World Footy News

The annual New Zealand NPC (National Provincial Championships) will be held in Wellington this weekend (November 5th and 6th). Auckland, Canterbury, Waikato and Wellington will battle for national supremacy with recent winners Canterbury and Auckland heavily favoured.

It is expected that representatives from the Otago Club will be shared between the Leagues to allow for their involvement and to underpin future development in the bottom of the South Island.

International Rules has always been a clash of cultures, which I wrote about regarding the sporting exchange's first three decades (later republished on WFN).  Old and new versions of cultural differences were on display at Docklands Stadium on Friday night.

Some past and present events might explain why the first of the two Tests (the second is at Carrara on the Gold Coast, aka Metricon Stadium, on Friday 4 November) resulted in a 44 point victory to Ireland in a one sided game and three Mexican waves from a crowd in search of entertainment.

In this opinion piece, I want to begin by considering the past. Australians have three misunderstandings about the series and its history over a quarter century since 1984 and over four decades since 1967.

First, they tend to assume the professional VFL/AFL players will be superior to the Irish amateurs, which is not true. In fact, most series have been won by the away team due to greater team bonding, team skill and application. The matches have often been exciting and passionate as when 1980s VFL President Allen Aylett was excited by this ‘space age football’.

Irish Banshees World Team representative and Sydney Women's AFL All-Australian representative Marie Keating was one of the female football stars selected to attend this year’s AFL/AIS Academy.

Though usually reserved for the country’s upcoming male talent, many of whom go on to be drafted, for the first time this year’s intake included women selected from this year’s Women’s National Championships and Youth Girls National Championships. Keating was joined by other talented women and girls from across the country.

Marie Keating (SWAFL and Ireland)
Katie Brennan (QWAFL)
Elise O'Dea (ACT WAFL)
Maddison Smith (TASWAFL)
Courtney Cramey (SAWFL)
Chelsea Randall (WAWFL)
Kristy Irvine (NTWAFL)
Aasta O'Connor (VWFL)
Ellie Blackburn (VIC Youth Girls)
Jess Dal Pos (VIC Youth Girls)
Zoe Hart (VIC Development)
 

Australia's AFL players have been humiliated as Ireland ran rampant in Game 1 of the two part 2011 International Rules series.

The Irish now have virtually both hands on the Cormac McAnallen Cup with the series decided on aggregate margin and Australia starting the second match an unprecedented 44 point behind.  Ireland didn't let the AFL selection into the game and were never threatened.

The hybrid sport brings together aspects of Australian football and Gaelic football so that the elite players from each code can represent their countries.  Over the years the concept of a mostly All-Australian side has been diluted due to some elite players making themselves unavailable and also in recognition that some players in the All-Australian side are not well suited to IR.  For their part this year the Irish were disrupted by some county matches continuing so some players been torn between club and country.
 

Dublin, OH - This past Saturday, Oct. 22, the Aussie Rules and Gaelic Clubs of Ohio joined forces to throw the Inaugural Ohio International Rules Football Challenge. The picture-perfect pitch at Darree Park in Dublin - the future home of the 2012 49th Parallel Cup, and '13 or '14 USAFL National Championships - was an ideal setting on a beaut fall day to kick-off this soon to be regular post-season (and perhaps preseason) contest.

Ohio is heavily concentrated in both of these foreign games. The Australian footy-ballers were represented by the Cincinnati Dockers, the upstart Cleveland Cannons, hopeful Dayton ARFC and in-state powerhouse and hosts, the Columbus Jackaroos. The Gaelic lads pulled from past and current players of the Cleveland St. Ignatius, Cleveland St. Pat's, and the first year local Columbus Naghten Street.

The AFL together with the Australian Government has kicked off a unique program that has seen young footballers in Perth from a range of cultural backgrounds take part in the AFL Multicultural All Star Camp to celebrate the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) coming to their city. Minister for Defence Stephen Smith was on hand to officially open the camp at the Fremantle Football Club and meet the participants.

For some of our international readers, here Commonwealth refers to the Commonwealth of Nations, countries formerly part of the British Empire.

Driven by the West Australian Football Commission, the AFL Multicultural All Star Camp ran from Friday October 21 to Monday October 24 to coincide with the start of the Commonwealth Youth Forum.

The featured match was between the Lions and the Catalysts.

The awards just keep coming for Ireland.  Having won both the men's and women's 2011 International Cup, similarly both versions of the Euro Cup, as well as being reigning European Champions, what could be left?

Well obviously the upcoming International Rules will be the biggest prize in the eyes of the general public.

But for key Irish Warriors player Michael Finn, the personal accolades keep coming.  He arrived Down Under in 2007 and played in premierships with Heidelberg in 2007 and 2008 in Victoria's Northern Football League, before heading off on tour.  At Bunbury, WA he played for South West Football League club Carey Park, winning the club best & fairest as well as playing a pivotal role in their Grand Final win.

He returned to Heidelberg and this year won the Frank Rosbrook Medal for the best & fairest player in Division 1 in the Northern Football League.

Read more at Finn takes out top prize.

 

Fiji will host the 2011 AFL Oceania Youth Cup in December.  In preparation the Fiji Day AFL Cup was staged featuring teams from six schools, with interest from others for future participation.

A highlight of the day was members of the senior Fiji Tribe squad, fresh from their win in Division Two of the 2011 AFL International Cup, getting involved in developing the next generation of talent.

The following is a press release from AFL Fiji with all the details of the day.

All through AFL trade week it was reported that Carlton's big Irishman Setanta O'hAilpin had asked to be traded.  When no deal was done the Blues de-listed him, ending his 7 years at the club, despite some good form in 2011.  His manager Michael Quinlan has said, "Despite what was reported, we never sought for him to be traded."

“This was a very tough decision for us, Setanta has been a an important part of our club for seven years since he arrived in Australia from Ireland,” said Carlton CEO Greg Swann.

Setanta will now enter the draft hoping to be picked up by another club.  It's also possible for Carlton to re-draft him.  Throughout his career he never quite established himself, with runs of good matches followed by injuries, poor form or bad luck.  Wasteful disposal sometimes turned good matches into average ones.  A particular match that comes to mind saw him very good form only to be flattened by team-mate Brendan Fevola when going for a mark that the Australian-Fijian-Irishman was clearly in the best position for; such events seem to have plagued his career.  Aged 28 he could be an option at GWS Giants as they look to acquire mature players while they develop their gun youngsters about to be drafted.  It would be interesting to see if Setanta could find more consistency at another club.

O'hAilpin joined Carlton in 2005 and played 80 games for the club, kicking 67 goals.

Another two Irish recruits were also de-listed.  They are Sydney Swans rookie Chris McKaigue who has returned to Ireland and Jamie O’Reilly, a rookie at Richmond.

Update 20/11/2011:  Essendon has delisted Irishman Michael Quinn, who played 8 senior games (debuting in 2009) and won a VFL best and fairest, which just goes to show the big step now between the top state leagues and the AFL.

In case this is the last we see of Setanta O'hAilpin, the full Carlton Football Club statement appears below.

The Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) Under 18s invitational side have just completed their third annual tour of New Zealand, coming away undefeated against the NZ Under 20s. The opportunity for these young men to travel and experience a different culture would be of tremendous benefit to them.

It is to be hoped that the football itself was a great experience as the NZ Hawks look to grow the game and close the gap further each year. With the Kiwis fielding a side with an average age of 17 this should translate into a long term benefit for the Hawks.

Match reviews follow.

The Etobicoke Kangaroos Australian Football Club based in Toronto have established themselves as a local powerhouse after becoming AFL Ontario Premiers in 2 of their 3 Grand Finals they participated in recently.

Their Division 1 and 2 teams are 2011 AFL Ontario Premiers while their Women’s team are Runners Up in their inaugural season. The Kangaroos are the 1st club to have all 3 teams in Grand Finals in the same year.

This is Etobicoke's 2nd Division 1 Premiership after winning in 2008, while the Division 2 team clinched their 1st Premiership.

Below are the game write ups for each Grand Final, admittedly from an Etobicoke perspective.

The Euro Cup was the perfect opportunity for the latest addition to the world of women’s football, the Swiss Swans, to show off their skills, despite the Swiss team having only formed a few months earlier on the back of the new women’s team in Lugano. Though the girls lost 126 – 6 to the impressive Irish Banshees, the consensus from both teams was that it was a fantastic and enjoyable experience, and despite a few ruffled feathers, the Swans will be back at the Euro Cup next year.

“We already knew that the enthusiasm of our girls couldn't be enough against a strong and more experienced team as Ireland, and we'll give them our congratulation for the great game,” commented Mattia Sacchi, coach of the team. “But it was important to be there and realize how high is the standard required to play AFL at international level. Anyway, me and my assistant Luca Urso, who has all my biggest thanks for his great job, are really proud of each girl, because in a very short time they improved a lot, they did a big sacrifice to come to Belfast, and they gave their best till the last second.”