World Footy News

The Western Bulldogs have arrived in London ahead of Saturday’s European Challenge clash against Port Adelaide and have announced their plans for a two week tour of the UK.

The trip will open with training at the European Challenge host venue Kia Oval, before the players are invited to the official welcome function at Australia House.

Following Saturday’s game, the Bulldogs’ players will tour the grounds of several EPL soccer clubs and Harlequins Rugby Union Club, as well as visiting the All-Stars training facilities of hosts AFL Europe.

The Bulldogs have brought a squad of nearly 40 players to the UK, including recently traded Bulldogs Koby Stevens and Tom Young. Newly appointed High Performance Manager Graham Lowe was also in London to meet the team.

Bulldogs skipper Matthew Boyd said the squad was forward to the weekend clash, as well as their tours of some of the UK’s leading sporting clubs where they hoped to ideas and experiences.

"You don't get the chance very often to swap notes with the likes of Fulham FC and the London Harlequins,” Boyd said. “It's going to be a fantastic experience - especially for the young blokes.”

Read the full story for key dates and events of the Western Bulldogs’ pre-season trip.

With the London exhibition match on again at the Oval this weekend we thought we would have a look back at the contraversial incidents of the 1987 "Battle of Britain" exhibition match between North Melbourne and Carlton.  It should be pointed out to those who are not familiar with the game as it played some 25 years later is not nearly as wild and violent as in the dark past displayed here.

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AFL club the GWS Giants made headlines when with the AFL's assistance they lured Israel Folau from the NRL. As a publicity stunt it was an early success as Folau generated headlines and general interest that no other squad member could have whilst the Giants were limited to playing in the NEAFL.

Now it appears the adventure is over with the Giants confirming it at a media conference this afternoon with Folau and coach Kevin Sheedy and CEO Dave Matthews. He has now announced that he will 'retire' from the AFL. The Age reports that he is on the verge of rejoining the NRL via the 2013 wooden spooners the Parramatta Eels (coached by Ricky Stuart).

"It is understood the Eels have made contact with his manager and will be keen to snap him up to bolster their backline after finishing with the NRL wooden spoon in 2012."

The GWS Giants statement is below.

The AFL today detailed its participation at the Fourth International Consensus Conference on Concussion in Sport, to be held in Zurich commencing Thursday.

Several AFL Medical representatives – including AFL Medical Commissioner Dr Peter Harcourt, Prof Paul McCrory, Assoc Prof Gavin Davis and Dr Michael Makdissi - will attend the two-day conference in Switzerland that will see leading medical experts from around the world gather to discuss world’s best practices in relation to the management and research of concussion in sport.

The conference, held every four years, is attended by prominent sporting bodies from around the world including FIFA, the NFL, the NHL and the IRB. With four medical representatives in attendance – three providing keynote addresses across a range of issues - the AFL will have the most significant representation of all sports involved.

From Huddersfield Daily Examiner http://bit.ly/RUhqIY

England Dragonslayers international and Huddersfield Rams gun Luke Booth will make history this weekend when he lines up alongside the best Australian Football talent in Europe to play for the European Islands team against the Continental Europe team in the JLT European All-Stars game.

The Huddersfield Rams have a history of international appearances and Luke Booth is no less than the 6th Dragonslayers player the small West Yorkshire club has produced. However, Booth went on to be selected for the 2012 Euro Cup’s Team of the Tournament for his efforts of the field, and in further recognition of his talent for the game, he was selected to play alongside 9 players from the Irish Warriors Euro Cup champion team and 5 of his Dragonslayers team mates in the European Islands team.

Booth and his team mates will face off against a Continental Europe team featuring players from Euro Cup runners up Denmark, Euro Bowl winners France, and other experienced players from established leagues in Italy, Sweden, Croatia and other countries.

After a few late withdrawals due to injuries, the two European All-Stars teams from the AFL European Challenge curtain raiser have been confirmed, and the players are listed below.

The Islands team features 9 Irish players from the Euro Cup champions Warriors team and 7 English players from the 3rd placed Dragonslayers.

Over on the Continental team, Danish Euro Cup runners up team and Euro Bowl winners France have 3 players each featuring in the team, with the remainder a fair mix of the best the rest of Europe has to offer,

The AFL European Challenge will be held this Saturday 4th of November at Kia Oval. The curtain raiser will start at 1pm, with the main event, Western Bulldogs vs Port Adelaide, starting at 3:30

Tickets are still available for £20 and can be purchased online from http://www.kiaoval.com
 

 

In a huge development the Dallas Magpies 2012 USAFL Nationals title has been stripped and the title vacated. That means New York will not be awarded the title despite the league ruling Dallas played an ineligible player. Dallas will also be unable to compete in their home state National Championships in 2013 which will be held in Austin, TX.

The USAFL has concluded an investigation in relation to Dallas Magpie Jason Sutherland’s participation at the 2012 USAFL National Tournament and it was found that Jason was ineligible to participate with the Dallas Magpies at this year’s Nationals. The investigation revealed that Sutherland was an active member of Central District Football Club in Adelaide for their entire season which ended October 7.

Players and teams must abide by the “The 3 Point Qualification System” for eligibility to play at the USAFL National Tournament. “This rule is in place to allow for fair competition. The objective is to create participation throughout an entire season as opposed to one weekend,” commented USAFL President Andy Vanica.

The Greater Western Sydney GIANTS today announced the appointment of David Matthews as Chief Executive Officer for the next three years.

 

Formerly AFL General Manager National and International Development, Matthews joined the GIANTS last November for an initial period of 12 months after a career spanning 14 years at the AFL.

 

Chairman Tony Shepherd said the board of the GIANTS were delighted to secure Matthews for a further three years as the club continued to grow across Western Sydney and Canberra.

 

"This is the biggest and most exciting challenge in Australian sport. Since he joined the GIANTS, David has led the club with distinction through its first 12 months in the AFL competition and shown why he is a highly respected figure in the game," Shepherd said.

As Brett Northey remarked about my new book about footy, Australian Football The People’s Game 1958-2058 (wallawallapress.com), Kevin Sheedy suggests that in the future when ‘the Los Angeles Coyotes play the London Wolves for four points’...

Where will footy be in its bicentenary year, 200 years after the world’s oldest form of codified football had its rules written down?  Will there be an international competition?  Or, more modestly, will many international players play in the new Australasian Football League, which will include teams from Auckland and Wellington?  If it is the second, then this will be a kind of reprise of 150 years ago when New Zealand won several matches at the 1908 Jubilee carnival, celebrating the game’s first 50 years.

Here's some thoughts of my own, and a call for discussion from our readership. 

 

Dingoes and Goannas to contest Japan AFL 2012 Grand Final

The Japan AFL Top League 2012 Grand Final is to be played this weekend at the YCAC Ground Yokohama Saturday 27th October.

The season decider will be played out between perennial powerhouse Tokyo Goannas and reigning premiers Osaka Dingoes. 

The Tokyo Goannas club was founded in 1991 to provide expats and other foreigners a chance to play Australian Rules Football and showcase the game in Japan. The club is community based and today still offers expats and other foreign workers in Japan a chance to play football. The club boasts an American, a Canadian, a Scot, a Pom and a Sydney Rugby convert as well as its share of expat Aussies amongst its players. The club has for many years been the powerhouse of footy in Japan with the club winning four out of five Japan Top League Premierships.

Melbourne Football club has issued a media release this afternoon to the effect that David Rodan will continue his AFL career with the Dees after being delisted by Port Adelaide Power recently. Rodan had tweeted earlier : nek minnit ...im a demon. Can't wait to get started #bringon2013 #thirdtimelucky #carnthedees!.

Rodan has been a key marketing tool for AFL Fiji, lending his name in previous seasons to the "David Rodan Cup". As an AFL multicultural ambassador, he has been heavily involved in activities in Adelaide including the David Rodan multicultural gala day.