With so many Australians visiting Bali for so many years it is hardly surprising that an Australian Rules football presence was likely to grow there. The journey of the Bali Geckos is the story of just how that presence took hold and grew to where it is today with the Bali Geckos a key part of the AFL Asia competition. Club founder, Greg Hinchcliffe, kicked off the club in 1997 and was keen to tell their story.

The starting point was their creation. According to Greg, “basically we started as a challenge from a mate of mine who played in Jakarta. No team ever existed here and so I formed one to take them on and then discovered there were already a number of teams throughout Asia.”

Initially, ex-pat Australians formed the core but before long locals from Bali got involved. “We started inviting locals down from day one and have had various ones come and have a kick. Firstly, it was guys that had visited Australia before and knew what the game was but since then, we just open our doors to anyone that wants to try a new sport.”

AFL Japan has announced that the 2019 AFL Scholarship player is Murata Yusuke from the Senshu Powers club.

The scholarship has been awarded for some thirteen years now and involves the player living in Melbourne and training and 'possibly' playing with Boxhill North Football Club for around two months.

Murata is due to arrive in Melbourne on 18th February 2019 and play/study/train in Australian Football until 8th April 2019.

Date: Sunday, 27 January 2019  Time: 8.50 am  Venue: Canadian Academy, Kobe, Japan

Osaka Dingoes’ first footy match in 2019 was played in freezing conditions - zero degree and occasionally snowing.

Due to numbers of available players for both sides, it was a seven-player game. Two forwards, two midfielders, a ruckman and two defenders on the field.

The Lions demonstrated good ball passes, but the Dingoes tackled and pushed hard. The guest Dingo, Ryan Archer, who is an exchange university student, found open space and ran into the goal square. He scored the first goal of the game.

You start by heading north from Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, towards the border with China. Eventually you link up with the Karakorum Highway, passing through never ending vistas of amazing mountain scenery. It isn’t the Himalayas, but a magical land in its own right. Then you arrive at the village of Gilgit Baltistan.

Here, Saliha Baig Jaturi is running Aussie Rules footy clinics. Not only does she face the challenges of being a woman in a Muslim country, where particular expectations on women can restrict what a woman can do, she is also selling Australia’s national game to kids and older villagers who know little or nothing about the game.

The other big challenge is snow. The mountains on the Pakistan/China border zone rank amongst the highest in the world and have the cold to prove it.

 

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.

Australian Football Sri Lanka continues to build on their dream to establish the game of Australian Football in Sri Lanka. Following on from their previous visits to Sri Lanka where they ran clinics and formed a representative squad ahead of the 2017 International Cup, and again visiting later in 2017, the Fonseka brothers are back in Sri Lanka.

Accompanying them on the AFSL Annual Tour 2018 is the Essendon Football Cub captain Dyson Heppell and his brother, Essendon's 2018 VFL Best and Fairest winner Aaron Heppell. The tour is sponsored by AFSL.

The crew spent the past few days finding their feet on the ground in Sri Lanka where they will spend 2 weeks networking with strategic individuals and organisations, promoting Australian Football and running clinics to help introduce the game to the locals.

Below we hear the thoughts of the Heppells on the tour so far.

The Indonesia Volcanoes have claimed the Division 1 AFL Asian Championships in Kuala Lumpar by 16 points over the Philippine Eagles. In the inaugural women’s competition at the Asian Champs, the Vietnam Swans have downed the Hong Kong Dragons in a thrilling final to win the title by just two points.

The Division 2 title was won comprehensively by the ODG PNG Muruks, downing the Thailand Tigers in the final by 70 points 12 5 77 to 1 1 7.

Despite the presence of rain at various stages, the tournament was a huge success – the largest in terms of teams and player numbers to date. According to AFL Asia, "Weather as it does in Asia during this time of the year didn’t have much of a bearing on the overall scheme of things. However, it must be stated when the heavens opened in the Division 2 Final the PNG Muruks we’re playing with a dry ball, whilst the Thailand Tigers were playing with a wet footy. The PNG Muruks put on an absolute show in their grand final."

AFL Asia 2018 iflix Asian Championships & Inaugural AFLW Asian Championships

Article Courtesy AFL Asia

The AFL season may be over, however it’s the business end of the football season in Asia, with the AFL Asia’s 2018 iflix Asian Championships & Inaugural AFLW Asian Championships taking place at the Bukit Kiara Equestrian & Country Resort in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this Saturday, October 13th.

This year’s biggest ever ‘Asian Champs’ will see 5 Division 1 Men’s Teams, 12 Division 2 Men’s Teams and 4 Women’s Teams fighting it out for the ultimate glory in Asian Football. The AFL Asia’s showcase event is expecting over 500 participants from 13 different countries to attend, including approximately 100 females, which is an outstanding result.

As part of the lead-up to the AFL Asian Championships in Kuala Lumpar next month, World Footy News will be presenting information and backgrounds on some of the teams headed to the event. This article features player profiles courtesy of veteran Chinese national footballer, Zhang Hao.

The following profiles are or the eight Chinese nationals who will be playing for the Reds next month as the Chinese team prepares to take on the best in Asia and flex some muscle. The game is expanding at an exciting rate through the clubs based in Beijing (Bombers), Shanghai (Tigers) and the teams of the SCAFL (South China Australian Football League) centred around Guangzhou (Guangdong Province), Hong Kong and Macau.

Kuala Lumpar is preparing for the upcoming AFL Iflix Asian Championships on Saturday 13th October. With the release of the draw this week, large scale of the event becomes clearer. Teams from across the length and breadth of Asia will be there, and training for the travelling squads is in full flight.

According to the event hosts, “the Malaysian Warriors Australian Rules Football Club warmly welcome competing teams, family, friends and spectators to the 19th AFL Asian Championships, Kuala Lumpur! This year’s event is set to be the largest Asian Championships in the history of the tournament with a record 22 teams registered to participate including the inaugural AFLW Championships.”

“As Australian Rules football continues to grow across the region we’re excited to be hosting this year’s Championships and look forward to a huge weekend of Aussie Rules at its Asian finest.”