Shark TV have started the new year with a new show, Jacko's Challenge, where Adam "Jacko" Jack takes on a new competitor from the Glasgow Sharks each week in a 5 goal kicking challenge. This week John McIntyre, Sharks ruckman, took on Jacko in a very close contest.

Have a look and get ready for more exciting content soon.

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The English rugby league team Warrington Wolves this week continued the long tradition of football teams cross-training with other codes in the off season when they joined the Sydney Swans in Sydney for a skill and fitness session.

Canadian Mike Pyke can be seen in the background of the Fox Sports video below and looks like he might rightly be as comfortable with the Rugby League players as with the Swans or his former code of Rugby Union.

 

The AFL Great Britain National Conference was held on the 20th November 2011 in Birmingham.  On the agenda was a list of the key dates for 2012, a move to rename to AFL England and numerous items to drive development such the Brit Cup, juniors and a European tour by the AFL AIS Academy.  The following article is not formal minutes but give a bit of an insight into the many issues discussed by a body that covers a relatively large number of clubs and leagues.

The meeting started with key dates for the 2012 season. Key events to be considered included the Olympic Games which will be held in London from July 28th to August 11th, and the AFL Grand Final on September 29th. Next came important Australian Football events in Europe, including the AFL-AIS Academy’s European training camp on March 31st, the AIS Academy vs European Legion game on April 7th, the Brit Cup on July 7th, the AFL London Grand Final on August 4th  and the EU Cup on October 6th. Then the dates for other events such as an overseas GB Bulldogs game on August 25th and the Haggis Cup and ANZAC Cup on April 21st were finalised.
 

The Toulouse Hawks get some great exposure on French TV show Avant Match in September 2011, French National team representative Emilien Martinez is interviewed.

Earlier this year this Russian English-language news show introduced Roger Scott and his efforts to kick start footy in Russia.

 

After plenty of media coverage in Ireland in the past week the AFL has officially appointed recently retired Sydney Swans player Tadhg Kennelly as an AFL Ambassador.

Tadhg will undertake a number of development roles. He will be an assistant coach and mentor for the AIS-AFL Academy level two squad under head coach Michael O’Loughlin and alongside other mentors/assistant coaches Brad Johnson, Matthew Lloyd and Glen Jakovich. He will also coach the Under 16 NSW/ACT team and will be an assistant coach for Under 18 NSW/ACT team in the NAB AFL Under 16 and Under 18 Championships.

Sunday November 27th saw the very first staging of the 'Nathan Blakey Movember Cup' which pitted Central & North Western League rivals Sheffield, Manchester & Wolverhampton against the newly formed team from Leeds.

Named in honour of a former Mozzie and staged in conjunction with the Movember Foundation, the aim of the day was to raise money and awareness for Men's health as well as showcasing the great game of Aussie Rules.

As the season has well and truly ended, the participating teams saw the tournament as a good stepping stone for next years league, with each side fielding a lot of new players, with many experiencing the game for the first time. Wolves coach Ian Mitchell summed up the pre game feeling perfectly saying his lads were "really looking forward to the cup, it's for a very good cause".

This report courtesy of Jayden Hocking.

The Commission National de Football Australien has announced a French womens team will be launched before 2012, with players training on a regular basis in Paris, Marseille and Bordeaux.

At the moment there are several women who train but don't have the opportunity to play matches; something else the Commission is aiming to overcome. Anzac Day 2012 is being targetted for a tournament.

For more information visit the French Womens Football Facebook page (in French).

We recently reported that Ireland's Michael Finn had achieved a remarkable series of successes in 2011, winning the International Cup with his country, again making the World Team named from the tournament, and taking home the Frank Rosbrook Medal for the best & fairest player in Division 1 in Victoria's Northern Football League, playing for Heidelberg.

Just to add another accolade to round out the year Finn has comfortably won Heidelberg's best and fairest, polling 121 votes with the runner up Josh Houlihan getting 72 votes.

Every bit as important amongst the personal awards was winning the his club's MVP as voted by his teammates, an award that aims to recognise the club's most valuable player in the eyes of the playing group.

worldfootynews.com spoke with Finn and started by asking about the difficulties of juggling club and country commitments.