represented Ireland and Davey playing for Wales and the Great Britain Bulldogs. Ian Kafka is the current Universities Coordinator for AFL England and is presently in full time eductation. He has been instrumental in growing the game at university level with the UK. Nilss Lode from the Munich Kangaroos this year umpired matches at the both the Euro Cup in Bordeaux and European Championships in Dublin, being awarded the Golden Whistle in Bordeaux.

For more, read European Umps Gain Level 1 Accreditation.

AFL PNG has been a top two finish in each of the 4 AFL International Cup tournaments to date and will look in 2014 to repeat their success of 2008 when they took out the big one at the MCG.

The following is a media release from AFL PNG announcing their initial IC14 squad.

AFL PNG has named an initial 42 man squad for the 2014 International Cup to be held in Melbourne in August next year. These selections have been based on performances by the emerging Mosquitoes in Lae in September, BSP Cup form, Australian form and past national performances. Injuries have also been considered.

The squad can and will be added to and deleted at any time.

There is something truly ominous brewing in the Middle East. Whilst the new 2013/14 season is only three games old, with Round 2 completed last week, it is the Dubai Dragons who are out of the blocks like a veritable Speedy Gonzales inviting all other teams to catch them if they are to be stopped from winning three flags in succession.

Granted, there is a long way to go. This year’s format for the AFL Middle east draw sees eight rounds, with each team playing six matches. There is plenty of time for some teams to fall away, others to come alive or upsets to occur. But therein lays one of the pointers to the season. Of the three games played, the Dragons have played two of them…for two wins.

With comfortable wins by 58 points against the Muscat Magpies and 51 points against the Abu Dhabi Falcons, the Dragons have two wins already from their 6 matches. They also play these two teams again of their remaining four. Statistically, it will already be difficult to peg them back.

But not impossible.

In the following press release from the Melbourne Football Club, and released jointly by the AFLNT, the strengthening of the ties between the two in 2014 are detailed. Combined with the matches in Cairns and Townsville, northern and central Australia are playing a greater part in hosting and showcasing the AFL and the game of Australian Rules football.

The Melbourne Football Club is pleased to announce that it has extended its partnership with ‘Tourism NT’.

As part of the agreement, Melbourne will play three games in the Northern Territory next season and will have the ‘Tourism NT’ branding appear on the Club’s playing shorts.

Melbourne’s three games in the Northern Territory will see the Club play the first AFL match for premiership points in Alice Springs, the now traditional game in Darwin for the fifth consecutive year, as well as a NAB Cup game in Alice Springs in February.

‘Tourism NT’ is the promotional and development agency of the Northern Territory Government. The Club has had an ongoing relationship with the Top End dating back to 2010, when the Club first played a home game in Darwin. Melbourne’s partnership with ‘Tourism NT’ was elevated at the start of 2013 when it became a commercial partner of the Club, and this agreement will see it remain at Melbourne until at least the end of 2014.

It has been almost a year since World Footy News posted an article about the journey of four young indigenous footballers from Cairns and Torres Strait and their respective pathways to Australian Rules football (see From Paradise To The Pinnacle Of Success).

Since that time, Josh, Nathaniel, Henry and Leo have travelled further along their paths. Some have enjoyed success, changed clubs, done it tough or developed other parts of their lives. But no matter what, their eyes are firmly fixed on the path being blazed by another of their friends…one with a name that already stands out, and may soon have a playing resume to match: Didymus Blanket.

At a recent combine screening day at St Andrew’s College in Cairns I was able to arrange for an interview with Didymus as he sets his compass towards the possibility of selection at the AFL National Draft in 2015.

Didymus is a humble young man, but he certainly has a drive and direction that could be the prototype for other Torres Strait islander kids, and other indigenous players from Cairns to Cape York, to follow.

Bigfooty Media's Jason Lassey interviewed AFL Fiji's secretary Robert Wolfgramm - this time no audio is available.

Australian Footy in Fiji traces its roots back to 2004, and a former Fiji Police Commissioner, Andrew Hughes, an Australian who had played some amateur football in Australia and was keen to grow the game in Fiji. At a meeting in mid 2004, Hughes called a meeting of interested Police officers with the intent of using the Force as the basis for developing a local football competition. According to the Police Public Relations Officer at the time, Mesake Koroi , ‘many top rugby players joined in and it started off well, but there was no one except Hughes to run the programme, so it was hard because, of course, he had other police work to attend to’.

In 2005, Robert Wolfgramm (formerly of Melbourne University) of the Fiji Daily Post met with Hughes to express his interest in Australian Football and his desire to help by giving the sport publicity through the newspaper. However, the Fiji Football Association would wind up at the end of that year due to lack of resources and direction without formally setting up a league.

2011 Northern Lights player Renee Tong has come one step closer to realising her ambition of playing for her country again at IC14 after winning Canadian wellbeing and supplements company Genuine Health’s $10,000 prize for having the most votes in support of her athletic dream.

Tong’s goal was to use the money towards the flight, accommodation and training costs necessary to compete at the next International Cup. Over 20,000 people voted for her in a tight run but controversial competition, where closest rival, barrel racing fan Marissa Zwicker, was disqualified for cheating when it was revealed her sister was allegedly visiting “pay for votes” Facebook groups and defaming Tong’s character on various chat forums. 

Bigfooty Media's Jason Lassey interviews Thomas Urban and Alan Schieber from French footy's CNFA. You can read more about this interview here.

LEFT: Karmichael Hunt kicks the Suns' match-winner after the siren against Richmond in Cairns in 2013

North Queenslanders have breathed a collective sigh of relief after the official release of the AFL draw for the 2014 season. After farewelling Richmond back in July it was unclear as to whether or not the region would host another AFL game. But, thankfully, these fears are now allayed.

Both Cairns and Townsville will be hosting matches next year, with an NAB Challenge match to be played at Tony Ireland Stadium in Thuringowa and a premiership match at the home of football in Far North Queensland, Cazalys Stadium.

With the revised format for the NAB Challenge, 18 matches will be played over 18 consecutive days in all parts of the country. On Sunday 23rd February the two Queensland teams, Gold Coast Suns and Brisbane Lions, will play a state derby at the home of football in Townsville. The stadium is still in the process or organising AFL standard lighting for night or twilight matches, so the game will commence at 3.40pm to be played in full with sufficient light and also be slightly cooler playing conditions.

Bigfooty Media's Jason Lassey interviews the Ontario Australian Football Leauge's Director of Development, Morgan King. You can read more about this interview here.