In what is arguably the biggest sporting event now on our local Cairns calendar, the Western Bulldogs will host the Gold Coast Suns at Cazalys Stadium this Saturday. For the fifth consecutive year Cairns will be in the national and international eye as an AFL Premiership venue, showcasing our brilliant location and wonderful facilities as we put Far North Queensland and AFL football on show.

 

The event is also supported by a huge variety of events locally, listed at the bottom of this following press release from the AFL. Each year this event has become bigger and better and a bumper Cairns crowd is expected to turn out.

 

MEDIA RELEASE FROM THE AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

 

AFL passion arrives in Cairns this week with a full program of community events in the lead up to the Round 15 Toyota AFL Premiership match between the Western Bulldogs and Gold Coast SUNS at Cazalys Stadium on Saturday, July 11.

 

 

The following story is about an extraordinary football club with an incredible vision, and some of the finest footballers you could ever wish to meet.  The Starkick program kicked off by the Coolbinia Bombers Junior Football Club in Perth, Western Australia is one of the most inspirational endeavours seen in Australian Rules football.

 

The article, written by Laura House for the Daily Mail Australia, looks at the program, its background, the people driving it and the kids who just love their footy. It is a fascinating insight into a club that has gone where few, if any, clubs have gone before, but where other clubs should dare to travel.

 

 

'When he's out there he's not a child with a disability - he's just a kid playing footy': Australia's first AFL team for children with special needs sees them play alongside their peers

The Northern Territory’s desire to be a regular host of multiple AFL premiership games into the future received a huge boost tonight when the Melbourne Demons hosted the West Coast Eagles at TIO Stadium in the now regular Darwin AFL showcase match.

A crowd of 11,873 filed into the Northern Territory’s premier footy venue – an improvement on recent years and the 7th largest crowd at the venue for a sporting match. It is largest crowd at the venue for footy since 2007 when the Essendon Bombers took on the Aboriginal All-Stars. It is the largest Darwin crowd at an AFL Premiership match since 2006. The fact that nearly 12,000 fans came to watch would have delighted the AFLNT, and is a vindication of the AFL’s decision to continue to bring the highest level of the game to the Northern Territory capital.

This follows on from the crowd of just under 5000 people that attended the other Northern Territory fixture at TIO Traeger Park in Alice Springs in May between the Melbourne Demons and Port Adelaide Power.

The life of Phil Walsh was tragically cut short today. Our condolences to the friends and family of the Adelaide Crows Senior Coach as well as to all Adelaide Football Club supporters and those in the extended football industry touched by Phil's contributions. A loss that will be felt by footy lovers around the world.

Sunday's match between Adelaide and Geelong has understandably been cancelled.

The following statement was made today by AFL Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan.

Northern Australia is set for its annual period of footy exposure as the big league teams head for major centres in the tropics. First up this weekend is the clash at Darwin’s TIO Stadium between the Melbourne Demons and the in-form West Coast Eagles. The following Saturday it is the turn of Far North Queensland when the Western Bulldogs meet the Gold Coast Suns at Cazalys Stadium.

For the Darwin crowds the match is a salivating experience. The Melbourne Demons pulled off their greatest win in recent times for the club last start when they downed the Geelong Cats at their “fortress”, Skilled Stadium. Demon fans everywhere see the win as evidence that the club, under Paul Roos, is turning the corner. They will be keen to back up that effort against the Eagles in front of an excited albeit largely neutral crowd at TIO Stadium.

 

The AFL’s Community Club site http://www.aflcommunityclub.com.au features a story looking at the upcoming Ramadan Dinners in cities across Australia. In another initiative of Richmond footballer, Bachar Houli, and the support of the AFL’s Diversity arm, the period of Ramadan is to be celebrated and recognised by the footballing community. The observance of Ramadan is one of Five Pillars Of Islam and one of the most important dates on the Muslim calendar.

The AFL Ramadan Dinner will take place in Sydney, Melbourne and for the first time in Adelaide this year.

The Dinner, initiated by Richmond defender and the AFL’s first devout Muslim player Bachar Houli, commemorates the Holy Month of Ramadan which is celebrated by millions of Muslims around the world each year.

When Howard Kennedy surveyed the damage on his Woopen Creek property he decided nothing could be fixed there and then, so took himself into Cairns shortly afterwards to watch a footy match.

His decision set in motion six decades of Australian Rules football in the sugar growing communities to the south of Cairns, namely Babinda, Aloomba and Gordonvale. Today the game is growing strongly across the district again with the rise of the Pyramid Power club in Gordonvale.

Cairns based author and Pyramid Power junior coach, Wesley Hull, has traced this history in his new book: Kennedy’s Legacy – The History of the Pyramid Power Australian Football and Sporting Club.

From the days of Howard and Ailsa Kennedy rounding up kids, jerseys, boots and players each match day, through the early days of the Aloomba-Gordonvale club and famous pioneers of the game in Jack Holt and Des Trannore, the book looks at the growth of the Australian game in a part of the country where hard work was needed to establish support to grow and thrive.

Behind the scenes in the world of Australian Rules football there are people who volunteer their services in all manner of ways, whether that be on or off the field. In this article, written for the AFL Diversity team on the www.afl.com website, I look at what a year as a multicultural ambassador looks like. 

It is hoped that the story might inspire others to consider taking on this ambassadorial role in the future to help develop our great game further and reach out to people and communities across the nation.

The New Year arrives with the tingling sensations of a new footy season. But somehow, this year was even more…tingly. With the first ball being bounced in anger in April, something more exciting preceded it. Would I be successful in my bid to be a Multicultural Community Ambassador for the AFL in 2015ω

 

A flurry of emails and letters in the mail heralds the news. I have been successful. For at least a year I have a chance to play a role for the AFL in spreading the message of a multicultural future for the game. So, was that the biggest challenge overω Selectionω Far from it. Now the hard work would begin.