World Footy News

Ireland will play host to Australia in the first test in Limerick on Saturday 23 October and in the second test in Croke Park on Saturday 30 October. Ireland manager Anthony Tohill today announced the Irish squad for the International Rules series.

Of the squad six have spent varying time with AFL clubs in Australia – Colm Begley, Martin Clarke, Tadgh Kennelly, Michael Shields, Brendan Murphy and Tommy Walsh. Shields, Murphy and Walsh did not/have not played any senior matches for AFL clubs. This should add a new slant on the series given their significant experience and knowledge of the Australians. Armagh’s Steven McDonnell has been named as captain and Galway’s Finian Hanley has been selected as vice-captain.

Australia’s Association Football World Cup bid was bedded down in time for the submission bid book to be delivered in May this year. WFN reported on the MOU that satisfied rival codes. And along the way to the December 2 decision day, Australian’s have heard both good and bad things about the bid and some of the ‘FIFA’ style interactions that go on around that. However, the odd thing is FFA supremo Frank Lowy, Australia’s richest man, down playing expectations whilst at the same time attempting to broadside the AFL as if to set the retribution wheels in motion before the fact – just in case the bid should fail.

Chris Adams from USFootyNews.com put together this video over the past weekend at the US Nationals in Louisville Kentucky featuring match footage, interviews with men's and women's team players and the New York Magpies victory celebrations.

Former Australian Coach Garry Lyon reveals how he unwittingly gave the green light to Brad Scott (now North Melbourne Coach) to beat up his Irish opponent in the 2002 International Rules series. That incident along with other before and since saw the series abandoned and now revived on a more limited regularity and still with the possibility of ending if such violence returns.

The 2010 AFLPNG Coca-Cola Junior National Championships has wrapped up in Lae with the Highlands Province taking home the coveted Championship Shield. The 3-day tournament was a concoction of great football, loud music and tremendous participation by all players, officials, families and friends. Under 13, 15 & 17 Boys and Under 15 Girls came in from four regions across PNG to participate in the championships. The Highland Raiders, The Southern Sharks, The Northern Thunder and the NGI Stingrays congregated on the lawns of Igam Barracks to battle for the championship.

Emmaus Wartova recently played a great game in the AFL Queensland Grand Final. Playing for the Labrador Tigers against Morningside Panthers his team were right in it until a stunning last quarter blitz reaped back-to-back premierships for the proud Panthers at Giffin Park. Former Brisbane Lions player and Labrador star Tim Notting also had a game to remember with 4 goals.

An exciting feature of the Kaspersky Cup AFL match between Melbourne and the Brisbane Lions is that China will take on a development squad from Japan in the curtain raiser. It's fair to say there's long been a strong rivalry between these two countries and not only does the proximity give China an obvious local opponent, it also could help give the Japanese league a boost.

Japan are sending an Under 21 team for the match, which should provide a good 9-a-side contest. Japan's full squad are ranked 14th in our unofficial world rankings, with China notionally one spot ahead, but not yet playing enough games to qualify. The Samurai's are bringing 13 players and 5 officials. China's players will be roughly 50-50 from Beijing and Shanghai.

Two days prior to the match, which is part of the World Expo, the AFL will stage its first ever "Asia Combine" (using the new description the AFL is using for draft camp style sessions). This will be held at Shanghai University of Sport (very close to Jiangwan Stadium) and will have a number of staff present with AFL high performance experience. There will be testing of athletes and a number of drills and activities aimed at gaining further experience in Australian Football. All participants of the curtain raiser match have been encouraged to attend.

Division I continued to be tight and close on Day 2 with the New York Magpies prevailing by 21 points in the final. The Mapgies also won Division IV, while Calgary dominated Division II and Austin's Division III title capped off a great tournament for the Texan teams. In the Women's Division the only stand alone team in Denver took out the Championship.

Division I Championship Denver Bulldogs 1.1.7 vs New York Magpies 4.4.28
Division II Championship Final: Minnesota 5.1.31 vs Calgary 11.8.74
Division III Championship Final: Florida United 2.5.17 vs Austin Crows 4.4.28
Division IV Championship Final: NY Magpies 13.4.82 vs Denver/Kansas 0.3.3
Women's Championship Final: Denver 3.1.19 vs Calgary/Montreal 2.6.18

The Melbourne Football Club will embark on a 14-day tour of China, highlighted by The Kaspersky Cup Shanghai Showdown match between The Demons and the Brisbane Lions at Jiangwan Stadium on Sunday.

The Club will depart Melbourne on Sunday October 10 returning on Saturday 23. The touring party of 130 includes the full playing list, football department and all administration staff. This is believed to be the biggest ever overseas trip conducted by an AFL club. Melbourne’s key destinations include Moganshan, Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong.

With the temperature over 30 degrees celcius, hydration and sunblock were the buzzwords of the day. Players were thankful for the irrigation system that has been installed since the previous Nationals making the ground conditions good for footy. Sunday looks like it could be even warmer, set to reach 33 degrees celcius.

New York, Denver and Golden Gate leading the way in Division1 winning both their games. All matches appear to have been fairly close affairs with 35 points being the biggest margin.

Calgary and Dallas look to be dominating Divison 2, along with Minnesota and Chicago who are also unbeaten.

The United States Australian Football League will kick off its 2010 National Tournament in Louisville, Kentucky in the next hour with matches taking place over this weekend.

The popular event is the biggest Australian Football tournament anywhere in the world, and attracts more than 1,000 players, officials and coaching staff, with a total of 32 men’s teams spread across four divisions, as well as 6 women’s teams representing over a dozen cities across the USA and Canada. The tournament in Louisville, Kentucky will also features juniors exhibition clinics and games, Under 23 and women’s development seminars, umpires clinics, a national administrators conference and the USAFL’s Annual General Meeting.

The tournament will be held at Louisville Soccer Park (Champions Park) in Louisville, Kentucky, at 2050 RIVER RUN ROAD (just off Zorn Avenue at I-71).

The AFL today named the Australian squad for the upcoming two-Test series against Ireland for the 2010 International Rules Series. The Australian team, to be coached by Michael Malthouse, will gather in Melbourne next Friday, October 15, before leaving for Ireland on Saturday October 16. Gary Ablett Jnr had previously said he was keen to play but was reported to have withdrawn his availablility this week.

The first Test will be played at Limerick on Saturday October 23 and the second Test will be played at Croke Park in Dublin on Saturday October 30. The squad is: Todd Banfield (Brisbane Lions), Eddie Betts (Carlton), Matthew Boyd (Western Bulldogs), Daniel Cross (Western Bulldogs), Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide Crows), Paul Duffield (Fremantle),