World Footy News

With comments noting that Australia's increase in skill with the round ball needs to be matched more, perhaps than trying to match Australia's physical strength - Ireland’s International Rules squad was announced on Tuesday 7th October in Dublin.

As reported in the Irish Times, Irish team manager (coach), Seán Boylan, admitted Ireland was sending its most inexperienced (in terms of International Rules experience) squad since the series resumed a decade ago. Ireland will be without all its AFL players due to injury or personal reasons (or perhaps some not considered on form grounds – though Boylan didn’t say that) apart from the Brisbane Lions' Colm Begley who did have an excellent season. Tadgh Kennelly carrying several injuries will be a big loss but will be assisting Boylan with managing the team.

The Irish players came mainly from the most successful counties in the recently completed All-Ireland championships, as the Irish Times reports: “All-Ireland finalists Tyrone and Kerry leading the pack with four players each. Other representations are Armagh and Cork (3), Galway, Dublin and Meath (2) with Laois, Down, Wicklow, Westmeath, Wexford, Mayo and Derry having one player each.” Of some controversy was that a small traditionally unsuccessful county, Fermanagh, that has improved markedly in recent times had 3 players considered likely, but all were overlooked.

In the third and final installment of WFN's preview of this year's EU Cup, we spoke to team managers from the England Dragonslayers, Scottish Puffins and Austrian Kangaroos.

The Dragonslayers have performed well at EU Cup in the past, and will be keen to be back towards the top of the table. A large contingent of their team is drawn from the ARUK Southern league, who surprised many with a strong showing at this year's Brit Cup in London. They will also have the services of Christian Lloyd, who travelled with the GB Bulldogs to this year's IC in Melbourne.

The Puffins are coming to Prague after a disrupted 2008 season, with problems in player numbers and availability of Victoria Park getting in the way of conducting their regular league structure. However, management in Scotland are confident the SARFL will be back on track for business as usual in 2009.

The Austrians will again be drawn from the Vienna Kangaroos club, with the expansion side in Graz still yet to get off the ground. The side has had a few hit outs this year, including their regular local show downs against Croatia and the Czech Republic, and the clash of the Kangaroos against Munich.

The Denver Bulldogs and San Diego Lions will this year again go into the USFooty Nationals hot favorites, being drawn as number one seeds in Division 1 pools A and B respectively.

We take a look at how they're traveling, their players to watch and who their stiffest opponents might be.

The AFL today announced its 25-man squad for the 2008 Toyota International Rules Series to be played in Perth and Melbourne. The squad to be coached by Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse will be defending the Cormac McAnallen trophy, which was won in Ireland in 2006. Malthouse said the team featured the next generation of Australian players.

“We have gone for youth, speed, skill and agility. The squad consists of players who have had outstanding seasons with their clubs, 23 of the 25 have finished in the top 10 of their club best and fairest. They all deserve the opportunity to play for their country and win for their country.

India was one of five nations that attended their first International Cup this year. Two thirds of the team flew in from Kolkata, India with the rest of the squad Indian students already in Australia.

WFN spoke to team captain Mario Shelton about his journey to Melbourne and his plans for the game back home.

Melbourne's Herald Sun reports that Carlton's O'hAilpin brothers may not be at the club in 2009. Setanta (pictured left) is having a break back in Ireland after struggling through the end of the season with the Blues, missing nearly half the year with a calf injury and/or demotion to the VFL. Aisake (pictured right), at 23 and 201 cm, has yet to make his AFL debut and has gained a reputation as a fiery player, with run-ins on the field and disputes with staff. Both players have switched their management to Michael Quinlan, who also looks after Sydney's Irishman Tadhg Kennelly. With 46 matches under his belt, the elder O'hAilpin has already exceeded the average length of an AFL career, with so many young players not making it past two or three years.

Encouragingly several clubs (Western Bulldogs and Port Adelaide) are reported to be interested in Setanta, and Aisake has supposedly caught the eye of Collingwood. Trade week is always full of speculation and rumour, but hopefully the Fijian-Irishmen will still find themselves on AFL lists next season. Certainly with draft picks in the 20s and 30s being talked about as potential swaps for Setanta, he should be reasonably safe to make one of the 16 AFL lists. The Herald Sun article is: Carlton appear to be put O'hAilpin brothers on the market, by Mark Robinson.

As football continues to expand its presence outside of Australia, greater news coverage is also required. Being a volunteer organisation our writers are limited by how much time they can commit to the site and occassionally we need to put out a request for assistance.

Our current areas of need are Oceania and the UK & Ireland. If you are keen to help out but lack the time to cover an area by yourself, we also require further assistance covering the USA and Europe. You don't need to be based in that particular area (most of our writers are in fact in Australia) nor do you need to have been involved with international football before. All you need is a spare hour or so a week and adequate writing skills.

We will give you support, provide plenty of contacts, and no particular computer skills are required - we'll show you how to upload your stories through a relatively simple web page. So if you have an interest in supporting international footy and getting a behind-the-scenes view on the game's growth, then consider volunteering to write for WFN. Contact Ash Nugent for more information through our About Us - Contact Us page (click on his name).

In part two of our preview of teams for the 2008 EU Cup, we take a look at Eastern Europe's first footballing nations, Croatia and the Czech Republic, as well as the growing leagues further west in Catalonia and France.

The French, Catalan and Croatian squads will be all-local, with the Czech Lions also fielding a larger local contingent than previous years, together with a diverse range of other internationals.

All four sides have seen some great growth in the last twelve months. The French have gone from two clubs to four around the country, with a few more in the works. The Catalans have returned to a four-team domestic league, with an expansion group in the tiny Catalan-speaking mountain nation of Andorra possibly joining the LFAC next season.

Making their EU Cup debut, the Croatian Knights are bringing a full squad plus spares to Prague, with the Zagreb Hawks forming a second "Saints" squad for scratch matches over the season. The Czech AFL has seen the start of domestic footy, with the Prague Tigers and Prague Lions playing three matches against each other over the past month.

With the maximum number of Australians this year reduced to 6 per squad of 15, these four sides may find themselves a little higher up the table than last year.

The annual Bali9s tournament hosted by the Bali Geckoes at the Canggu Club will be played on November 1st. This year’s tournament will see four teams from the Indonesian region competing, Bali Geckos, their fierce rivals the Jakarta Bintangs and newly formed clubs the Borneo Bears and Timor-Leste Crocs.

Played in a 9-a-side, lightning premiership type format, each team will play the others with the two top teams playing off in a grand final.

Whilst the far more experienced Bali and Jakarta sides would be favoured to win through to the final, both Borneo and Timor Leste could take heart from the efforts of debutants Laos in the recently concluded Asian Championships, who proved that novice teams could cause upsets.

The Bali9s has been a prestigious trophy since its inception in 2002, the inaugural winners being the Bintangs. That year’s tournament took place just a week before the tragic Bali bombings in which 202 people lost their lives, 88 of them Australian. The 2003 edition which marked the one year anniversary of that event was particularly poignant, being attended by luminaries such as the then Prime Minister of Australia John Howard, and for the football fanatics, Ron Barassi, Mick Martin and Dermott Brereton. Jason McCartney played for the Geckoes on that day, but even he could not stop Bateman’s Bay from annexing the trophy.

The tournament has a lost some of its lustre in recent years, being usurped by its sister contest, the Bali9s Masters, a similar event for teams comprising the over 35’s. However, this year's competition, involving teams from the same geographic area, should be hotly contested and may become a fore-runner of an annual competition involving the same four teams.

USFootyNews.com is running an All-Star Ballot during the month of October. To vote just click on the link below and enter your top 6 USFooty players. Your votes will count to creating a USFootyNews.com All-Star Team that will be announced in November.

Choose a Key Forward such as a Full Forward or Center Half Forward, a Key Defender such as a Full Back or Center Half Back, two Midfielders such as a Center, Ruck Rover, Wing, or Flanker, a Ruck or tall player, and a Rover or small player.

You may choose from the list provided or enter a name on your own. Note that if you enter a name, please provide the full name and club for the player in the space provided.

Also enter your name, your favorite USFooty club and your email address.

Good luck and good voting!

Click HERE to VOTE.

The 2008 MAAFL Premiership race, as is normally the case, came down to the last game and Chicago United have successfully defended their 2007 title by again being crowned the premier club in the Mid American Australian Football League.

Interestingly the United team did not have to take the park on the last weekend of competition but just had to sit back and see if Nashville could snatch the cup from their grasp at the death knock. It wasn't to be for the Kangaroos though as they went down to Minnesota Freeze leaving Chicago on top of the ladder on percentage over the Milwaukee Bombers.

Story by Wayne Kraska for USFootyNews.com.

WorldFootyNews.com and USFootyNews.com have teamed up to present the USFooty Top Ten Poll for 2008. This is the 6th edition of the poll and the last before the USFooty National Championship Tourney.

1. Balt/Wash Eagles (8-0)  (7 # 1 Votes)
2. Denver Bulldogs (3-3)  (3)
3. NY Magpies (6-3)
4. San Diego Lions (3-2)
5. OC Bombers (5-2)
6. Golden Gate Roos (1-1)
7. Chicago United (6-1)   (UP from 8)
8. Nashville Kangaroos (6-3) (DOWN from 7)
9. Dallas Magpies (4-0)
10. Milwaukee Bombers (4-6)  (IN)