When the name Michael Long is mentioned, many thoughts race back to the 1993 AFL Grand Final where his exploits won him the Norm Smith Medal, and probably won Essendon the premiership. His deeds have placed him in the same stellar orbit as other great indigenous footballers like Polly Farmer, Barry Cable, Maurice Rioli and Steven Michael to name just a few. More recently it has been his willingness to strive for indigenous causes which has led to “The Long Walk” and “Dreamtime At The G”: events which celebrate the histories and advance the potential  opportunities of indigenous Australians. His latest venture is the Michael Long Learning and Leadership Centre which strives to make the transition for indigenous youth more attainable through employment, education, socialisation and opportunity as they leave their homes and communities to follow their football dreams in the larger cities. This latest press release from the AFLNT details the union of this centre with the Charles Darwin University (CDU).

AFL Northern Territory Indigenous Ambassador and AFL legend Michael Long will today sign an agreement which will see Charles Darwin University become an Official Education Partner of the Michael Long Learning and Leadership Centre (MLLLC). 

Last week we posted a story about the grand finals across the five major Australian Football leagues in the tropics (above the Tropic of Capricorn) of Queensland (see: ). This follow up story looks at the grand final stories of the big games across the Northern Territory. As a point of interest, many of these leagues played their finals much earlier in the year, but by including all that we can a bigger picture of the scope of Australian Rules football across the NT can be seen.

After 40 years it's time to farewell "Footy Park", home of the SANFL, Adelaide Crows and home ground for Port Adelaide Power.

Building the stadium at West Lakes in Adelaide's western suburbs was considered a bold move or by some, foolhardy.  It was built on recovered marshland when tensions became too great between Aussie Rules (run in SA by the SANFL) and cricket (run by the SACA, headed by Sir Donald Bradman).  Football wanted a home of its own and in 1974 controversially moved away from the ground on which it had been played since the 1870s or earlier.

The move proved to be a great success and the financial risk was rewarded, and little did the SANFL know in those pre-AFL days that it would provide a cornerstone on which to build two AFL clubs, the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide Power.

But over the last decade AFL fans have seen numerous significant upgrades to stadia around Australia (though Football Park, or AAMI Stadium as it is currently branded, has also had improvements).  Perhaps most damaging of all to the Footy Park brand was Docklands (Etihad) Stadium in Melbourne - many footy fans have ventured across the border to experience what a modern roofed stadium in the CBD is like.  Despite a Labor government plan to spend $100million upgrading the stadium and a possible expansion back up towards 60,000 (after various upgrades had reduced the capacity) there were growing calls to start afresh.

So with crowds falling, the Liberal Party opposition proposing a roofed stadium in the city, the state Labor government looking to neutralise the issue, and the SACA (cricket) in major debt over its new stand at Adelaide Oval, the perfect storm emerged that saw a return to an upgraded Adelaide Oval.  Port Adelaide and Adelaide have now both farewelled Football Park (in terms of their final AFL matches there) and this weekend the 2013 SANFL Grand Final concludes official matches at the ground (although there have been suggestions it may still be used such as for NAB Cup).

What price the smile on the face of a kid with a new footy? Priceless. What price also a kid’s ability to run and chase with purpose with their own brand new ball in their possession? Again, priceless.

But if there is anything as good as that, it is the ability to be there first hand, giving the kid their ball, watching their timid belief that it is now theirs and sitting back knowing that you had just had a hand in something special. That’s not why you get involved, that’s just the by-product – the natural result – of what you just did.

Michael Gallus and his team at Footys4all are very aware of this osmosis: they do this all the time. Our little crew from the Pyramid Power club in Cairns learned it ourselves over the weekend when we undertook a trip to the indigenous communities of Yarrabah, Hope Vale and Wujul Wujul, distributing footballs to kids who may not otherwise receive them.

Now that the 2013 season has ended for most Australian competitions, the avid fan will turn their attention to ongoing leagues such as the AFLNT, AFL Middle East or the CNFA in France to get through to next season as they play through the Australian summer months.

But this is the perfect time for a collection of updates from northern Australian leagues whose seasons have recently finished.

The Far North Queensland city of Cairns has been in the running to have a team in the NEAFL competition for some time as a prelude to a potential AFL team at some point in the future. Aftersuccessfully hosting three Gold Coast Suns v Richmond matches at Cazalys Stadium (including the remarkable match where a Karmichael Hunt kick after the siren won the match for the Suns), Cairns was hoping for good news. The following article, reproduced from the AFL Queensland website, details the decision today.

AFL Queensland today advised that a North Queensland team will not be introduced into the restructured North East Football League (NEAFL) for season 2014.

CEO Michael Conlan said that while the organisation supported the concept of a North Queensland side, the timing was not right.

A cool, windy morning with a few showers greets us on this Saturday in Melbourne. Just hours before the kickoff to the 2013 AFL Grand Final being contested between Hawthorn and Fremantle, we have been told that many around the world will not be seeing the pre-match coverage to this year's game. You may miss the return of Mike Brady performing today so we present to you the video from 1979 - "Up there Cazaly" to get you in the mood.

Michelle Cowan has today been named the 2013 Football Woman of the Year at the annual Grand Final Comedy Debate at Crown Palladium.

Triple Brownlow Medallist Haydn Bunton Snr has been named captain of the ACT and Southern NSW Team of the Century.

The brand new AFLNT season will kick off in just two weeks time on 5th October. After last year’s Premier League was won by St Mary’s over the Tiwi Bombers, it is now a case of slates wiped clean as all teams have the chance to seek their new season destinies. The following article from the AFLNT gives a run down on the new season, including highlights for season 2013/14.

The traditional Grand Final replay [betweeen St Mary's and Tiwi Bombers] will feature in Round 1 of the TIO NTFL Premier League after the draw was officially released by AFL Northern Territory today.

"Following consultation with all the NTFL clubs and key stakeholders we believe we have a well- balanced draw which caters for everyone’s needs," advised AFLNT Football Operations Manager Darryl Griffiths.