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Mason all set for footy invasion

  • Friday, October 12 2012 @ 01:00 am ACDT
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North America

As you read this footballers, coaches, umpires, supporters and support staff from all over the United States and Canada are headed to Mason, Ohio to take part in the 2012 US National Championships. As in past years teams will play three pool matches before the top teams in each pool play off in the final on Sunday afternoon.

This year 38 teams will be play in the four mens divisions (some clubs will field a second team in the fourth division) and one women's division. Not all clubs make the US Nationals due to a variety of reasons but needless to say it is a very large financial committment for teams to travel large distances for this tournament.

Last year's champions the Denver Bulldogs will again go in favourite for the tournament despite only five games with a 3-2 win/loss record playing during the 2012 season on which to assess their form. This is not unusual as Denver is one of the most isolated teams in the country and lack of intercity footy has not hurt them in the past as they have won 8 of the National Championships over the years.

Canadian leads clinic in Sweden

  • Friday, October 12 2012 @ 12:15 am ACDT
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  • Views: 2,808
Europe

Mike MacFarlane had the following interesting story as to how he, a Canadian, came to holding a footy clinic in Skelleftea, Sweden, which is just below the Arctic Circle.

“First, you must know that my wife, Lotta was born and raised in Skelleftea and she has played in our women’s league for the last 3 years. Secondly, in 2008, we toured Australia with the Canadian Junior team, the Wolfpack. We met the Swedish team who was participating in their first International Cup.

I met their manager and asked if they had any thoughts of starting footy in the north of Sweden and he said that maybe I could get something going. Of course, because I live in Canada, I laughed this off - but the seed had been planted.

The NDJAFL revisited

  • Thursday, October 11 2012 @ 10:24 pm ACDT
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  • Views: 2,964
North America
For a lot of people the measure of Australian Football is a focus on the highest level of competition available, however, in my opinion, the real strength of any sport is its depth of  grassroots participation. Outside of Australia, only a few organizations have managed to broach junior participations unassisted. One of the success stories is the North Delta Junior AFL.
 
Readers of WFN would be aware of earlier stories of how Mike McFarlane suggested to a group of boys playing soccer that they might like to try a game of Australian Football which ultimately lead to the formation of the NDJAFL. Not only has the NDJFL endured but it has expanded and celebrated its 10th anniversary this season. This is a huge achievement for not only a new sport but especially for one as country specific as Australian Football.

How the game was played in 1909

  • Tuesday, October 09 2012 @ 08:15 pm ACDT
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Australia

Moving image coverage of the 1909 VFL Grand Final, the earliest known surviving film of Australian Rules football action. In 2009, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of this precious sporting film, the National Film and Sound Archives produced this new digital video master from 35mm film.

Played on Saturday 2 October 1909, Carlton and South Melbourne fought out a tough, low scoring contest at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. South Melbourne, chasing their first premiership in the Victorian Football League (VFL), held off a desperate Carlton, looking to win their fourth consecutive flag. In front of more than 37,000 fans, despite being held goalless in the last quarter, The Bloods triumphed by two points. South Melbourne 4 14 38, Carlton 4 12 36.

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MultiCultural Tales - Season 2012 - Patrick Ndongo

Africa

For most followers of footballers with an international pedigree the thoughts through most of 2012 in association with Frankston, a stand-alone club in the modern ‘VFL’ battling it out against both stand-alone AFL reserves sides (Geelong and Collingwood) and a host of AFL aligned VFL feeder clubs, the thoughts were mainly around Khan Haretuku. Out of nowhere came Chamberlin "Patrick" Ndongo with a mighty story that will lead who knows where.

Kruger exits in Swans list review

  • Tuesday, October 09 2012 @ 06:00 pm ACDT
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Africa

The Sydney Swans this week announced the following list changes, following the post season review period.  

Primary list players Jarred Moore and Mark Seaby have been delisted, along with rookie list players Eugene Kruger, Jack Lynch and Dylan McNeil.  

South African born Eugene Kruger was on the rookie list and did not play any senior games with the Swans in his time at the club.

 

Gideon Simon a first on AFL list

  • Friday, October 05 2012 @ 11:16 pm ACST
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Oceania

Gideon Simon has become the first player who has learnt and played Australian rules football in another country to make it through the development pathway onto an AFL rookie list. Richmond yesterday announced that young PNG star who has been on an International Scholarship with the club will be officially listed with the Tigers in the Rookie draft this year as an International Rookie. The announcement came at the end of the AFL Draft combine in Melbourne where Simon tested well.

Others such as Mike Pyke, Shae McNamara and the now long list of Irish code crossers all came from other countries but did not play Aussie rules in their home country.

This is a huge vindication of the development pathway that has been developed in PNG, and hopefully will give hope to those elsewhere around the world to develop the game in their own corners of the globe. It is also a giant pat on the back to all that have been involved for many years in footy in PNG to bring the game there back from the brink.

Simon has been at the club for the latter part of this season, playing with Richmond's affilliate club Coburg (this affilliaton will not continue in 2012) in the Development League of the VFL.

European Crusaders V Irish Banshees

  • Wednesday, October 03 2012 @ 08:29 am ACST
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Europe

Thanks to Leiha Shrubsall for contributing this match write up.

Final score: Irish Banshees 13.14 (98) to European Crusaders 8.8 (52)

 The Irish Banshees attended their third consecutive Euro Cup last weekend taking with it a team of mostly new players, some of them having never played a match previously. The European Crusaders were a team made up of French, Scottish, Spanish and English players. The Irish knew it was going to be a tight contest from word go having played alongside the Scottish girls earlier in the year at the Haggis cup, so they anticipated the match to be a lot tougher this year.

 

Belinda Duante named Football Woman of the Year

  • Tuesday, October 02 2012 @ 08:12 pm ACST
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Australia Belinda Duante has been named 2012 Football Woman of the Year at the Grand Final Comedy Debate at the Crown Palladium. Duante is a senior executive at Richmond Football Club and is the inaugural director of the Korin Gamadji Institute, which provides leadership development, education and training to young Indigenous men and women. She also had a key role in the establishment and development of AFL SportsReady’s National Indigenous Programme and has helped in the development of the Career Oriented Participation in Sport program for first-year AFL players, which now incorporates specific Indigenous considerations.

Richmond CEO Brendon Gale described Duante an outstanding contributor to the Richmond Football Club.
“As a proud Wotjoboluk woman, Belinda has a wonderful understanding of the role football can play in the lives of young Indigenous Australians and she continually advocates for them to stay in the game at all levels,” he said.

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