World Footy News

In this second article of the series which looks back at the recent tournament in France, the event organisers chat with Ben MacCormac (AFL Europe General Manager)  about the event from the point of view of AFL Europe. These answers were given by Ben to Alban Schieber and the event organisers, unless otherwise indicated.

 

Whilst the official draw for the 2014 AFL season is still a few days away at the time of writing this article, news has been confirmed that has warmed the hearts of followers throughout the Northern Territory. The first ever AFL match for premiership points will be played in Central Australian town of Alice Springs next season at TIO Traeger Park.

In an enormous coup for Northern Territory football scene, this historic match will feature two of the AFL’s redeveloping clubs clashing for premiership points. The Melbourne Demons will be tackling the Port Adelaide Power in the second of three matches scheduled for the Northern Territory in 2014. Melbourne’s opponent is yet to be confirmed for the pre-season match to be played, also at Traeger Park, but the other match will see the Demons up against the 2013 Grand Finalists, Fremantle Dockers, in Round 16 at TIO Stadium in Darwin.

Flying Boomerangs, a documentary on the Flying Boomerangs’ tour to South Africa earlier this year, will air on National Indigenous Television (NITV - a relatively new digital free to air station on Australian TV), Thursday, November 7 at 9pm.

The Flying Boomerangs is a personal development and leadership program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young men aged 14 -15 years-old, supported by the Coles AFL Indigenous Program.

NITV accompanied the Flying Boomerangs to South Africa in January this year where the squad of 25 played two matches against South African teams in Potchefstroom and Durban, coached by former St Kilda player Raphael Clarke.

This is the first in a series of questions and answers discussing the recent Euro Cup in France. The three articles will take a look at different aspects of the event.  Alban Schieber and Frederic Zohar worked tirelessly with their team to put together the event. In the afterglow of the event, here is their take on what the Euro Cup was, how it came together and how successful it was. These answers are provided by Alban Schieber, unless otherwise indicated.

I lined up in a forward pocket. I remember that. It was at the Houghton Road reserve in Clayton playing for “The Holes”. History says that the Clayton Football Club, who wore the Collingwood colours, and were officially known as the Magpies, has adopted this other name because a set of donated jumpers from Collingwood arrived, nibbled severely by moths, and the players ran out in jumpers full of holes. The name stuck. It became one of my first memories of footy. My journey had begun.

So, what about the forward pocket? Well my dad, the coach, didn’t usually trust me in the midfield, or presumably anywhere very close to the ball. The forward pocket was a safe enough place. I remember running about erratically hoping to get somewhere near the ball. To touch it would be something else.

The Austin Crows this afternoon won the 2013 USAFL National Championships defeating the Calgary Kookaburras in a Grand Final thriller by one point Austin 4.2 (26) to Calgary Kookaburras 4.1 (25). 

In the Division II final the Columbus Jackaroos 5.5 (35) to the LA Dragons 1.5 (11).

In the Division III final the Houston Lonestars 3.5 (23) defeated the Sacramento Suns 0.1 (1).

In the Dvision IV final the Cincinatti Dockers (Combined w Ohio Valley/Milwaukee Bombers) 8.4 (52) defeated the North Carolina Tigers 4.7 (31)

US Nationals Day 1 results.  Courtesy usafl.com

Day 1 of the 2013 USAFL National Tournament has drawn to a conclusion with a number of teams clearly set with their eyes on the finals. In Division 1 the Denver Bulldogs, Calgary Kangaroos, Austin Crows and New York Magpies have all finished day one with two wins each.

First up tomorrow, the Denver Bulldogs take on the Calgary Kangaroos at 9am and the Austin Crows and New York Magpies will take the field at 10am to decide who make it through to the final at 4pm.

The women's division is a little interesting this year with seven teams. Denver are on top of Pool A (made up of 3 teams), however Pool B (made up of 4 teams) currently has the San Francisco Iron Maidens and Minnesota Freeze Blue team on top with 2 wins each and they will play each other first up Sunday to earn direct pass to the final. The loser from the mornings match will still have a chance to make the final if they are able to knock off Denver in a crossover semi-final..

Adelaide based AFL club, the Port Adelaide Power, will embark on a 9 day trip to the United Arab Emirates as part of their pre-season training schedule for the 2014 campaign. The team will leave Australia on 24th November and return on the 4th December.

The trip will take the club to Dubai, where they will use the excellent facilities at the Dubai Sports Centre, which are considered to be amongst the best in the Middle East.

According to the Port Adelaide High Performance Manager, Darren Burgess, on the club website “the facilities at the Dubai Sports City are world class, so it’s a really good combination of a top line performance centre and hot conditions, plus a great chance for the boys to get away again.

We continue Lisa 'Kiwi' Roper's review of the recent tour by the Australian Under 16 girls team, the Breeze and their matches against the NZ girls team, the Kahus. 

Game 2 was a different affair. Both coaching panels deciding that two mixed teams would further the playing development of the Kahus and leadership of the Breeze. What should have been an even contest ended up with the team coached by both assistant Coaches winning by a large margin and the Head Coaches copping plenty, as the spirit between this Trans-Tasman contest was more of great friends than the usual rivalries across all sports.

The Australian team today defeated the combined Dublin colleges team at Parnell Park in Dublin. The final scoreline 62-23 not nearly as important to the Australians as the chance for a competitive hit out. Their opponents finding the going much tougher than last week when they played against the VAFA side.

In the cold conditions the Aussies were off to a slow start with the quarter time score Australia 23 - Dublin Combined Universities 11 but soon found their feet and showing their pace, and superior tackling managed to shut down the students and force numerous turnovers.

Ash McGrath looked comfortable as keeper and looks certain to have the job on Saturday night in Cavan.