World Footy News

Reader submitted story from Ireland's Australian Rules Football League season 2012 Round 1 contest between Leeside Lions and Midwest Magpies.

In their first game of the season, the Leeside Lions continued their excellent league form from last year, beating the Midwest Magpies by a score of 9.12 (65) to 4.9 (33).

The Leesiders brought up 12 men, and were missing a number of key players for a variety of reasons. Crucially though, the three Lions who represented the European Titans a mere days previous in Paris made the long trip back to the West in time. The match was the highlight of the week, contested between two teams with genuine Premiership title hopes for the coming year. After a narrow loss in the Grand Final last year, the Lions were out to set the record straight with a number of new recruits in their ranks, who played a major role in the win.

The Pies chose to avail of the stiff breeze coming in off the Atlantic, and took an early lead, pinning the Lions into their own half but unable to convert the full six on many occasions. Good defensive work and pressure from the Southern side gave the home team no inch, and although down 15 points, the gap was attainable in the strong wind.

As reported in the local Dominion Post newspaper , Wellington is in the boxseat to host the first AFL competition game outside Australia, perhaps as soon as next year, as St Kilda search for a home away from home.

This has been previously reported on WFN arousing much debate about the merits of playing a game for Premiership points internationally but it seems what was once a pipe dream now seems as Elvis would say "On the edge of reality".

The USAFL has received a small number of applications for the league roles of Treasurer and Account and are seeking further expressions of interest for the two positions.

The roles will begin June 2012 when the Board position of Treasurer will be vacated along with the contracted position of Accountant. The period for both positions will be from June 2012 until October 2012, when the new Board is elected at the Annual General Meeting. For full details on the two positions please click here.

The USAFL Board would like to have both positions filled by May 30, 2012. Applications should be submitted A.S.A.P. via email to Andy Vanica, USAFL President.

In the first ever AFL representative match played on French soil, the Australia Under 18's team provided a great exhibition of exciting football to overwhelm the enthusiastic European Titans by 167 points in France on Thursday, April 12.

Played at the picturesque Chantilly Polo Club, just outside of Paris, on a manicured oval field, the young Australian side had great mobile marking targets up forward in Jake Stringer and James Stewart.

The team received great supply from its exciting midfield lead by Nick Vlastuin, Emmanuel Irra and Jason Pongracic. When the Titans went forward it found it almost impossible to get past the Aussie defense with tall defender Lachie Plowman and the versatile Lachie Whitfield reading the play superbly and setting up many forward thrusts.

The Dublin Demons men’s team are regulars to the Haggis Cup each year. This year their sister team ‘Dublin Angels’ are heading to the tournament in what will be the first time any women’s teams have participated. The Kilrea Kookaburra’s will also be travelling to Edinburgh with Irish Banshees coach Andrew Hickey in tow.

The two teams played against each other last year only a couple of times, the Angels remaining undefeated. Last year the executive committee were more focused on the International Cup, so this year they want to shift their focus on building and cementing the local teams in the women’s league. They are hoping for a big increase in numbers and more opportunities to play matches, as well as also hoping to have a Cork team up and running this year. Already the Dublin Angels have 6 new players, 3 of which will play their first match at the Haggis cup.

Western Australia have won back to back titles in the National Indigenous U15 Kickstart Championships, held again on the Gold Coast this week. After a slow start to the Championships with a one point loss to South Australia on day one, the team from the West won all remaining games and finished off with a convincing win over South Australia today by 20 goals.

The full score was Western Australia 23.16.154 to South Australia 3.7.25.  Best on Ground in today’s Grand Final was awarded to Darnell Morrison from WA.

After three years of not contact footy, the full contact version of the game comes to Sacramento.  The following is from a press release from the Sacramento Australian Rules Football Club.

The Sacramento Australian Football Club (SAFC) has ambitious goals for the year 2012. Inaugurated nearly four years ago in 2009 by local Aussies Matt (pictured) and Amy Bishop, the club began as a recreational co-ed league aimed at developing the sport of Australian Football, or “Footy” for short. The Bishops, armed solely with their coercive Australian accents, knowledge and love of the game, were able to pique the curiosity of many. The recreational “tag” footy league grew rapidly as many found the game to be challenging, fun, and like no sport they have ever tried before.

The SAFC is part of a broader footy community governed under the USAFL, which oversees more than 30 clubs and 60 teams in the US. The co-ed game that has been played for the last four years in Sacramento is a modified, minimal-contact, version of the real game of Australian football, which is played by either men or women.

The St Kilda Football Club will host the 2012 Australian Defence Force AFL Carnival at Moorabbin Oval next week.  The ADF Carnival will see service men and women from the Army, Navy and Air Force play a round-robin competition for their respective titles.

Chief Executive Officer of the Saints, Michael Nettlefold said it was an honour for the Club to host the ADF at its traditional home ground, Moorabbin.

Bill Robert Producer/Host of Stateside Footy regularly brings us match coverage based around his home team the Boston Demons.   His program shows on many TV stations around the US and following on from his 2011 US Nationals coverage and heading into the 2012 season Bill would like to branch out to provide more coverage of more teams across the US.  But to do this he will need submissions from around the nation to add to his program.

Bill has asked us to help him get the message out.  So over to you Bill.

"The producers of "Stateside Footy" are looking to add some new segments to the program for the 2012 Australian Rules Football season. Simply put, we'd like to widen the breadth of what we're doing as far as shining the spotlight on Aussie Rules played here in the States. And, to do this, we are asking for your help.  

Australian Under 18’s have defeated European Legion by 134 points in the AFL international match held at Surrey Sports Park in London on Saturday April 7.

Lead by High Performance Coach Michael O’Loughlin, the AFL’s future stars dominated early, kicking 15 goals in the first half, with Troy Menzel, brother of Daniel at the Geelong Cats, kicking five goals in a brilliant individual performance.

The European Legion, coached by former Sydney Swan and AFL Ambassador Tadhg Kennelly, matched the Australians in the third quarter with only one goal apiece resulting.

The Legion continued to compete fiercely up until the end of the match but was out-classed by the silky skills of the Australian side.

Most valuable player awards were presented to midfielder Nick Vlastuin from the Australian team and defender Levi Fernandez from Great Britain won the award for European Legion.

Despite their modest performance at last year’s International Cup, the GB Bulldogs can now boast something that no other country can answer to: the rise of two of their players, Adam Ballard and Anthony Trigg, through football to VFL level.

Though the numbers of foreign players are now increasing, at AFL level to date, all of those players have either been brought up in Australia, or were professionals or upcoming youngsters recruited directly from other sports. Ballard and Trigg however, started playing the game in the UK, before moving over to Australia and joining local teams.

Former England Dragonslayers international Adam Ballard learnt his trade as president of the Durham Saints before joining the Prahran Assumption Football Club in Melbourne, 2011 Premiers in the VAFA Division 3. After a successful tour with the GB Bulldogs at IC11, Ballard was picked up by VFL club Port Melbourne and is currently training as a ruckman in the reserves.

In the bustling southern suburbs of Zagreb, just south of the Sava river, the Zaprudje Australian rules football club has recently announced a sister club arrangement with AFL newcomers GWS Giants and taken on the name of Zaprudje Giants. The club was formed in the middle of 2011 by some former and current Croatian Knights, and is the first neighbourhood team in Zagreb, a formula which could be replicated in future years.

Most locals in Zagreb are quite loyal to their neighbourhoods or "kvarts" in a manner described by locals as being akin to local gangs, however without any serious violence. The formation of the Zaprudje Giants and their recent partner-club arrangement with GWS is considered to be a very positive step in the consolidation of Australian rules football in Zagreb and Croatia as a whole.

Thanks to Tony Grguric from the CAAF for this story.