World Footy News

 

The international broadcast schedule for the AFL Round 7 can be seen below. All times are correct at the time of publishing and WFN takes no responsibility for changes to the schedule.

The failure to launch as scheduled by Sommet Sports has been a lowlight of the AFL's recent efforts to promote the code via free to air TV in NZ. We are hopeful that the launch may come soon - the latest comment on Sommet Sports Facebook page is that "we are still waiting for a third party to come back to us and therefore we do not have any further update regarding our up coming launch. We will update you as soon as we have further information."

The Tiwi Islands off the coast of Darwin in the Northern Territory are famed for the Tiwi Bombers Football Club, whose number includes many first rate Indigenous players. However it is not just the men who are skilled with the football, as the Tiwi Bombers have long had a Youth Girls side to develop the female talent too. On the back of this, two of the Tiwi Islands female players, Gladys Puruntatameri and J-Lee Puautjimi, have been “loaned” to Melbourne’s Diamond Creek Football Club, in the southern state of Victoria, to train and play in Australia’s top women’s football league: the VWFL.

This unusual player transfer is part of the Tapalinga (Shining Star) Award, a leadership program created by Diamond Creek WFC and the Northern Territory based Starwin Management. As well as being allowed to play in the VWFL for up to five games this season, the award also includes three visits to Melbourne. The first excursion was from April 4-15 and included playing two games of football for the Creekers, visits to three AFL clubs, tickets to an AFL match and entry into a Melbourne International Comedy Festival show.

Ruby Leete is a well known name in women’s football in the north of Queensland. The Papua New Guinea born star grew up in Port Moresby and moved to Australia in 1996. Once settled in her new home of Cairns, she soon picked up the Aussie sports bug, first playing tennis, then netball, then rugby league. However it was only in 2009 after someone at her rugby club invited her to have a go that she got hooked on AFL.

Leete learnt her trade under premiership winning team North Cairns Tigers, and supported by her netballer’s jump and firm hands, the club continued to dominate week after week in the growing Cairns league. However, after playing for the Tigers for two seasons, Leete eventually decided to switch to her current team, South Cairns Cutters.

Zach Tuohy and Marty Clarke continue to be solid weekly contributors in Carlton and Collingwood's AFL teams. Pearce Hanley returns from injury this week for Brisbane, Niall McKeever played two weeks ago for them but won't be in the senior side this week. Setanta o'hAilpin is sidelined with injury this week after kicking eight goals in the past two games at GWS while across at the Swans Tommy Walsh has been named on an extened bench and will be hopeful of his first senior match for 2013.

But another Irish youth (albeit Australian raised) will debut for the GWS this week. Eighteen year-old defender Aidan Corr will make his AFL debut against Essendon at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

The GWS Giants have released the following official interview with European scholarship player Aksel Bang from Denmark, including some talk about his time in the Danish military in Afghanistan and footy in Europe. Aksel will play for the GWS reserves next weekend, before returning to his military service in Afghanistan.

This ANZAC weekend proved to be a blockbuster for Australian football in Asia, with international East Asia Australian Football League (EAAFL) matches played in two countries, and many domestic matches played across the continent.

The Vietnam Swans hosted the Jakarta Bintangs in Vung Tau, while the Singapore Wombats hosted both the Malaysia Warriors and Cambodian Eagles. There were important domestic ANZAC matches played in Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and Philippines.

The Swans were defeated by the Bintangs in a close match at the old Lord Mayor’s Oval in Vung Tau. The field is inside a greyhound racing track, but was the very same oval where Australian soldiers played footy during the Vietnam War. The significant event even attracted the presence of three Vietnam Veterans who had graced that very field in the 1960s.

Jakarta won the match 10.9 (69) to Vietnam’s 8.11 (59), marking a win for Jakarta’s first EAAFL match in front of over 500 spectators. This leaves Vietnam winless after their third EAAFL match.

The NZ Hawks have completed a clean sweep in their series against the South Pacific Academy, defeating the South Pacific with a big last quarter at Hutt Valley Oval.

With the average age of the Hawks 22 against an Under 18 team this is a result that shouldn't surprise. However with the scores tied up at three quarter time it took a monster quarter with the wind on the open expanses of the Hutt Valley Oval for the Hawks to take control.

For further details, read Hawks make it two from two on the AFLNZ website.

During the half time break a fantastic game of AFL 9’s was played by various male and female media and sporting personalities. In all honesty as an observer I can say the skill level was quite high!

To see this game surrounded by a number of grid games involving children lends credence to AFLNZ’s belief that it is reaching a wide audience.

For more on the half time entertainment and photos of the event please view AFL 9's a hit with sports stars
 

Friday 26th April saw a united effort from the AFL, AFL NZ and the St Kilda Saints in a 4 hour promotion at Wellington's prestigious Basin Reserve.

Well over 1,000 participants attended the event, which had a "Meet the Saints" component that drew a number of their Melbourne based fans. For footy in NZ, it was more about allowing for direct action to follow up the previous night's game to increase participation and interest.

AFLNZ Board Chairman Geoff Dickson sees the game as a great leverage point. "Well, the game is over and we are the ones who really have to care about, and develop, footy now," said Dickson.

He continued, "What the game may enable our organisation to do is to get into more schools quicker and perhaps to attract more of the elite players to the game, whether from the Rugby First XV, League First XIII or Soccer First XI."

St Kilda have finally found their first international rookie in Porirua College's Joseph Baker-Thomas (photos courtesy AFL Media).

Joseph is 16 years old and around 193 cm. He has a background in a variety of sports including rugby, League, volleyball and basketball.

He has played 4 games of AFL 9's and played his first three games of full football at this week's NZ U18 Championships.

In speaking with him today he said "I am hugely excited about this opportunity and hope I can make the most of it".

Having seen him today on The Basin whilst Wellington had further Aussie Rules action with St Kilda meeting their supporters at the AFL NZ Have a Go day there is no doubt that he has the physical attributes to potentially play AFL.
 

For the many of us who dream of Australian football expanding more rapidly internationally there can be no doubt what would most accelerate the growth in any given country - having their own AFL club.  So it was unexpected music to our ears to hear (or in fact read) the New Zealand Prime Minister John Key declare that his country should have an AFL side.

The comment came at an official function prior to the St Kilda - Sydney match in Wellington.  Key said the unique relationship between the countries, coupled with a fierce mutual sporting rivalry, made the concept a perfect platform for the Australian game.

''Let's get real,'' he said. ''We've got to get a New Zealand side in the AFL. We've got the Breakers and we've got the Warriors - well, they've been struggling a bit lately - we need our own AFL team.''
 

The AFL Anzac Day clash was not all about the Swans and the Saints. A crowd which grew from around 100 to 2000 spectators saw a very good game of running football played between the NZ Hawks and the South Pacific Academy U18's.

Predictably the Hawks won, with an average age of 22 against a younger and far less experienced team. Many of the Hawks had been part of the game against the AIS in January so had experience of the venue and experience playing together.

With nine of the younger Hawks part of the South Pacific team, it gave a chance for a further group of players to represent their country for the first time. NZ coaching team member Justin Davies said that "In the end this allows another group of players to get used to our systems and practices and then return to their home areas and implement these there".