World Footy News

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.”

Ireland's mens and womens teams made it a clean sweep for 2011 as they took out both EuroCup's in the biggest ever EuroCup played on home soil in Belfast.

The men's team won under new coach Shaun McElhone as they beat the Crusaders, Austria, England and Croatia on their way to victory. The Women had a comfortable victory too in their one match, defeating the women of Switzerland who were making their debut at the competition.

England finished third thanks to a victory over Italy, while Wales were to emerge top of Division 2 (7th overall) as they beat Spain in the plate final. Finland won Division 3 (13th overall) when they took out a win over a developmental Sweden side.

Ireland is now reigning champion of the men's and women's International Cups, the European Championships, and the men's and women's Euro Cup.

Full scores from the day are available here.

Ireland's women completed the clean sweep of international women's Australia football when they knocked off the newly formed Swiss women's side in Belfast as part of the 2011 European Cup.  The Banshees, barely a year in existence themselves, have now collected back to back Euro Cup wins to go with the inaugural Women's International Cup.

The following report thanks to Leiha Shrubsall, also a member of the victorious team.

Saturday 08^th October, Belfast Queen’s University Sports grounds - 2011 Euro Cup.

It was a cool day and the rain on and off, sometimes teaming down making the footy slither out of players hands more easily than they would have liked. Walking around the grounds there was a buzz in the air, the same type felt at the recent International Cup, different languages bouncing around the foyer and the smell of Aussie Rules football. Making our way from all directions to Belfast for the weekend, we were all there ready to play for the second women’s European title.

The South Dublin Swans have won the Jeep Irish Aussie Rules Premiership after a hard fought win against the Cork based Leeside Lions in Durrow, Co Laois last week, final score 6.9 (45) to 5.7 (37). The Swans got to this stage after a close semi-final victory against the Mid-West Magpies.

Their Grand Final opponents Leeside Lions had a much smoother path to the decider with an easy semi-final win over the Dublin Demons and may have been slight favourites based on this performance. From last year’s team the Swans had lost a few players including big ruckman Paul O’Halloran, however another big man, Tom Russell made this position his own in 2011. The Swans also had three players that played in the victorious 2011 International Cup that Ireland won in the Melbourne Cricket Ground in August, full forward, Manus Breathnach, half back James O’Byrne and midfielder, Darren Sheils.

For many years a missing link in Australian football was a widespread non-contact form of the game played on smaller fields for smaller team numbers.  Such a style of game was common at club training, and has slowly crept in overseas, but in the sport's homeland it remained a rarely exploited asset to the game.

That changed a few years ago when the AFL launched Recreational Football (Rec Footy) as an 8-a-side version using tags to effect tackles and aimed especially at beginners, mixed teams and social players.

This year it has been re-launched and re-badged as AFL 9s.  The season is about to get underway so anyone in Australia who wants to keep playing footy over summer or dropped out due to injuries or time commitments, or anyone who always wanted to give the game a go but was afraid to try, this is your chance.

Why the enthusiasm?  This author is one of many who has long wanted to see such a version of the game and has seen many potential players drift over to similar concepts like touch football (touch Rugby), so I'm very keen to see this initiative succeed.  Having played a couple of seasons I thoroughly recommend it.  Certainly the smaller softer ball takes some getting used to, as does the inability to make body contact, but it's a fun alternative for someone who has retired from the full version of the sport.

Visit www.afl9s.com.au for local contact details.

Last Saturday (October 8th) was grand final day in the Solomon Islands AFL (SIAFL). The forecast was for a wet day, maximum of 8 and possible hail. And on the field the top team the Hawks (having only lost once for the year) were to face off against the 2nd placed Wolves.

The venue was the KG6 Cricket oval – and the SIAFL had a 1pm curtain raiser with a match made up from the various training centres around town. The main game starting at 2pm to wrap up the inaugural season of AFL competition in the Solomons.