World Footy News

Rugby League's Auckland Warriors’ Shaun Johnson was nearly lost to AFL when he attracted the interest of scouts in 2006. Having been tagged as the next Benji Marshall he is obviously seen as a huge talent in the 13 a side game.

Now 21, the then 16 year old was playing Australian football for the NZ U 16 side at the Barassi Cup in Canberra. Not only did he play but he received the award as NZ’s best at the international tournament. After the carnival in Canberra, Johnson toured the set-up at the Sydney Swans, who had lost that year's AFL grand final to the West Coast by one point under coach Paul Roos.

With the 9-a-side 2011 Euro Cup hosted by the Australian Rules Football League of Ireland just around the corner, WFN spoke to the team managers for some background on the teams, their preparations and their ambitions for this year's tournament.

We're starting with the Irish Warriors, England Dragonslayers, Denmark Vikings, France Coqs and Cymru Red Dragons (Wales) - five sides whose respective leagues have recently mounted campaigns at the 2011 International Cup.

Whilst the English, French and Welsh sides will include a number of IC players, the Irish and Danes will bring completely new sides to the tournament.

The following release from the USAFL today details the 2011 Nationals Divisions to be played in Austin, TX next week.

The USAFL is pleased to announce the 2011 Nationals Divisions have been set.  The National Tournament Committee has finalized the pools for Divisions I, II, III and Women’s. Division IV still requires some final revisions and Region Vice Presidents will be following up with clubs (listed below) to confirm player numbers and pairings in the coming days.

We are pleased to note that a record number of teams are playing at Nationals this year.  Unfortunately, this makes our task even more difficult, and will inevitably lead to some disappointment.

This article courtesy of Kate O'Halloran

It was the grand final that almost didn’t happen. Two months before the game was due to be played, members of the Australian Football League Germany (AFLG) were told that the ground they had booked and were contracted for was unavailable. Three weeks before the game, no resolution had been made, with the game likely to be moved to Berlin.

Later, the ground was again theirs, much to the relief of members of the opposing clubs. Such is the life of the AFLG footballer: their passion for and the importance of a game most locals have never heard of is not always understood.

None of this drama was evident at the start of the game on Saturday. It was an unexpectedly sunny, 25-degree September day in Stuttgart. While most of the locals were out at the regional Folk Festival, an eclectic mix of onlookers gathered in the heat to watch the Rheinland Lions and Berlin Crocodiles battle it out for the AFLG premiership.

The Rheinland Lions are no strangers to the last Saturday in September, having now contested the last 6 grand finals in a row. For the Crocodiles, on the other hand, it was their maiden grand final after a mostly successful season which saw them bolt to the top of the ladder before tapering off mid-way through the season.

Perhaps the next biggest event in Australian football behind the AFL Grand Final is Brownlow Medal night, when the AFL's best players gather for the awarding of the medal of "fairest and best", based on the umpires' votes.  The evening is telecast live across Australia and this year featured an international flavour.

A segment paid tribute to the efforts of Australian football clubs in helping their communities in times of disaster, and highlighted four examples.  Country Victoria was hit by floods earlier this year, especially the Loddon Valley.  Recognising the efforts of Newbridge FC, they were represented by Ron Trimble, their club President.  And from Queensland's Lockyer Valley, where flooding cost lives, came Tony and Donna Bowers, founders of the area's only Aussie Rules local footy side.

But the surprise international aspect came through New Zealand and Japan.

Adding to the success of the Seniors at the Women’s Nationals in June, on Saturday 24th September in the Gold Coast, the Victorian defeated Western Australia by 7.4(46) to 5.6(36) to win their second Youth Girls National Championships title. Victoria also won the inaugural Youth Girls Nationals in 2010.

The Grand Final was held at Southport Sharks AFC on the Gold Coast. Victorian player Ellie Blackburn (Berwick Hawks) was named Best on Ground and was awarded the Game ball. This future female star was also named Player of the Carnival, was joint winner of the Golden Boot with Western Australia’s Sabrina Traub, and was awarded a well deserved place on the All-Stars team.

The AFL Europe / EAFA has confirmed the entries for the 9-a-side 2011 Euro Cup, with 20 teams to take the pitch in Belfast, Northern Ireland on the weekend of October 8th and 9th.

19 national teams, including debutants Portugal, Norway, Poland and Russia will be making the journey to Belfast, with the EU Crusaders combined side rounding out the 20-team competition.

The full list of nations attending is: Austrian Avalanche, Catalunya Almogávers, Croatia Knights, Cymru Red Dragons, England Dragonslayers, European Crusaders, Finland Icebreakers, France Coqs, Germany Black Eagles, Iceland Ravens, Irish Warriors, Italy Azzurri, Netherlands Flying Dutchmen, Norway Trolls, Polish Bison, Portugal, Russian Czars, Scottish Clansmen, Spanish Bulls and Swedish Elks.

The Euro Cup tournament will be playing out on Saturday 8th, with the annual European General Assembly and development forum following on Sunday 9th and Monday 10th.

For more information, visit the tournament website here.

And then there were two.  Collingwood and Geelong. Just a few sleeps left until the 2011 AFL Grand Final is upon us again.

As in previous years World Footy News is collating a list of all the Grand Final parties around the world. To have yours added to the list please leave details using the "Post a Comment" feature below or email me by clicking on my name above (you'll need to register with the site).

Have your party seen here when the world is looking for a venue to watch the big game.  

Please note: The information is entered here in good faith. worldfootynews.com is not responsible for any incorrect information posted to this story. Wherever possible attempt to check ahead to make sure the party you are planning on attending is still going ahead and has room for you. There have been cases of sell outs and late changes e.g. when a venue could not secure a telecast.

In the last year or so the AFL have also joined in running a party finder - see here.

The Cardiff Panthers cemented themselves as one of the best home-grown 9-a-side Aussie Rules teams in Britain on Saturday, August 13th as they held off a strong challenge from the Bristol Dockers. Without talismanic ruckman Chris James who was at the International Cup in Australia with the GB Bulldogs, the Panthers fought hard to win their third Welsh Australian Rules Football League Premiership in as many years.

The WARFL Grand Final was held just one week after the WARFL had held an exhibition match as a curtain-raiser to the Welsh vs Australia soccer match held on August 10th in Cardiff.

Ed: With the IC on last month, we're a little behind on news from the various European premierships held over the past month or two - we apologise for the delay and encourage you to visit again soon for the news on who took out the flag in your local European league!

The International Cup was at its best like a festival of footy with a celebratory spirit and all the camaraderie expressed when the teams shook hands after the matches, notwithstanding two melee moments.

Celebrations were many, team and individual.

Team events included the French surfing millipede, while some supporters carried the bigger than big flags. The French women supporters adopted imitation moustaches in the spirit of Harpo Marx at the Grand Final.

The regular British number one guernsey dog was at the IC as it was in 2008, joining the players on their last lap of the ground.

Increasing numbers of Australian football clubs within Australia are finding that it's a classic win-win situation when they get involved with multicultural players, even very recent migrants brand new to the game.

Yet another example of this is the Wests Juniors AFL Club in Croydon Park, Sydney.  According to New recruits boost Magpies the junior club has become involved with the Intensive English Centre (IEC) at Beverly Hills and had immediate success. 

Club spokesman Gavin Abfalter said the club had had a remarkable season which saw every Wests junior team make the finals.

West Juniors won the Sydney Harbour Association Club Champion Award for the club with the highest average ladder rankings across the teams.

The under 13 and under 14 teams both claimed premierships, while the under 11 players were runners up and the under 10 team finished third.

Club spokesman Gavin Abfalter said the multicultural nature of the club was a great experience for the newcomers and the existing members who benefited from the mutual enthusiasm and team spirit shown by everyone.

The club is a beneficiary of a wider AFL supported program that includes players recently arrived from Sierra Leone, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Korea, Sudan, Ghana and Thailan.