The following is an extract from my own new book which explores the early days of Australian Rules football in the districts to the south of Cairns in North Queensland. It looks at the history of clubs such as the Babinda Magpies and the mighty Centrals Aloomba teams of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s through to their modern day incarnation, Pyramid Power.

 

Along the way the deeds of great local people such as the legendary Howard Kennedy from Woopen Creek, the tragedy of Des Trannore and many more are looked at within the fabric of the game’s development in the tropics.

 

From the centre circle at Power Park I look south towards the majesty of Walsh’s Pyramid, the small mountain that watches serenely over Gordonvale and the surrounding district.  It is the landmark from which our club, Pyramid Power, has taken its name and is a symbol for the club, most local schools and many local businesses.

 

 

Occasionally my reverie is diverted by the irritated squawk of a nearby plover, or the gentle grazing of a flock of ibis. 

New York Magpie, Alex Aurrichio, has been signed by Carlton’s VFL affiliate the Northern Blues for the 2015 season. The 198 centimetre former baseballer and soccer goalkeeper had come to Australia and trained with Collingwood as well as VFL clubs Coburg and Sandringham. But it was the blues that threw out the first concrete lifeline to give Alex a go.

Leaving his home, and his native club in New York last November, Aurrichio had held a dream to try his hand at reaching the highest levels of Australian Rules football in the heartlands of the game. His bold move has already paid handsome dividends, with the Northern Blues prepared to take the chance.

According to the http://www.afl.com.au website, Garry O’Sullivan, the General Manager of the Blues, stated that the club was prepared to play the waiting game and allow Aurrichio’s talents to grow and blossom. “"We all know that we've got a long way to go, however we're very hopeful that it will prove to be a fruitful project both for us and for Alex.”

There is an interesting argument swaying back and forth within the AFL concerning the fairness or otherwise of the various talent academies. The following link http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-01-26...tem-unfair describes the pros and cons of having them and whether their very existence undermines the integrity of the AFL national draft.

Of interest to those who look at the game on a more global scale is the idea of whether or not clubs will still be able to rookie international players at will and restriction free compared to indigenous talent in Australia. Will there come a day when AFL clubs will actually need to bid for players, or more dramatically use a high draft selection to obtain international players?

(Left: Isaac Heeney, Picture: Sydney Swans)

There will be some who see this as folly and a flawed way of looking at the issue. Many believe that the amount of, and impact of, international players will never reach that point, therefore it is a moot argument.

The tropical North Queensland city of Cairns will play host to this year’s Kickstart Championships and All Nations Cup, which together comprise the AFL Diversity Cup. Last year’s event was held in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales. The North Queensland city of Townsville held the event in 2013.

The event presents the opportunity for Cairns to further establish its credentials as a regional venue for high calibre AFL events, following on from hosting AFL Premierships matches and other key national events such as the Women’s Championships in 2013.

According to the press release from AFL Queensland:

“AFL Cairns will host the 2015 Kickstart Championships and All Nations Cup (AFL Diversity Cup) at Cazalys Stadium from Friday 10th to Wednesday 15th April. The U15 Kickstart Championships is in its 5th year and the structure has been developed to provide a supported, talented player pathway that compliments the National U16 Championships. It aims to expose indigenous and multicultural players, coaches and umpires to an elite AFL program environment.”

At the completion of Round 12, the NTFL now goes into a short recess over the Christmas/New Year period. Battle resumes again with Round 13 on January 10th, but this break presents an opportunity to assess where the teams are placed with a view to finals in February/March.

For a long while many believed that St Mary’s might be unbeatable. After consecutive flags, a 40+ winning streak and four wins to start the new season, St Mary’s were odds on favourites for another title. Yes, two losses and a draw between rounds five and ten showed their mortality. Nightcliff and Southern Districts (currently 2nd and 3rd) both enjoyed victories against the St Mary’s behemoth, and will remember that come finals time. Palmerston will also be very prepared to have a rematch against St Mary’s after their draw in round nine. St Mary’s are still favourites, but they know that they will have to work extra hard from here with a number of capable clubs breathing down their necks.

Nakia Cockatoo has been snapped up by the Geelong Cats in tonight’s AFL Draft, held on the Gold Coast.  The powerful midfielder, originally from NTFL club Southern Districts has been touted as a mid to late teens draft selection, but the Cats pounced early selecting Cockatoo with pick 10 in the draft.

 

 

Having lost young speedsters Travis Varcoe and Allen Christensen during the trade period in October, Geelong has grabbed the opportunity to snare the young Northern Territory talent. The following is an excerpt from the AFLNT review of tonight’s draft:

 

 

The following media release from the AFLNT details the exponential rise in women’s footy across the Northern Territory and initial ideas to accommodate that expansion into the future. This rise in in keeping with increases nationally in the numbers playing women’s Aussie Rules, and the AFLNT have identified this increase and are working towards solutions.

 

Rapid growth and clubs calling for greater division of the Youth Girls TIO NTFL competition has prompted AFLNT to seriously consider a 2015-16 expansion plan.

In just two short seasons since 2012-13 the division has grown from 3 teams playing nine-a-side to eight teams playing 15-a-side as per the playing rules set by the AFL.

 

Many teams have up to 24 players listed on team sheets each week, meaning clubs are at stretching point to accommodate the growing number of eager under 16 girls.

 

 

he Sydney Swans have just signed a 30 year deal to play all their home games at the SCG, the spiritual home of football in Sydney. That completes a cycle that has seen cricket and football re-unite at major stadia around Australia. Whilst organised football was still only played in English schools, football in the Australian and New Zealand colonies was played by communities.

There was a great synergy between cricket and the new evolving football. In fact it has been reported that football was invented to keep cricketers fit during winter. Cricket had already established community clubs. They had the grounds and the facilities whilst football provided the crowds and a major source of income. Together large stadia were built in the cities and throughout the lands. Playing in complimentary seasons it was an almost perfect relationship until with the booming popularity of both codes they thought they could do it better separately.

With the only way to underwrite large modern stadia by code-sharing, common sense has prevailed and we have seen major developments at shared grounds throughout Australia and the decommissioning of AFL grounds. This investment in infrastructure has been repaid handsomely in increased attendances . The Adelaide Oval being a spectacular example of that.
 

 

Location	Network	Screening Date and Time
UK & Ireland	ESPN - BT Sport	27 November @ 0730 GMT (LIVE)
USA	Fox Soccer Plus	27 November @ 0230 USET (LIVE)
Middle East	Orbit Showtime Network	27 November @ 1130 UAE (LIVE)
New Zealand	Sommet Sports	27 November @ 1930 NZT (LIVE)
Worldwide (excl Australia)	WatchAFL.com.au	27 November @ 0730 GMT (LIVE)

In a recent article by Alex Malcolm for afl.com, Fremantle Dockers’ recruit, Sean Hurley, opens up about his desire to emulate the feats of another great Irish player of recent times, Tadhg Kennelly. Certainly Fremantle fans would be very happy if Hurley could achieve his dream.

 

FREMANTLE's Irish recruit Sean Hurley is hoping to emulate the feats of Tadhg Kennelly by winning an AFL premiership.

 

Hurley has signed with Fremantle, a year after trialling with the club. The 22-year-old Gaelic footballer from County Kildare arrived in Perth last Monday after signing with Fremantle as a rookie.

 

 

Hurley, a 193cm midfielder in the Gaelic game, trialled with the Dockers last pre-season but was not picked up. The club remained in touch with him and decided to sign him as a category B rookie for 2015.