World Footy News

Canada's junior team, the Wolfpack, headed down to Australia in big numbers just prior to the third International Cup. In a huge undertaking 52 people made the trip, costing around $100,000 with a big effort on fundraising over many months prior.

The young players got to play four matches against Victorian school sides, attend a few AFL matches, and cheer Canada to victory in the Northwind's opening IC08 match. After that the players and their families scattered on trips across Australia before heading back home to Canada. WFN spoke to their head coach, Mike McFarlane, about the trip and what it achieved, as well as a couple of the star young players.

The New Zealand AFL website is reporting that several footballers from around Oceania have been invited to the AFL and Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) annual week long talent camp held in Canberra for some of the most promising (usually Australian) young footballers.

Not to be confused with the AFL-AIS draft camp that puts on show the best young players that are of draftable age, this camp targets exciting prospects around 16 years of age. As explained in the NZAFL article:

The camp is a very important part of the AFL’s highly successful NAB Rising Star Program which leads directly to the AFL Draft for players over 18yo. 30 players are selected at the Under 16 National Championships to participate in the AIS Camp. From there they are expected to progress through the AFL’s player pathway, the TAC Cup and into the AFL Draft.

A confirmed starter is New Zealand's Liam Ackland, who has already represented his country at the International Cup, despite being just 16 at the time (he's pictured in action against Japan). Ackland is in only his second season of Aussie Rules, playing for Mt Roskill in the Auckland AFL. The forward has kicked bags of 6 and 5 goals in his last two outings.

The report says several Papua New Guinean and Fijian players have also been invited. WFN has confirmed that there is one PNG rep, Tiernan Carby, and possibly two Fijians. We hope to find out more details soon.

The AFL Commission spent Monday and Tuesday of this week meeting in Sydney, with much of the media focus on whether they would allow former West Coast Eagles player Ben Cousins to return from a one year ban due to drug issues. The answer was yes, under strict testing conditions.

Of more significance for the future of the game, the proposed two new AFL club licences were also discussed. The result was that final approval for the GC17 Gold Coast bid was postponed until December and nothing firm given regarding an 18th club. This could be interpreted as the first signs of a re-think due to the global financial crisis, but with a preliminary youth squad already in training for the Gold Coast, it's highly likely that approval will still come shortly, with the squad to play in the mainly Victorian TAC Under 18s in 2009 and the VFL in 2010 as preparation for a 2011 entry into the AFL.

The Commission suggested that the Western Sydney developments are going well, but made no committment on timing. A green light may well be held back for some time. Meanwhile the Tasmanian government has finished its submission for a team in the AFL and will present it to the AFL soon. This would most likely position the state as ready for a club if there are problems with a West Sydney bid or one of the existing 16 AFL clubs.

The Essendon Football Club have signed their first Irish player. 18 year old Michael Quinn has been announced as an international rookie, although ultimately this is believed to fill a normal rookie spot, as opposed to the international scholarship lists, as recently exercised by the Western Bulldogs with two Fijian youngsters. From Killoe in Longford, Quinn will join full training in January and is allowed to remain on the rookie list for two years. He trialled for the Bombers in September, and has now been placed with a recently arrived Irish family to help him settle into Melbourne life.

See Essendon signs first international recruit for more details.

The inaugural USFootyNews.com All-Star Team was voted on during the month of October. Here are the results.

The battle for Australian hearts and minds, in football terms, continues unabated. And it seems the field of battle is spreading to include neighbouring nations.

The Rugby League World Cup is currently being staged in Australia. As would be the case with a true Australian football World Cup, the Aussies are dominating. However the gap to the next rung of sides is not as great as in Aussie Rules, and the defence-oriented game helps keep the scoreboard relatively respectable. Nevertheless it has been interesting to hear quite a lot of criticism of the tournament, with some media lambasting the level of promotion and/or the quality. But Australian football can only look forward to a time when our International Cup reaches the same level as the RL World Cup, which itself sits a poor third to the Rugby Union WC and soccer's WC.

Disturbingly for Aussie Rules fans, there is talk that Rugby League is now rapidly growing in Oceania (Fiji, Tonga, Samoa etc), and moves are afoot to locate an NRL (Australian National Rugby League) club in Port Moresby, PNG. Meanwhile negotiations are under-way for the AFL to vacate its major venues for up to 2 months if Australia is successful in its bid for the 2018 soccer World Cup finals.

As anticipated in Territorians headed to WAFL or AFLQ, the Northern Territory will enter a team in the top Queensland league in 2009. The side will play home games in Darwin and Alice Springs, and be coached by former indigenous AFL player Michael McLean.

Although the program is football at a state league level, all the players will be required to be either studying at school, TAFE or university, completing an apprenticeship or traineeship, or working in full-time employment.

It will be interesting to see whether this will lead Queensland towards becoming a major centre for Aussie Rules in the years ahead - perhaps a second tier elite competition, below the AFL but above the other state leagues. Probably not, but it is a step in that direction.

The global financial meltdown has already reached Australian sport.

With the AFL proposing two new AFL clubs in the next few years, some have urged they delay the program until the world economy turns around. Originally a new stadium on the Gold Coast was mooted, but with the area's two major investment management firms, MFS and City Pacific, and major developer Raptis, enduring financial problems this year, that now appears off the cards in the short to medium term. A re-development of the old Brisbane Bears ground at Carrara is now more likely. See New stadium plans off the table as GC17 puts its case.

Nevertheless, the AFL Commission appear determined to push ahead with the new clubs. Whether that resolve holds firm should be revealed next week as the Commission meet to discuss the issue.

It could be argued that the current economic climate makes a Tasmanian bid more attractive than West Sydney, though it's also worth noting that one of the vocal supporters of a Tassie bid, formerly Australia's richest person, Andrew Forrest, lost over half his wealth, on paper at least, in the share market fall this year. Ironically he has been replaced at #1 by Frank Lowy, the man behind soccer's big push in Australia. Convincing any sponsor to get on board, be it in Sydney or Tasmania, will be a difficult task. Perhaps the likeliest decision by the AFL is to proceed with West Sydney with caution, not stopping the project, but not fully committing to it until the economic outlook is clearer.

Finding a major sponsor is proving elusive for some of the Melbourne-based clubs, and it wouldn't surprise to see the AFL needing to put more money into them in 2009 than already the case.

The AFL has also warned clubs on the possible loss of existing sponsors and a downturn in members. The League has also vowed to cut its own spending, with reportedly up to $5 million cut in 2009. Hopefully that won't impact on the relatively modest international budget - it's in just such times that bold undertakings can yield their greatest benefits.

The inaugural Finnegan's Cup match, the first International Rules game to be played in Malaysia will take place between the Malaysian Warriors Australian Football Club and the Malaysian Orang Eire, the Malaysian Gaelic Athletic Association on November 22nd at 2.30pm at Alice Smith School in Kuala Lumpur.

This should be a real fun day, both teams know each other well with numerous of the Irish lads having played Australian Football with the Warriors and vice versa, some Warriors having played the Gaelic game with the Orang Eire.

Wihilst there is bound to be plenty of banter and craic, with national pride at stake, one can be assured no quarter will be asked or given.

To the winner, be the spoils

A full report will appear on www.worldfootynews.com in due course.

Details of the game can be found on www.warriorsmalaysia.com

The following article is by Irishman Ian McCourt. "Wicklow to be exact - where they play bad GAA but in beautiful surroundings". He came to Melbourne in the hope of sunshine and gold, of which he has only found one. He was delighted to see Ireland beat the Aussies in the International Rules series.

Despite the fears of the GAA, the first match of the 2008 International Rules series went off without a hitch in Perth, with Ireland winning by the slimmest of margins. With the series being judged on aggregate scores, Australia's fight back in the final quarter and Ireland's one point lead ensured that the next game would be a closely fought affair. For the second match, the series moved to Melbourne and the International Rules road show rolled into town leaving me with two stark choices. Either swing it with the real fans. Feel the passion; hear the noise; join forces with the fan on my left; swill beer with the fan on my right; and scream in unison with indignation as the umpire gets another decision wrong. Or, get tickets that would allow me to hob-nob it with the bigwigs in the members’ section of the ground. I thought about it for a second and jumped aboard the Good Ship Prawn Sandwich.

Many of the best Australian football athletes play in the AFL - but not all of them. Check out this incredible mark, or "hanger" colloquially speaking. If you've ever seen one like that live, you'll know that it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and you'll talk about it for weeks to come.

The player was Saad Saad, playing for Seymour FC in the 2005 Grand Final. Seymour play in Victoria's Goulburn Valley League. A breath-taking moment unique to our game.

[youtube:NVoXHYWto08]

The first Gaelic football players from player agent Ricky Nixon's talent search program in Ireland are arriving in Australia. Nixon has sought to become the conduit by which Irish players are introduced to AFL clubs (see Nixon makes good on Irish scouting pledge).

The Age has reported that Conor Meredith (18) and Niall McKeever (17) arrive this week in Australia, McKeever to spend 1 week each with North Melbourne and Richmond, and similarly Meredith with Richmond and St Kilda. James Kielt arrives later to trial with the Roos and possibly the Saints.

Two more players are reportedly due in soon, and 20 year old Tom Parsons has stayed on since the International Rules Tests to look for an AFL contract.

"We have got to look to new markets to find talent, especially with the two new teams (Gold Coast and West Sydney) on the horizon in the next four years and us being hamstrung in the draft by the concessions they will receive," said Richmond football manager Craig Cameron.

Update 12/11/2008: County Kerry's tall forward Tommy Walsh, 19, last month named the Gaelic Athletic Association's young footballer of the year, will train with St Kilda.