AFL agent Ricky Nixon is planning to further his interest in the Irish market by establishing coaching clinics in Irish primary schools. His exploits are currently being told in a three part documentary on Irish television called ‘The Oz factor’.

Nixon who has previously been very unpopular amongst the Gaelic Athletic Association establishment has claimed that “This will probably put the fear of God into GAA people but we’re starting to look at potential talent at a younger age. And if the door was shut in my face in Ireland in the past I expect it will be slammed in my face now.”

Four schools, whom Nixon has declined to name, have agreed to the programme which begins when the new school term gets underway in September. Nixon is aware of potential criticism but remains unrepentant. “People will overreact to these clinics and will insinuate that I’m only here to fleece your country of its young talent, but the reality is that I’ll be lucky to get one layer from this initiative. I’m doing it to drum up more interest in the AFL in Ireland and get more kids au fait with the skills of our game from an early age.” says Nixon. “An Irish guy actually came to me with the proposal and he’s got clearance from the schools involved. We’re starting off with four clinics and the schools are more than happy to go along with it.”

It was a perfect day for footy at the weekend as the annual Brit Cup took place in Reading, hosted by the local Kangaroos. The event was extremely well-attended, with entries from London, regional England, Wales and Scotland, and the standard was as high as has been seen in recent years, with all teams contributing some great footy to the proceedings.

The Paris Cockerels last weekend became French Cup champions for the second year running, defeating Perpignan 69-11 in the final of the tournament held in Bordeaux.

Six sides competed for this year's Coupe de France, with Paris, Strasbourg, Montpellier and the hosts Bordeaux Bombers joined by new squads the Toulouse Crocodiles and Perpignan Tigers. While Perpignan competed in the Catalan Premiership this season, the tournament was the first appearance for the Crocodiles, who impressed in taking out third place.

The Cup also made headlines in Australia, with Melbourne daily newspaper The Age featuring the article Injecting a Little Ooh La La into football on page 2 last Monday.

A full report will appear soon, all scores are available on the Footy Record.

Once again the AFL and Bigpond have made the full round of AFL matches online, given the loss of Setanta Sports coverage in Great Britain. Full details here.

Melbourne Football Club president Jim Stynes has held a press conference to announce that he is battling cancer and will have to step away from his duties, although not his position, for the rest of 2009. Arguably the greatest success story in the so-called Irish experiment of recruitng Gaelic players to Australian football, Stynes is still remembered for his remarkable robustness, playing 244 consecutive games despite numerous injuries. He also won the 1991 Brownlow Medal as the best player in the AFL that year.

Stynes, 43, has been a passionate advocate for the charity Reach, which he founded in 1994 to assist youth suffering from depression. In more recent times he has also dedicated himself to rescuing the Mebourne Demons from their financial problems, taking on the role of President and bringing former players and supporters back to the club.

“Three weeks ago I found out that I had a lump in my back. The guys thought we should take it out and have a look at it. I found out that it was cancerous and so I was sent in to do a whole lot of follow up tests, scans and so on,” he said. “I thought it might be located in the one area but it’s not. It has spread quite a bit and I have a journey to go on. I need to understand it and work with it.”

The best wishes of all football supporters will be with him. More details in Stynes prepares for fight of his life.

The AFL has announced that as an interim solution to the loss of Setanta Sports coverage, as reported earlier on WFN, UK fans will be able to watch all eight matches live at no cost (other than their own ISP costs) this weekend via the AFL website, at bigpondtv.com/aflliveuk and there are further links here. The AFL also announced that coverage should be unaffected in other regions, and AFL chief operating officer Gillon McLachlan stated that the AFL was in discussions about selling its UK broadcast rights to an alternative television network for the remainder of the 2009 season.

Full details can be read on the AFL website at AFL's broadband offer for UK fans.

In bad news for AFL coverage in Great Britain, the British component of Setanta Sports has shut down. Readers tell us that coverage has ceased. At this stage we hope it will not be affecting coverage in North America or Ireland. worldfootynews.com has contacted the AFL for more information. The following is a statement from the Setanta Sports website.

Setanta Sports Customers from England, Wales, Scotland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands, please be advised that it is with great regret that Setanta GB is no longer trading.

Setanta Sports is still operating in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland only. Customers from ROI and NI should go to www.setanta.com/ie for more information.

Setanta Sport Limited Setanta Transmissions (UK) Limited
Setanta Sports S.a.r.l
(All In Administration)
(together "the Companies")

On 23 June 2009, Neville Kahn, Lee Manning and Nick Edwards were appointed Joint Administrators of the Companies and now manage the affairs, business and property of Setanta Sport Limited and Setanta Transmissions (UK) Limited and Setanta Sports S.a.r.l..

On Saturday 13th June, the all-local German Black Eagles had their first International for the season, taking on the Finland Icebreakers in Cologne, Germany.

Although the hosts proved too strong for the Icebreakers early, the second half saw a spirited comeback by the Finns, who were goal for goal with Germany in the third term and outscored them in the last quarter. The early-match lead proved an insurmountable target however, the Black Eagles running out 37-point winners.

Thanks to Luke McBride from the AFLG for the following report.

Former Sydney Swan star Tadhg Kennelly has hinted that he may return to Australia once the current Gaelic football season finishes. The Herald Sun newspaper has quoted both Kennelly and his former coach Paul Roos, with both men appearing to be open to the suggestion of a return.

Carlton's Fijian-Australian-Irish recruit Setanta O'hAilpin tonight staked a claim to keep his AFL career alive. It has been speculated on this site and in other media that Setanta is likely in his last season unless he can string together a long run of good matches. After his infamous indiscretion at the start of the year (suspended for striking a team-mate in an internal trial) and injury problems, it was looking as though the Irishmen might not even get a chance to prove his worth on the field.

But injuries to other players have opened the door, especially with gun swingman Jarrad Waite out for the season. The Old Dark Navy Blues have given Setanta an extended run, giving him a chance to build some confidence and regain the tempo of AFL footy. Last night Carlton turned to Setanta to hold down a key position, as a roaming centre half forward against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium. Although the Blues went down to the Saints, O'hAilpin played a very useful game, gathering 8 kicks, 2 handballs, 5 marks and booting a goal that kept Carlton in the match late in the final term. His marking at full stretch caused some problems for the Saints, and his harassment around the ground slowed them moving the ball out of defence. A spearing pass to Brendan Fevola (who goaled) was also a crucial moment in the final stanza. For the record, Carlton couldn't quite do enough to defeat the unbeaten Saints, losing 14.11 (95) to 16.8 (104).

One game like that won't extend his career, but if he can repeat it most weeks for the rest of the season, then he'll continue to gain the confidence of his team mates who will use him more, and he may well find his odyssey Down Under continues at least another year.