World Footy News

The annual Asian Championships of Australian Football will be held in Shanghai on Saturday week, with an encouraging twelve teams to take part, a two-team increase on the previous year's event. All of last year's teams will be present, although Bali and Jakarta are consolidated as Indonesia. Joining them are the Japan Goannas, Macau Lightning and the Asian Barbarians.

Dubai Heat, aiming to win their third consecutive title, are the hot favourites. They're taking the tournament very seriously, withdrawing from the upcoming AFL Middle East season, apparently in an effort to focus on the "greater prize". This is a big statement considering the Heat are reigning AFL ME Premiers.

Across the weekend, the SANFL Grand Final played out. Normally held the week after the AFL Grand Final, this year the SANFL Grand Final was up against both the AFL on the Saturday afternoon and the NRL on the Sunday evening.

With the footy seasons in New Zealand all up and running here is a brief overview of recent news from around the country.

Auckland:-

The Auckland season (http://www.aafl.co.nz) is about half way through and last year’s Grand Finalists Waitakere Magpies and University Blues are sharing the top two positions. Rounding out the four are North Shore Tigers and Mt Roskill Saints with regular cannon fodder Manurewa Raiders and Takapuna Eagles completing the ladder. In the last round of scores available the Saints beat the Eagles on default, the Magpies defeated the Raiders 120- zip and the Blues won 14.13: 97 over the Tigers 9.2:56.

After the stunning drawn AFL Grand Final the teams went to battle in the re-match the following week, with Collingwood, the best team during the minor round, not letting St Kilda get close the second time around. Collingwood 16.12 (108) defeated St Kilda 7.10 (52). Below are Bigpond highlights via Youtube.

The AFL today announced changes to the Laws of the Game for the 2011 Toyota AFL Premiership Season, following an extensive period of consultation throughout 2010. AFL General Manager Football Operations Adrian Anderson, Chairman of the Laws of the Game Committee, said the Commission had approved the following:

1) An alteration to the interchange system, whereby AFL teams will have a bench comprised of three interchange players and one player to be used as a substitute;

2) A change to the Advantage Rule, whereby the player and not the umpire will decide if there is an advantage to a team in playing on after a free kick;

3) Simplify the rough conduct (bumping) rule and make consistent with head down over the ball, so that a player who elects to apply a bump in any situation is liable if he makes forceful contact with the head, unless:
a. the player was contesting the ball and did not have a realistic alternative way to contest the ball; or
b. the contact was caused by circumstances outside the control of the player which could not be reasonably foreseen.

It will be interesting to see how widely these rules are adopted by international leagues who usually use their own discretion when it comes to implementation of new laws (as implementation may be hampered locally by cost or extra administration required).

worldfootynews.com has closely followed Mathias Biron's progress since assisting the young Danish player to make it down to Australia for the 2010 NAB AFL Under 16 Championships, in which he performed well for the World XVIII. Since returning to Denmark, the 18 year old (pictured front row at the far left) has represented his country at senior level during the Vikings' gallant run in the inaugural European Championships (the full field version not to be confused with this weekend's Euro Cup 9-a-side tournament). WFN caught up with Biron to discuss the benefits of the World XVIII experience.

"I think that I learned a lot in the weeks that I was there. We had some really good coaches that taught me many new things at the training sessions. I improved a lot on those two weeks, not only because of the training sessions but also the matches taught me a lot. I learned to manage the pressure before a match, but I also learned many things on ground. To play against the Australian teams, we obviously didn’t have a chance, but it taught me how I should play and what I should work on. I think that you always learn a lot from players that are better than you".

Irishman Michael Quinn has been awarded the Cater medal for the Best and Fairest of the Bendigo Bombers, the VFL affiliate for Essendon. It is a huge boost for the County Longford native who has struggled in his two outings for the Bombers in the AFL this season. Despite this he has consistently impressed in the lower grade.

The Sydney Swan's Dennis Carroll Trophy for Most Improved Player was last night awarded to Canadian Mike Pyke. This award is decided by the Match Committee and is based on votes in 2010 compared to 2009, among other criteria.

Pyke, 26, played International Rugby Union for Canada before moving to Australia in 2008 to try his hand at AFL with the Swans. This year he played 18 senior games, developed his all-round game and skills, and held down the number two ruck position.

The night's main award, the Bob Skilton Medal (for the club's best player in 2010) was won by Kieren Jack, completing a fairytale rise from budding rugby league junior to elite AFL midfielder.

The notion of Aussie Rules being played in Europe is no longer new but until now it has been an entirely male environment. This weekend Milan will host the continent’s first ever women’s international match of Australian Football.

The Euro Cup, an annual 9-a-side tournament, has been going since 2005. Every year Aussie Rules continues to expand, and that growth is reflected in the increasing numbers of teams taking part.

This year that expansion goes across genders as well as borders with both Ireland and Italy fielding women’s teams as well as men’s.

This article courtesy of Nic Townsend, photos courtesy of Daniela Scalia.

While Australia is being treated to a second Grand Final this weekend, on the other side of the world, another big day of footy will also taking place: the Euro Cup. This year the annual 9-a-side Australian Football tournament will be held in Milan, Italy.

The competition has only been running since 2005, but in that time it has grown dramatically in terms of nations competing and players participating, and its growth is reflective of the growing popularity of the game in Europe.

The 2010 Euro Cup will be contested by 15 countries. Wales and Switzerland will be taking part for the first time where they join other emerging football-playing nations such as Austria, France, Catalonia, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Scotland. England, Ireland, Germany and Croatia, who are all relatively well established, will also be involved.

This year’s Euro Cup will also feature the first ever women’s international in Europe, between Italy and Ireland.

This article courtesy of Nic Townsend.

Six teams are set to contest the 2010-11 AFL Middle East season, which will kick off in October. In surprising news the Dubai Heat, who have been Premiers in the league’s only two seasons are apparently not taking part. This season will consist of five Home and Away matches, plus a Grand Final and playoff for Third and Fourth position.

Read on for the complete fixture and club previews.

The AFL, Richmond Football Club and Queensland Government today announced that they had formed a partnership that would see Toyota AFL Premiership Season matches played at an upgraded Cazalys Stadium in Cairns in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Richmond will play a home match against the Gold Coast Suns at the stadium every year for the next three years.

It also brings AFL football closer to PNG. While the SUNS currently have Stanis Susuve listed, the Tigers also have scholarship listed players from PNG in Gideon Simon (pictured) and Nathan Malbak who will be happy to have top level footy on PNG's doorstep.