The Tiwi Islands off the coast of Darwin in the Northern Territory are famed for the Tiwi Bombers Football Club, whose number includes many first rate Indigenous players. However it is not just the men who are skilled with the football, as the Tiwi Bombers have long had a Youth Girls side to develop the female talent too. On the back of this, two of the Tiwi Islands female players, Gladys Puruntatameri and J-Lee Puautjimi, have been “loaned” to Melbourne’s Diamond Creek Football Club, in the southern state of Victoria, to train and play in Australia’s top women’s football league: the VWFL.

This unusual player transfer is part of the Tapalinga (Shining Star) Award, a leadership program created by Diamond Creek WFC and the Northern Territory based Starwin Management. As well as being allowed to play in the VWFL for up to five games this season, the award also includes three visits to Melbourne. The first excursion was from April 4-15 and included playing two games of football for the Creekers, visits to three AFL clubs, tickets to an AFL match and entry into a Melbourne International Comedy Festival show.

“Football has a long history in the community of Wadeye that dates back to the start of the Mission in June of 1935. The families of Wadeye had their own traditional sport that involved throwing a man-made paperbark ball covered in kangaroo hide. However when the Mission arrived, Father Docherty (or Yile Ngala as he is referred to by the locals) and some indigenous men from Darwin, introduced the football and the art of kicking. From that point on AFL has been the game of choice for everyone in the community.”

This introduction to the footballing heritage of the Wadeye community is provided by Katrina Bushby, the Club Development Manager at the Wadeye Magic Football Club, in one of the many remote parts of the Northern Territory. Katrina’s keen insight into the development of the game is a great starting point for one of the more remarkable footy stories in Australia.

Wadeye, formerly known as Port Keats, is in the far north-west corner of the Northern Territory on the western boundary of the Daly River Reserve, near Hyland Bay. It is 230 kilometres by air from Darwin, and further by road – assuming the roads are open, as they are often cut by flooding during the “wet” season.

After 4 years at the North Melbourne FC, 22-year old Sudanese-Australian Majak Daw has finally been selected to make his debut for the Kangaroos against the Brisbane Lions this Sunday.

Daw has created plenty of media attention over the past few years, for both the right and wrong reasons. His freakish athletic ability saw videos of him in action in the VFL go viral, although initially his raw ability needed polishing to get up to AFL standard. Some off-field issues also saw his commitment to playing AFL football questioned by the club.

Kangaroos coach Brad Scott told The Age newspaper yesterday that it is the esteem in which those same teammates now hold him that indicates he is ready for the big stage.

''He's earned the respect of his teammates through his hard work,'' Scott said on Thursday.

''And to be completely honest with you, and Majak will be the first to tell you, his teammates probably didn't have the greatest respect for him because, initially, he didn't know how to work. This pre-season, all the boys have an enormous respect for what Maj has done.''

World Footy News wish Majak well for Sunday, and look forward to emulating some of the success in the AFL that Sudanese basketballers have already achieved in Australia and the US.

More at Daw finally works it out and earns debut.

At the beginning of April, and almost buried amid the rash of local, state and national representative carnivals played over the recent school holidays, was the trip undertaken by the Cairns Lions U17 representative team. This annual pilgrimage to Victoria sees these boys try out their skills and talents against southern representative teams.

The games are a part of the Victoria Challenge program, designed to expose players from leagues far removed from the epicentre of the game to the increased standard and tempo of more developed competitions. AFL Cairns has supported the project for a number of years, in the past having played against the Essendon District League and Geelong College.

This year the team from the north played against the Ballarat Football League team and also the Riddell District team.

After having seen the successful National U15 Kickstart Championships played last week in Townsville, the focus of junior representative football remains in North Queensland. This weekend in Airlie Beach, the North Queensland U16 Championships will commence. The following is an article from AFL Queensland which gives an insight into this important addition to the Queensland representative scene.

The following media release from the AFLNT details their partnership with beyondblue to tackle depression and anxiety in the Northern Territory.

AFLNT HAS THE ‘BALLS’ TO TACKLE DEPRESSION & ANXIETY

AFL Northern Territory will join forces with beyondblue in tackling depression and anxiety in the Northern Territory for a further three years following an extension of the partnership agreed this week.

“We as the lead sport in the NT have a duty and a responsibility to assist organizations such as beyondblue in order to combat the many issues that we face in day to day life,” said AFLNT CEO Tony Frawley.

On Monday 8th April the northern city of Townsville will again become a major hub of football action as it hosts the 2013 indigenous Kickstart Championships.

As stated by Kathleen Newman, Townsville regional Manager for AFL Queensland, “These championships, held from 8-12 April, [will] bring together around 150 of the most talented indigenous players from around the country and is sure to showcase some very exciting football. There is every chance spectators will see the next Cyril Rioli, Lewis Jetta, or Chris Yarran, running around.”

The matches will take place at Tony Ireland Stadium in Townsville, and is yet another feather in the cap for Australian football in the city as it vies to become a major destination of choice for the AFL. As Kathleen says, “This is a big event for Townsville and is the third part of our already successful ‘Festival of Football’.
 

The AFL has announced that a women’s game will feature as a curtain raiser to the 29th June (Round 14) clash between Melbourne and Western Bulldogs at the MGC.

The two teams will wear the geurnseys of the AFL clubs and the players will be selected from across the Australian Women’s leagues, the All Australian team and the 2012 high performance squad, by means of the first ever women’s draft. The draft will take place in early May and will be managed by the AFL.

The women’s match was requested by Melbourne Football club who have had a major part in developing the women’s game and raising the level of the game played across Australia through their sponsorship of the VWFL, whose Premiers Division is currently Australia’s top women’s league.

"We wanted to showcase the best female players the game has to offer as well as sending a message to all girls that they may one day be able to represent the AFL club they support in a women's competition,” Melbourne’s chief executive Cameron Schwab said. "This game is an important step towards the idea of an elite level female competition. Other sports have successfully developed elite female competitions and our sport should be no different.”

The AFL has announced that it is to partner with Breast Cancer Network Australia to present Field of Women 2013. BCNA is an Australian charity representing women (and men) affected by breast cancer, helping to ensure that those diagnosed, and their families, get the very best treatment and support possible.

The Field of Women brings the statistics of breast cancer to life in a meaningful and visually powerful way, highlighting the personal impact of the disease for so many women across Australia and of course around the world. The event will be held in Sydney on August 10, prior to the Round 20 Sydney Swans v Collingwood match at ANZ Stadium. 15,000 people wearing pink ponchos and 125 in blue, will stand together on the field in the shape of BCNA's Pink Lady. The numbers represent the number of women and men estimated to be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.

As a follow up from a previous story about the prospect of the Central Australian Redtails joining the NTFL Premier League for the 2013/4 season, the AFLNT have released the following press release asking for more information. This is not necessarily a negative development. It may also mean that the Redtails have met criteria to date and now more boxes need to be ticked.