World Footy News

The USAFL has released the pools for the men's 2013 National Championship Divisions. Division 1 has no reigning champion as the Dallas Magpies who won the 2012 title and were subsequently stripped of the title have been suspended from competition at the National Championships this season. Canadian team the Calgary Kookaburras will again compete in Division 1 at this year's US Nationals.

Pools are:

The England Dragonslayers have sent out their official review of their successful Axios 2013 Euro Cup campaign, with the following article and photos courtesy of coach Rob Fielder.

A new USAFL advertisement will screen during the US coverage of the 2013 AFL Grand Final today. You can catch the video below.

 The Australian Banking corporation NAB will today provide commentary of the 2013 AFL Grand Final live on "Footify FM" in 10 languages.  This can be heard at the website link - http://listen.footifyfm.com/ from 2.15pm Melbourne time today.

The broadcast languages are Arabic, Croatian, French, Japanese, Madarin, Spanish, German, Greek, Punjabi and Turkish on 10 seperate streams.

A cool, windy morning with a few showers greets us on this Saturday in Melbourne. Just hours before the kickoff to the 2013 AFL Grand Final being contested between Hawthorn and Fremantle, we have been told that many around the world will not be seeing the pre-match coverage to this year's game. You may miss the return of Mike Brady performing today so we present to you the video from 1979 - "Up there Cazaly" to get you in the mood.

Michelle Cowan has today been named the 2013 Football Woman of the Year at the annual Grand Final Comedy Debate at Crown Palladium.

At least 5 AFL clubs are reportedly interested in some international talent arriving in Melbourne, with American pair Jason Holmes and Mark Cisco, and Irishman Daniel Flynn being invited to train under the clubs' eyes before taking part in next week's NAB AFL Draft Combine.

The two Americans were first flagged as potential AFL players at the combine held in Los Angeles in April. They are both looking at key position or ruck roles, with Holmes standing 203cm, and Cisco at 207cm.

Young Irishman Flynn is being groomed as a running defender as the 19-year-old has explosive pace and power. He played for the European Legion against the AIS-AFL Academy team in Surrey in April.

More at Clubs looking closely at International Talent on the AFL website.

Triple Brownlow Medallist Haydn Bunton Snr has been named captain of the ACT and Southern NSW Team of the Century.

The brand new AFLNT season will kick off in just two weeks time on 5th October. After last year’s Premier League was won by St Mary’s over the Tiwi Bombers, it is now a case of slates wiped clean as all teams have the chance to seek their new season destinies. The following article from the AFLNT gives a run down on the new season, including highlights for season 2013/14.

The traditional Grand Final replay [betweeen St Mary's and Tiwi Bombers] will feature in Round 1 of the TIO NTFL Premier League after the draw was officially released by AFL Northern Territory today.

"Following consultation with all the NTFL clubs and key stakeholders we believe we have a well- balanced draw which caters for everyone’s needs," advised AFLNT Football Operations Manager Darryl Griffiths.

The Hamburg Dockers have broken through for their first premiership in their 10-year history in the Australian Football League Germany, defeating the Rheinland Lions 9.14 (68) to 7.13 (55).

The Hamburgers have more than just the nickname in common with AFL club Fremantle - the 2013 season seeing the first-ever Grand Final appearance for both the German and Aussie Dockers.

The Fremantle FC are a sister club to the Hamburg Dockers, having supplied them with equipment such as jumpers and balls when the side was originally set up. They also rated a mention in the media Down Under this week via this article, as their captain Casey Woodward hails from the Western Australian town of Bunbury.

With Freo being one of the AFL clubs who have been most proactive in supporting international clubs, we reckon there might be more than a few fans around the world getting in on the Purple Haze action this weekend and seeing if they can replicate the success of their German allies.

The AFL is pleased to announce that Gold Coast Suns ruckman Zac Smith was tonight awarded the Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award established by the AFL and The Reach Foundation in honour of the former Melbourne Football Club President and champion player.