World Footy News

Timor-Leste (East Timor) is a country in Southeast Asia made up of the eastern part of the island Timor, the Oecussi-Ambeno region in Northwest Timor and the smaller islands of Pulau Atauro and Pulau Jaco. It has a population of a little over one million. It made headlines in 1999 when incited anti-independence violence followed a successful referendum by Timor-Leste to be recognised as their own state.

An Australian-led peacekeeping force was deployed to the region to support the new state, and they remain in the country (along with peacekeepers and police from 20 other countries) following more recent violence. Under the banner of “Operation Astute”, the Australian Defence Force are aiming to bring “stability, security and confidence to the Timorese to allow them to resolve their differences democratically and peacefully.” Sport has been identified as one avenue to achieve these goals, and consequently Australian football has been in the limelight.

Photos and videos of football matches and Auskick clinics in Timor-Leste can be found on the ADF website. More photos and a short review of the Auskick clinics can be seen on pages 16 and 18 of the September 2007 edition of Timor-Leste’s Guide Post Magazine. The Auskick website also ran articles titled NAB AFL Auskick in East Timor and Auskick Timor Leste Coaches Report.

It may currently surprise some in the international footy scene that an internationally developed Australian Football player is participating in the Rugby World Cup in France right now! And he credits Aussie Rules for helping develop the skills that got him there. Also helping the Kiwis with their line-outs (throw ins from the sideline where players boost each other into the air to try to gain possession) is a former VFL/AFL ruckman who experienced both codes, and Rugby League, in the diverse Sydney sporting scene.

The number three ranked (WFN USFooty Top 10 Polls) Baltimore Washington Eagles (BWE) have won the 2007 Eastern Australian Football League Premiership, suggesting they are the best team on the East Coast for 2007. The Eagles have won 11 games in a row, which includes a 5-0 record in 2007. The EAFL Premiership was finalised last weekend with the Eagles beating the Philadelphia Hawks 98 to 17 in Philadelphia to finish 4-0 in EAFL play. The New York Magpies (5 in the poll) finished second with their only loss being to the Eagles at home. Boston (8) finished third after losing to the Eagles in Washington and failing to hold off the Magpies' last quarter come-back in New York last weekend. The Hawks finished fourth with one win over the North Carolina Tigers in Washington DC. After their strong finish to 2006, BWE still had plenty to prove but knocking off New York will surely make the USFooty community take notice.

Samoan-born forward, Aaron Edwards, was the stand out forward in today's AFL semi-final between North Melbourne and Hawthorn. In a match when all eyes were on the Hawks' twin towers of Lance "Buddy" Franklin and Jarryd Roughead, the "recycled" Edwards booted four goals and launched himself skyward to pull in one of the 2007 season's great marks. The forward is one of those rare success stories where a player is let go by a club (in this case West Coast) and plies his trade in a state league (the VFL), and is thrown a lifeline by a different AFL club. Edwards rewarded the Roos with his four which were the equal top contribution (with on-baller Brent Harvey) in a relatively low scoring game as North Melbourne redeemed themselves for last week's annihilation at the hands of Geelong, defeating Hawthorn 14.9 (93) to 8.12 (60). North now get a crack at Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium and Collingwood face the daunting task of Geelong, probably before close to a sell-out crowd of 100,000 at the MCG - the only risk to that being if Pies fans don't believe they have a genuine chance to winning.

AFL Samoa intends using Edwards as their inspiration for young Samoan boys taking to our sport and such heroics from the player can only help that cause. There aren't too many men of his size, carrying that much muscle bulk, who can leap high above a pack - maybe one day AFL scouts will turn their eyes to the South Pacific island to see if there's any more such talent.

Collingwood tonight steamed home to win their first game against the Eagles in Perth since 1992 after scores were locked at 10.12 (72) each at the end of the fourth quarter. For only the second time since the system was brought in to decide drawn finals, extra time was needed - two additional mini-halves of five minutes each. Young international recruit Martin Clarke was involved in a crucial play in the closing minutes of the dramatic match.

Two Samoan footballers, Fia Tootoo and Chris Teniselli will face off against each other this weekend in the Ellinbank & District Football League Grand Final, a country league about an hour's drive east of Melbourne. Teniselli represented Samoa at the 2005 International Cup whilst Tootoo was alongside him in 2005 and part of the inaugural team in 2002. He was also named in both All-star teams.

Both players are former team-mates at the Moorabbin Kangaroos, although come Saturday, Teniselli will pull on a Catani jumper whilst Tootoo lines up for Nyora. According to Michael Roberts, AFL Samoa’s Game Development Manager, "both lads can play. Chris is one of my favourite players and should make the best team in 2008. Fia should be our captain next year". The game will be held at Cora Lynn.

Saturday night saw the announcement of the Atlanta Kookaburras' "Team of the Decade" to coincide with the USAFL's anniversary celebrations. It was also a time for reflection and acknowledgement of those that have made the Kookaburras one of the more revered clubs in the US.

Former club President and club founder Mike Powers and current President Wayne Kraska heralded over proceedings recalling who, what and when things had happened since 1998 when Mike had first organized training sessions at Dobbins Air Force base in Marietta GA.

With the help of club historian Marty Hyder many stories of the past were touched on from how the team was named to how the Nationals came to Atlanta and why it was such a success. A surprise for some maybe was Steven Thomson who only played in 2001 was named Head Coach of the team.

Details of the full team can be found at the Atlanta Kookaburras website.

The message seems to be slowly getting through (at least in New York and Philadelphia) that the Aussie punters in the NFL are from Australian Football and not Rugby. The number of times the guys are referred to as a “former Australian rugby player” have much decreased over the last couple of years. Listening online to some of the audio during the NFL preseason games, it seems that many of the announcers are doing their homework on the game. Not all of them though, as the great John Madden still managed to link Rocca with Rugby on a Monday night football broadcast that went live across the nation. But even then the Philadelphia Eagles message boards had many posts by US fans mocking the sports casting senior citizen’s gaffe.

The latest evidence that the media at least are becoming aware of the difference can be seen in an article yesterday in Wilmington, Delaware newspaper, The News Journal:

Reno Mahe doesn't have all the facts straight yet, but he thinks he'll be ready to return punts -- in prime time. Mahe said Wednesday he caught punts kicked by "the Australian rugby guy" -- Sav Rocca -- at the NovaCare Complex in preparation for Monday night's game against Washington. Rocca, of course, isn't exactly a "rugby guy." More like a legend of Australian rules football. The Eagles hope Mahe is more accurate about his synopsis that catching punts is like "riding a bike."

Lets hope there is a flow-on effect, and with a greater understanding of the game, more Americans will seek out Australian Football locally.

With the EU Cup 9s tournament kicking off in a few days, we take a quick look at the Czech and Dutch teams for the tournament, as well as a look over the team lists for the remaining sides. The twelfth team for the tournament is to be a scratch team of extra players of teams with more than 15 making the trip, as well as a few from other countries not represented.

September has arrived for 2007 and Australia is gripped with AFL finals fever. For international footy fans it is also an exciting period as the countdown to the 2008 International Cup intensifies. Should the event be held on the proposed dates, round 1 will kick off on 27 August and the event will conclude with the finals being played on 6 September. Below we look at recent weather trends in Melbourne in order to get some idea of next year’s conditions. We also look at previous International Cup venues, and examine those which organisers may look to use for 2008. Adding to the excitement, the AFL have released the logo for next year's tournament. It is an adapted version of the 2002/05 logo and can be viewed in this story.