Jordan Roughead, Liam Picken and Lachie Hunter were three of the younger and less experienced players at the Western Bulldogs back in 2014. On their first visit to Cairns for the annual match against the Gold Coast Suns at Cazalys Stadium, the three were sent down to Gordonvale – 25 kilometres south of Cairns – to meet with the kids at the Pyramid Power club. After a kicking session and a frenetic handpassing match with the locals, the three returned to their hotels.

Returning in 2017 the three are now premiership players and three of the first picked in a strong, talented Bulldogs team. Today in Cairns they all helped the Bulldogs to down the Gold Coast Suns by 54 points and keep their finals hopes on track.

Yesterday, Jordan opened up about his personal love of Cairns and that of his Western Bulldogs team mates.

“We love being up in Cairns as a playing group and as a club.”

Jen is a long way from home. She hails from Melbourne’s northern suburbs and has been a life-long Western Bulldogs supporter – a daughter of the “Scray” and an avid fan since their days at the Whitten Oval (or Western Oval as it was called then) and they were known as Footscray.

Today she is sitting in the Cairns warmth – a tropical 25 degrees – watching her Western Bulldogs players train in the lead-up to tomorrows clash at Cazalys Stadium against the Gold Coast Suns. The temperature I a far cry from the 6 degrees which greeted Melbourne this morning. “That’s the great thing about Cairns,” Jen says. “We can sit here watching the footy in t-shirts, it’s so beautiful here.” After the game is done tomorrow she plans to possibly visit Green Island. She travelled to Kuranda on the scenic railway last year when she was in Cairns for the previous Bulldogs match in 2016.

But Jen adds that the flight itself was a highlight. “When we got on the plane in Melbourne there were people everywhere in their Western Bulldogs colours. We were all going to Cairns together. It was fantastic.”

Round 18 of the 2017 AFL Season kicks off tomorrow night at the Adelaide Oval with the Adelaide Crows hosting Geelong.  The full international broadcast schedule can be seen below.

In addition to the TV networks you can also subscribe to the Watch AFL service that will give you live access to all the matches and more (outside Australia only).  You can access that service by clicking on the link here or the  Watch AFL banner below and paying the subscription fee.

 

 

 

MATCH	DATE	TIMESLOT	MATCH	VENUE	STATE	LOCAL TIME	GMT
1	21-Jul	Night	Adelaide Crows vs. Geelong Cats	Adelaide Oval	SA	19:20	09:50
2	22-Jul	Day	Essendon vs. North Melbourne	Etihad Stadium	VIC	13:45	03:45
3	22-Jul	Day	Melbourne vs. Port Adelaide	MCG	VIC	13:40	04:10
4	22-Jul	Twilight	Western Bulldogs vs. Gold Coast SUNS	Cazalys Stadium	QLD	16:35	06:35
5	22-Jul	Night	Sydney Swans vs. St Kilda	SCG	NSW	19:25	09:25
6	22-Jul	Night	Fremantle vs. Hawthorn	Domain Stadium	WA	17:40	09:40
7	23-Jul	Early	Richmond vs. GWS GIANTS	MCG	VIC	13:10	03:10
8	23-Jul	Day	Collingwood vs. West Coast Eagles	Etihad Stadium	VIC	15:20	05:20
9	23-Jul	Twilight	Brisbane Lions vs. Carlton	The Gabba	QLD	16:40	06:40

The International Cup for 2017 (IC17) is just around the corner and with it will come the finest players from nations across the globe competing to be the best nation outside of Australia. Canada has long been one of the most consistent nations at the event, and one of their greatest AFL exports, Mike Pyke, was even a part of the Sydney Swans 2012 premiership team – and has the premiership medal to prove it. He also played 110 games for the Swans at the highest level of AFL football.

Andrew McGrath wasn’t recruited from Canada, unlike Pyke. Yet he is Canadian. His junior football was here in Australia and was recruited to the Essendon club from the TAC Cup team, the Sandringham Dragons.

But his impact has been remarkable for a young man who has only just turned 19. In his 15 games for Essendon to date he has averaged just under 20 disposals per game, three tackles per game and four marks. But it has been the manner in which he has achieved this, with an uncanny sense of timing and control, which has already drawn comparisons to past Essendon and Port Adelaide great, and 1993 Brownlow Medallist Gavin Wanganeen.

Round 17 of the 2017 AFL Season kicks off tomorrow night at the Etihad Stadium with St Kilda hosting co-tenant Essendon.  The full international broadcast schedule can be seen below.

In addition to the TV networks you can also subscribe to the Watch AFL service that will give you live access to all the matches and more (outside Australia only).  You can access that service by clicking on the link here or the  Watch AFL banner below and paying the subscription fee.

 

 

MATCH	DATE	TIMESLOT	MATCH	VENUE	STATE	LOCAL TIME	GMT
1	14-Jul	Night	St Kilda vs. Essendon	Etihad Stadium	VIC	19:50	09:50
2	15-Jul	Day	Geelong Cats vs. Hawthorn	MCG	VIC	13:45	03:45
3	15-Jul	Day	Port Adelaide vs. North Melbourne	Adelaide Oval	SA	13:40	04:10
4	15-Jul	Twilight	Gold Coast SUNS vs. Collingwood	Metricon Stadium	QLD	16:35	06:35
6	15-Jul	Night	GWS GIANTS vs. Sydney Swans	Spotless Stadium	NSW	19:25	09:25
5	15-Jul	Night	Melbourne vs. Adelaide Crows	TIO Stadium	NT	19:10	09:40
7	16-Jul	Early	Richmond vs. Brisbane Lions	Etihad Stadium	VIC	13:10	03:10
8	16-Jul	Day	Carlton vs. Western Bulldogs	MCG	VIC	15:20	05:20
9	16-Jul	Twilight	Fremantle vs. West Coast Eagles	Domain Stadium	WA	14:40	06:40

July is the time of the year when northern humidity is at its lowest and conditions are ideal for Australian Rules football in our most northern cities. Hence, the next two weekends are the annual showcase of northern footy with two AFL premiership matches being played in both Darwin and Cairns.

Many good teams have travelled north at this time of year to play, but usually not in matches which would determine finals fortunes – at least not both matches together. But this year Darwin will be blessed with a genuine match which could determine the makeup of the top four, whilst Cairns will host a game which will spell curtains for the loser in terms of 2017 finals.

Round 15 of the 2017 AFL Season kicks off tomorrow night at the MCG with Melbourne hosting Sydney.  The full international broadcast schedule can be seen below.

In addition to the TV networks you can also subscribe to the Watch AFL service that will give you live access to all the matches and more (outside Australia only).  You can access that service by clicking on the link here or the  Watch AFL banner below and paying the subscription fee.

 

 

MATCH	DATE	TIMESLOT	MATCH	VENUE	STATE	LOCAL TIME	GMT
1	30-Jun	Night	Melbourne vs. Sydney Swans	MCG	VIC	19:50	09:50
2	1-Jul	Day	Western Bulldogs vs. West Coast Eagles	Etihad Stadium	VIC	13:45	03:45
3	1-Jul	Day	Carlton vs. Adelaide Crows	MCG	VIC	14:10	04:10
4	1-Jul	Twilight	Gold Coast SUNS vs. North Melbourne	Metricon Stadium	QLD	16:35	06:35
5	1-Jul	Night	GWS GIANTS vs. Geelong Cats	Spotless Stadium	NSW	19:25	09:25
6	1-Jul	Night	Port Adelaide vs. Richmond	Adelaide Oval	SA	19:10	09:40
7	2-Jul	Early	Essendon vs. Brisbane Lions	Etihad Stadium	VIC	13:10	03:10
8	2-Jul	Day	Hawthorn vs. Collingwood	MCG	VIC	15:20	05:20
9	2-Jul	Twilight	Fremantle vs. St Kilda	Domain Stadium	WA	14:40	06:40

AFL Media Release - Bachar Houli programs set to grow, including female Academy.

The Federal Government, together with the AFL, today announced a $625,000 investment to the Bachar Houli programs, growing the existing programs to include a female component of the Bachar Houli Academy and the Bachar Houli Schools Cup.

The Bachar Houli Academy is a high-performance football talent program while the Bachar Houli Cup engages over 5,000 Islamic school students, providing a starting point for players from a Muslim background to transition into football pathways.

AFL Chief Executive Officer Gillon McLachlan said the Bachar Houli Programs have been an integral part of engaging Muslim youth into the AFL, allowing young men and women the best opportunities to excel on and off the football field through training and guidance.

Round 14 of the 2017 AFL Season kicks off tomorrow night at Adelaide Oval with the Adelaide Crows hosting Hawthorn.  The full international broadcast schedule can be seen below.

In addition to the TV networks you can also subscribe to the Watch AFL service that will give you live access to all the matches and more (outside Australia only).  You can access that service by clicking on the link here or the  Watch AFL banner below and paying the subscription fee.

 

 

MATCH	DATE	TIMESLOT	MATCH	VENUE	STATE	LOCAL TIME	GMT
1	22-Jun	Night	Adelaide Crows vs. Hawthorn	Adelaide Oval	SA	19:20	09:50
2	23-Jun	Night	Sydney Swans vs. Essendon	SCG	NSW	19:50	09:50
3	24-Jun	Day	Collingwood vs. Port Adelaide	MCG	VIC	13:45	03:45
4	24-Jun	Twilight	Brisbane Lions vs. GWS GIANTS	The Gabba	QLD	16:35	06:35
5	24-Jun	Night	Western Bulldogs vs. North Melbourne	Etihad Stadium	VIC	19:25	09:25
6	24-Jun	Night	West Coast Eagles vs. Melbourne	Domain Stadium	WA	17:40	09:40
7	25-Jun	Early	Geelong Cats vs. Fremantle	Simonds Stadium	VIC	13:10	03:10
8	25-Jun	Day	Richmond vs. Carlton	MCG	VIC	15:20	05:20
9	25-Jun	Twilight	St Kilda vs. Gold Coast SUNS	Etihad Stadium	VIC	16:40	06:40

The Australian Football League (AFL) last night announced that decorated premiership player, goalkicker and premiership coach Malcolm Blight had been named an official Legend of the Game.

Blight, 67, was a star of both the SANFL and VFL across an 18-season career between 1968-85 representing Woodville and North Melbourne, before going on to coach in the SANFL, VFL and AFL with five clubs, and leading the Adelaide Crows to their first two premierships.