World Footy News

The Vienna Kangaroos and their marsupial mates from Munich will hold the 3rd annual "Battle of the Roos" in the village of Kössen in Tyrol, Austria on Saturday August 29th. Vienna club stalwart Ben Chick says that with the Munich Roos fired up for the AFLG Grand Final the following week, and the Vienna team led by local boy Raoul Himberger, it will be an entertaining match as were the games in previous years.

As Chick explains, "The event is organised annually by Sepp and Jenny Himberger (yes - that's our boy) and has turned out to be a great showcase for Aussie Rules in the fantastic setting of the Tyrolean Alps. The camaraderie between the teams has grown strong over the years and its always a fantastic weekend of entertainment on and off the field."

Australian rules in Austria is continuing to grow, with last year's interest from the city of Graz culminating in the official formation of the second footy club in Austria - The Styrian Downunder Dogs, named for the province of Styria where Graz is located. The Doggies, comprised 100% of Austrian nationals, have been training over the summer and will make up almost half of the Austrian national squad for the EU Cup in Croatia.

Back in the capital, the Vienna Kangaroos are recruiting strongly after suffering a winter exodus of some established ex-pat and local players. As Chick says, "The natural attrition rate seems to have been higher than previous years, but the local new blood have taken to the game with great gusto and are continuing to improve week by week."

A series of matches between the Graz and Vienna teams will take place in September as a lead up to the EU Cup. The Austrians will thereby join their Croatian and Czech neighbours in building a local competition this year, after the Central European tri-series was suspended for 2008.

While we are still remembering the great efforts of Jim Stynes, wait for a return of Tadgh Kennelly, cheer the re-signing of Brendon Murphy, there is a team full of Irish ex-pats playing in the Sydney Womens AFL competition, and they have now qualified for playoffs in their rookie year.

The Bondi Shamrocks are a newly formed club who entered the Sydney Women’s AFL (SWAFL) competition for this season.

They are made up of primarily Irish ex-pats, with a Gaelic Football, Camogie or Rugby background, with a few native Aussies and the odd Kiwi thrown in.

In their inaugural season, they have already had Sports Bar and a cocktail named in their honour, five players were selected to represent NSW at the women’s AFL State Games in Perth, and had six play for Sydney in the rookie team against the touring USA Freedom team. Now the ladies have earned a place in the SWAFL playoffs after beating more experienced opponents during the season to finish in the top four and will contest for a place in the Grand Final .

The Jakarta Bintangs stunned the Bali Geckoes and reinforced their Asian Championship prospects by defeating the Bali Beckos by 5 goals on home turf for the first time in 4 years at Kuta on August 15th.

A minutes' silence preceded the match - dedicated to Craig Senger and others lost to us in similar circumstances. It was a reminder to live every day as though it was your last.

Fitting, because that was how the Bintangs played. From the opening tap to the final siren the Bintangs were always in control. Led in dazzling fashion by Dave "Butcher" Edwards who kicked a club record 12 goals, the Bintangs held sway at every change.

The game strategy was simple, get the ball quickly to the big fellow down forward and he would do the rest. And with Matt Jolly and Chris Bandy winning the ball with regularity in the midfield, and with Bali captain Peter Muir well held, contested possession was achieved with sufficient regularity to build a match winning lead by half time.

While Bali managed to slow the momentum in the last two quarters, the result was never in doubt. A trademark Marzio Da Rae dropkick sealed the win just before the siren.

The Geckos have played in the Grand Final of the Asian Championships in two of the last three years, whilst the Bintangs have had a number of disappointing years since their glory years early in the millennium.

Possibly, the positions may be reversed in this year’s edition of the Asian Championships.

The Sydney Swans' sole remaining Irish recruit has ended speculation regarding his future by signing a new contract to see him remain at the Swans. This is despite recently claiming that he was going to return to Ireland had he not made his senior debut by this seasons end. A series of injuries have hampered his development this year and thus his appearances have been restricted to the Swans reserve side.

Writing in the Irish Echo, Murphy has said that he is delighted at his decision to remain in Australia. “I know I’ve said before that if I hadn’t made a senior appearance by the end of the season that I would just wrap things up and go home; but I’ve changed my mind and I’m now fully committed to a future at the Sydney Swans, whether I’ve made that breakthrough by season’s end or not. Basically, I’ve been offered a new contract, and I’ve decided to take it.”

The Huddersfield Rams have scored an epic come-from-behind win to deny Birmingham in the ARUK Central Grand Final.

Played in front of a great crowd, 150 strong at the Huddersfield Rugby Union Club Lockwood Park Huddersfield, the Bears took full advantage of their opportunities to enjoy a three goal lead at 3 quarter time.

All the momentum was with the Bears and a huge upset looked on the cards, however an injury to Bears captain Matt Mitchell caused the game to be delayed by 20 minutes while the ambulance service took him to hospital after a dislocated knee.

The Rams came out for the last quarter a different team and slammed on goal after goal to emerge victors by 21 points in an unforgettable Grand Final - final scores Huddersfield Rams 13.27 (105) d. Birmingham Bears 12.12 (84)

Rams founder Karl Haigh described the match as "the best day of our lives", and says the club has big plans for the future, with a junior team in operation and a 5-year-plan in place that envisages a club tour to Australia.

The AFL London 2009 Grand Final will see traditional rivals Wandsworth Demons play the West London Wildcats in all 3 grades of the AFL London Grand Final.

Powerhouse club West London lay claim to being the biggest Australian rules club outside Australia and have dominated the premiership tally of the league over the past few years - their senior Wildcats side winning the last 5 London premierships on the trot.

After much discussion and speculation over the past twelve months, the Danish AFL and AFL Sweden have announced that they are preparing to host Europe's first full-scale, all-local International Championship series in the Øresund Region of Denmark and Scania.

AFL Sweden president Jörg Pareigis stated in correspondence to European league committees during the past week that the tournament will be played under IC eligibility rules, meaning all local players, with each team playing four full-length 16-a-side matches over the week from July 31st to August 8th next year.

Assuming that eight European nations are able to mount a squad on the required scale, the teams are to be separated into two divisions of four sides, one division playing its matches in the Copenhagen area, the other over the bridge in Sweden.

The Scottish Australian Rules Football League this year has bounced back in a big way after a few tough seasons, 2009 being the first time in four years for the home and away series to be completed without any matches being forfeited.

The year began with the consolidation of the Glasgow and Edinburgh sides to one team in each city, joined by newcomers the Aberdeen Dingoes from the east coast. The three clubs now having a total of 65 active players, with plans for further clubs in Stirling, Dundee and Perth.

SARFL board member Douglas Hunter had a chat with World Footy News about the league's progress, future expansion plans and junior development.

The Adelaide Crows recruiting manager, Matt Rendell, recently returned home after watching the conclusion of the 2009 NAB Under 18 Championships. Rendell had two very dramatic predictions, one of which could rock the AFL and both of which should have positive ramifications for international Australian football.

His teammates nicknamed him Bobby because they didn't know how to pronounce his name, but Alipate Carlile is keen to make sure it's his football skills and not his unusual name that makes headlines.

Carlile is a cousin of fellow Port Adelaide footballer David Rodan. Born in Fiji, he moved to Country Victoria as a youngster and took up football, eventually being selected with pick 44 by Port Adelaide in the 2005 draft. He's now a regular in the team and was recently featured in an article in Adelaide Now. "Alipate Carlile happy with earfuls, but not bagfuls," mentions his impressive season, a bit about his childhood and background, and his aspirations (along with Rodan) to start a football league in Fiji. Carlile sees great potential for Fijians playing the Australian game as, "Fijians seem taller than the Irish, are closer and have a more intimate knowledge of the game."

Other footballers in the AFL of Fijian extract include Naitanui of West Coast (born in Sydney to Fijian parents) and Setanta Ó hAilpín (half Rotuman - one of Fiji's indigenous ethnic groups).

The Scottish Australian Rules Football League will this weekend hold national team trials in the city of Stirling, roughly halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh. The session is intended both to help efforts to create a team based around the town's university, and also to choose the Scottish Puffins squad for this year's EU Cup in Croatia.

Local newspaper the Stirling Observer reported in Aussie rules at the University that; "AFTER a build up of six years in Scotland, Australian Rules Football is finally coming to Stirling.

In 2003 Scotland's first Aussie Rules football teams were launched simultaneously in Glasgow and Edinburgh and the sport quickly gained popularity in the cities.

For a period of time each city had two competing teams and these have since been consolidated to form the Edinburgh Bloods and the Glasgow Sharks. In 2009 Aberdeen launched the Aberdeen Dingoes.

On Saturday, August 22 at 2pm, the Scottish national team will be training at Stirling University and will also be selecting new players for the Scotland team on the day. All interested players are invited along to get involved in the sport, learn more, or join the team currently being formed in Stirling."

For more information visit the Scottish ARFL website.

First there was "GC17" now there's "Team GWS" as the campaign name for the AFL's proposed 18th football club. The branding has been unveiled this evening at a function held by the AFL, at Swans vs. Geelong game at ANZ Stadium.Launched by the AFL’s Chief Executive officer Andrew Demetriou, the unveiling marks the next stage of the AFL’s expansion plans, designed to engage the community and businesses of Greater Western Sydney in the campaign for a new team.

“The launch of Team GWS is one of the first steps in the journey towards the development of the identity of the football team,” Mr. Demetriou said. “As this campaign takes shape, we are encouraging the fourteen diverse communities of Greater Western Sydney to join Team GWS and be a part of history. Team GWS is a team we can all be proud of, and be part of, based on unity and inclusion.