World Footy News

The AFLW season may be over in Australia, but the competition is just kicking off in Germany.

While other neighboring countries like France and Switzerland have long been a key part of women's footy in Europe, the Berlin Crocodiles and the Rhein-Main Redcats are leading the charge in the inaugural season for AFLW Germany.

The Redcats recently formed as a merger of Rheinland and Frankfurt women's teams; a combined ten players from the Frankfurt and Berlin sides have represented their country internationally, including at last year's AFL Euro Cup in Cork, Ireland.

I first picked up a Sherrin in October 2015.

I had watched some AFL highlights on YouTube at that point and was instantly intrigued by Aussie rules: the pace of the game, the unique skills, and the all-around athleticism required to play it were all extremely appealing to me. I didn’t know much at the time, but I knew I wanted to get involved.

 

Following is quick run around some of the European leagues and their weekend scores. These were the only results available at the time of publishing story, but more may follow. 

Germany:

Round 2️ AFLG results

(Esslingen)

Zuffenhausen Giants 1.5.11 - Berlin Crocodiles 15.9.99

Zuffenhausen Giants 2.5.17 - Hamburg Dockers Australian Football Club 17.9.111

Berlin Crocodiles 5.4.34 - Hamburg Dockers 8.5.53

(Munich)

Munich Kangaroos 8.4.52 - Frankfurt Redbacks 3.5.23

Munich Kangaroos 12.4.76 - Dresden Wolves 1.3.9

Frankfurt Redbacks 12.9.81 - Dresden Wolves 2.2.14

Round 1️ AFLGW result

(Esslingen)

Southern Tigeroos 0.0.0 - Berlin Crocodiles 12.14.86

IMPACT Anzac Day Cup - Saturday 27 April 2019 12:00 - 16:30

Izumi Sports Village, Kaiduka, Osaka, Japan By Yoshi Imagawa (Osaka Dingoes player and Public Relations Officer)

Our third annual IMPACT Anzac Day Cup was held in a strong windy condition at 15 degrees. The strong wind made it feel around 10 to 12 degrees.

Shanghai Tigers from China travelled to Osaka that the Dingoes welcomed them and appreciated their attendance. Osaka also hosted the merged Tokyo clubs (Tokyo Goannas and R246 Lions).

The AFLCNE returned to kick-off the 2019 season on Sunday with the Huddersfield Rams hosting the Manchester Mosquitoes at the picturesque Lockwood Park.

The Mozzies were out of the blocks early and took a four goal to one lead at quarter time.

The second quarter was an onfield massacre and the Mozzies lead by 94 points at half time. The final score of Manchester 217 to Huddersfield 35 did not fully reflect the competitiveness of the Rams, but the Manchester team were a class above on the day.

Manchester and GB Bulldogs sharpshooter Andy Walkden broke the club's goalkicking record with 15 goals for the match.

 

The earlier game in Dublin on the weekend saw the Irish Universities Women’s team take on the Great Britain Universities. The following brief account of the match certainly shows that the women’s football scene in Ireland is set to grow further and quickly with the talent coming from the Universities team.

The Irish Banshees national team has been a women’s powerhouse, and standard-bearer, for many years and the West Clare Waves have dominated women’s team tournaments across Europe in recent times.  

However, if anything, the universities challenge has created and enhanced even more talent pathways, and the Great Britain Universities team have seen first-hand the power coming from Ireland.

The inaugural clash between the Irish Universities and the Great Britain NUL All Stars (National University League) took place in Dublin this weekend. The concept is almost the “lovechild’ of the Fitzpatrick Cup and the NUL, bringing the best of years and years of university football development to an international level.

Many years of hard work has gone into the development of the game at university level across Great Britain and Ireland, with many people involved in the journey – and the success. To see this tournament come to fruition is testament to their hard work and passion. In many ways, the teams that took their field did so as much about recognising that effort as it was about the result.

In the end, the Great Britain team outlasted the Irish by just three points in a thriller.

A new era in both university football and Irish/English rivalry commences this weekend with the inaugural Universities International Aussie Rules Test Matches in Dublin.

The tournament marks another major step in the player pathways from university to club to national levels of competition.

The following details about the event from the ARFLI Facebook page give information about the event. Details of the day will be updated on after the event.

After playing finals in 2017, the Odense Lions dropped to a wooden spoon in the DAFL last season. Since then, the Lions have done a mountain of work on and off the field to build a better future and it paid off handsomely on the weekend when they downed the reigning premiers.

Odense got off to a huge start in their clash with the Copenhagen Giants, kicking to the scoring end and opening up a four-goal quarter-time break. The Giants came back hard in the second to trail by just five points at the main break. During the third quarter, the Lions kicked ahead and had opened up a 26-point lead at the final change.

The last quarter saw the Giants, shocked out of any complacency, throwing everything at the Lions. In the end, the Lions held on by just three points to start the season as winners and have already equalled their win total of last season. Even though the Giants were missing key players, the Lions will be delighted with the win and excited about the rest of the season.

Australian Rules football in Colombia, South America, is about to take another leap forward with the upcoming visit by the Austin Crows from Texas. The entire footy community across Colombia is excited at the upcoming ‘Fossil Cup’ to be played Saturday week at the Los Pinos Polo Club in western Bogotá.

According to Bogotá Bulldogs president, Paddy Smallwood, the name of the event arises from “the 'Campbell-Wiltshire Fossil Cup' [which] represents the long in the tooth legends of our game and clubs, who forever retire next game, push it a yard too far, yet remain the fabric and glue of any great club.”

The match itself will be the first of three international games this year for the Bogotá Bulldogs. In May the Denver Bulldogs arrive from Colorado for a very canine clash. Later in the year the 2019 Andes Cup will be played against the Santiago Saints from Chile to again decide the best team in South America.