World Footy News

Marc McGowan from the www.afl.com.au website reports on the growing number of Irish footballers signed or about to be for the 2019 season. Following is an extract from the story. 

AN UNPRECEDENTED number of Irishmen are set to compete in the AFL next year if North Melbourne's bid to lure a prospect from a small county is successful. 

Red Óg Murphy, a forward from Sligo, is that player. 

Óg is the Irish equivalent of 'junior', for the uninitiated, but you can already take a pretty accurate stab at what his nickname will be in Australia. 

 

He could follow countrymen James Madden (Brisbane), Mark Keane and Anton Tohill (Collingwood), Stefan Okunbor (Geelong) and Callum Brown (Greater Western Sydney) into the League in 2019.

The Bogota Bullants have downed the Bogota Bombers in yesterday’s AFL Colombia Grand Final to win the second competition premiership. The Bullants were too good for the Bombers and ran out comprehensive winners by 49 points with the final score seeing the Bullants 132 defeating the Bombers 83.

Earlier this year, the DC Aguilas won the inaugural AFL Colombia premiership. The Bullants have now claimed the second Colombian flag, making their own impact on Colombian footy.

More to come.

The 2018/19 CNFA Leo Lagrange season kicked off in France this weekend. Last weekend’s scheduled clash between the ALFA Lions and Perpignan Tigers did not proceed, leaving this weekend’s games as the season start on field.

With matches played in both Paris and Bordeaux, there were some significant results for a new-look CNFA. The reimagining of the former Toulouse Hawks and Blagnac Aviators saw the new entity – Stade Toulousain – take the field to win against the Bordeaux Bombers. New team, the Bayonne Toreadors, pushed the Paris Cockerels in their debut match and the Paris defeated the Cergy-Pontoise Coyotes convincingly.

In Bordeaux, the Toulousain team kicked away to a handy 20-point lead in the opening quarter against the home team. The same margin separated the teams by the main break with the Bombers determined to stay in touch and they crept to within 10 points by the final change. But the Stade Toulousain team unleashed a huge final quarter to run out eventual 37-point winners.

Will Taylor from the AFL Europe website www.afleurope.org reports on the upcoming clash between Norwood and both the Croatian Knights men’s and Croatian Queens women’s teams. Not only does this present as a unique pre-season opportunity for the Redlegs, it is also another great step in the development of Croatian teams – fast-tracking the development of the national women’s team. 

In a first for footy in Europe, South Australian National Football League (SANFL) side the Norwood Football Club will play the Croatian men’s and women’s national teams in a friendly fixtures this weekend in Biograd na Moru. 

 

The Redlegs have made their way over to Croatia to start their pre-season training camp that will involve a fixtures against the Croatian Knights  and Croatian Queens this Sunday.

The Bogota Bombers have reached their first AFL Colombia Grand Final, downing the DC Aguilas to meet the Bogota Bullants in the big dance. The Aguilas won the inaugural AFL Colombia premiership earlier this year. Their format sees two mini seasons per year, giving the Bombers and Bullants their chance to join the honour roll. From the mighty pen of AFL Colombia, here is the match report.

What a cracker of a game we had last Saturday.

Coming up to the start of the match, you could feel the tension, as both teams weren't ready to be knocked out of the competition.

The Gourmet Burger Bar Bogota D.C. Aguilas looked confident, arriving with a full team that included a full strength Captain Paddy Smallwood, Denny transplant Will Keech, Colombian breakout and new Bogota Bulldogs Torres Sergio and the return of the DC Rockett from his travels abroad.

With AFLW clubs finalising their lists today in the wake of Tuesday’s draft, Irish talent, Aisling McCarthy has been snared by the Western Bulldogs with pick 23 in the draft. She is one of four Irish women to be placed on AFLW team lists after the recent national and rookie drafts.

Aisling was a graduate of the Western Bulldogs’ Cross-Code graduate program and was a part of the Cross-Code program held last month in Melbourne for women from across the world to try out for list spots. The Western Bulldogs were impressed by Aisling’s talent and potential and did not hesitate to draft her on Tuesday.

The 22-year old Tipperary native came to Australia earlier in September to try her luck and has already achieved her primary goal. Her selection continues a gradual exodus of Irish talent to the AFLW as more women realise they can live a dream.

The GIANTS have welcomed Irish recruit Callum Brown (in the red and white left)to the club as a rookie for the 2019 season.

Brown is an up-and-coming Gaelic Football star in his home country and is a tall, skillful and athletic prospect.

The 18-year-old was identified by the GIANTS’ Irish scouting program in July 2017 and undertook a 12-month trial process with the club.

He flew to Australia in August to spend two weeks training with the GIANTS under the eye of coach Leon Cameron.

Brown is the second Irish international signing in the club's short history after Setanta Ó hAilpín played two injury ridden year's with the club at the end of his career.  Also currently on the club's list is Aidan Corr who was born in Northern Ireland but has lived in Australia since he was three.

Image: irishnews.com

 

Riley Beveridge from the sww.afl.com.au website reports that Port Adelaide has a new partner in China for the next three years. After talk and speculation since the Gold Coast Suns withdrew from future agreements, St Kilda has formally been announced as the new opponent for the Power in Shanghai, commencing next season. 

PORT Adelaide has struck a deal to take on St Kilda in its annual China clash from 2019 and beyond, with the two sides confirming a three-year agreement on Thursday.

Gold Coast had been Port Adelaide's opponents in Shanghai over the past two seasons, with the first home and away game played on Chinese soil back in the 2017 campaign. 

However, the Saints will replace the Suns in 'hosting' a match at Shanghai's Jiangwan Stadium, which has a capacity of around 11,000 people for AFL matches.

In the afterglow of the recent Euro Cup in Cork, Ireland, where the Tel Aviv Cheetahs competed brilliantly and even won an important game, the club has been inspired by a young titan of the game – Nic Naitanui. Will Taylor and Ashley Browne report on the www.afl.com.au website about his vivit to inspire the Cheetahs whilst in Israel. 

INJURED West Coast star Nic Naitanui worked closely with his fellow ruckmen leading up to the Eagles' premiership and his coaching journey has now taken a more exotic turn, this time to Israel. 

Naitanui spent Monday night on a bumpy soccer field, conducting training for the Tel Aviv Cheetahs, who play in the AFL Europe competition.  

Naitanui is in Israel on holiday, and has spent the week travelling through all parts of the country, from the Galilee region in the north, down to Beersheva and the Dead Sea in the south.

In a wonderful example of the power of our game across the world, the Essendon Football Club's theme song "See The Bombers Fly Up" has been updated and rearranged by Ugandan artist, Coopy Bly. Below is the stunning result - a stirring rendition of a song well known across Australian Rules football communities.

The story from the http://www.essendonfc.com.au website follows with some background to the project.

[youtube:hkq6iATWbl4]

Waratah have come from behind to snatch a thrilling win against the Nightcliff Tigers in the Round 3 action of the NTFL. Their win finished off a big round of footy in Darwin with St Mary’s snaring their first win of the season, Southern Districts Crocs holding off a gallant Tiwi Bombers and the Darwin Buffaloes too good for the Palmerston Magpies.

In the Sunday match, however, the Tigers led Waratah almost all day. Going into the match, Nightcliff were slight favourites after an undefeated start to the season. All was on track until three-quarter time with the Tigers still 20 points ahead. But Waratah came out onto the field full of fire and closed the gap. Waratah were down by less than a goal with less than five minutes to play, but a crumbed goal in the goal-square put Waratah ahead. Only moments later, Waratah kicked another to seal the game, and their second win of the season.

 

Marc McGowan reports on the www.afl.com.au website about Geelong’ signing of more Irish talent ahead of the 2019 season. To read the original article, go to: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-10-18/another-irish-cat-stefan-okunbor-joins-geelong

GEELONG is set to have three Irishmen on its list next year, with Stefan Okunbor to join Zach Tuohy and Mark O'Connor at the Cattery. 

The final details are still being finalised, but the 20-year-old is likely to accept a two-year rookie contract with Chris Scott's side.

There will be an influx of Irish talent in the AFL in 2019, with James Madden (Brisbane) and Mark Keane and Anton Tohill (Collingwood) already signed and Jordan Morrissey linked to Essendon.