World Footy News

To Australians, Nauru was well known as a small Pacific island-nation (around 21 sq km) that had embraced Aussie Rules more so than any other country - even Australia itself. Many of the tiny population of around 13000 people played footy, but unfortunately it wasn't ultimately a happy relationship on the financial front. Nauru was heavily mined for phosphate, giving the locals a high standard of living, but when the resources ran out, so too did many of the investments supposed to safeguard their future. Such investments included Nauru House (at one stage the tallest building in Melbourne) and the ill-fated Fitzroy Football Club.

On field things also turned sour, with the local league suspended in recent seasons - it seems too much passion for the game was leading to on and off-field violence. But the county still hopes to make it Down Under for the 2008 Australian Football International Cup, and is looking for financial support to allow that to happen. There's no doubt Nauru has the potential to be one of the higher profile nations at the tournament. WFN spoke with Nauru politician and former club coach, Hon. Fabian Ribauw M.P., about footy on the island.

That's the question that Melbourne Demons AFL star Brad Green asked himself as a 16 year old from Tasmania.

As a talented young soccer player, he was flown to England and offered a lucrative contract as part of a trial with Manchester United in 1996, but decided to return home and instead finish school and play Aussie Rules, a sport he'd never played competitively.

Despite retaining a love for soccer and the Melbourne Victory, Green has never looked back and is widely regarded as one of the most accurate kicks for goal in the AFL.

The story is covered on the Melbourne Demons website.

The Mullingar-based Midland Tigers are hoping for some rejuvenation in the Irish league this year and are back on the world wide web after an absence of three years.

The club have established a new website with an address of www.midlandtigers.net hoping to recruit new players and coaches to the team, who have struggled of late.

The site includes a social networking page. The Tigers' Bebo page which can be accessed through the website and allows current members, past players and friends to interact and also includes video footage of Irish AFL Stars, an introductary video to the sport; as well as quizzes and polls.

The club are keen to attract new members from throughout the Midlands for the season ahead which commences in March and anyone interested in joining can do so by checking out the website or e-mailing recruitment@midlandtigers.net.

A report in the Irish Times quotes GAA media relations officer, Feargal McGill saying whilst discussions on the future of the International Rules series between the GAA and AFL in October were "frank and cordial", they "are still set to resume...(and) nothing definite has been planned for the next couple of weeks, and it looks like it will be February before anything is set."

The article goes on to note that the AFL schedule this year will be full enough with the 150th anniversary events, and the GAA is not rushed about the series. The GAA has TV rights negotiations it is preoccupied with, which although far less lucrative than the AFL's TV rights are far more lucrative than the amateur sports association has been used to.

There have been some rumours circulating that the Adelaide versus Collingwood NAB Cup match in Dubai on February 9th may not go ahead due to concerns about the condition of the playing surface at the Dubai Polo Ground. There was talk that the match would be moved back to Australia because the alternative grounds will not allow alcohol - a problem for entertaining corporate guests.

Today the Adelaide Crows' General Manager of Football Operations, John Reid, commenting on Adelaide radio station 5AA, said that the match would definitely go ahead, but at a different venue to that originally selected because of the ground conditions. The new location will be another set of polo fields.

On the 19th of November 2007 the West Perth Falcons of the Western Australian Football League entered the second year of their international experiment with two brothers, Americans James and Jared Brunmeier. While a number of AFL clubs have looked to Ireland, the Falcons looked across the Pacific and found two Wisconsin boys. The Brunmeier brothers went to the Falcons November 2006 as part of an exchange program with the Milwaukee Bombers. They completed a full pre-season with the team and then a full season with the club. Both boys played reserves games throughout the year and made a major impression on the coaching staff and the club. Now they've been invited back for more.

The Jakarta Bintangs recently assisted in Australian Football clinics for TNI (Indonesian Armed Forces) members as part of a course to help prepare them for study in Australia. Officers took part in clinics in footy skills as well as demonstrations about the history of the game.

The Bintangs also hope to soon receive their first Footy Development Officer from the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development program, as well as recently receiving a grant of $16,000 from the Australia-Indonesia Institute for further Australian rules development in the country.

December saw two of the major NZAFL Grand Finals played, with the favourites coming home in both the Wellington and Auckland leagues.

In Auckland, the University Blues ran out comfortable winners over the Mt Roskill Saints, while in Wellington the Eastern Suburbs Bulldogs, with only 2 Australians in their 24-man matchday squad, gave the Wellington City Saints a 102-point hiding.

As reported by various Irish media agencies since early December, it appears that Northern Irish minor gaelic footballer Kyle Coney will come out to Sydney next June to trial with the Swans.

The Tyrone Times today reported that the Red Hand county minor is off to the land of Oz for a two-week trial in the summer, Coney the latest in a growing number of skilful youths being lured to the professional game, citing that the player had been encouraged to go for it by teachers at his Holy Trinity school - Anthony Devlin and legendary Peter Canavan.

"I have good opportunities here, so I am going to keep an open mind and not rush into things" Coney told Star reporter Karl O'Kane. "Peter thought it a good opportunity to get paid for doing something you like. I was over the moon."