AFL Women's League recruit to the Melbourne Football Club Laura Corrigan Duryea was this week interviewed on SEN Radio in Melbourne.

The following article comes from Alex Andryushin as he reports on the final leg of the AFL Russia Unity Day Cup, taken out this year by the St Petersburg Cats. Such has been the growth of the game in Russia that St Petersburg can now truly mount a case for a long term rivalry. Also, having two teams again in Moscow sees the game developing further in the national capital. 

 

On a freezing day of November 4th, three Russian teams played the final tournament of 2016 – Unity Day Cup – on the Moscow State University pitch. It was a home ground for two capital city teams – “Slavyane” & “Lazy Koalas” - and the third one came from Saint-Petersburg – “St.Petersburg Cats”. It was a snowy day with -2°C on the thermometer, but the competitors were ready for such unpleasant weather.

The Perpignan Tigers leapt into second place on the CNFA ladder in France after a solid win against the Bordeaux Bombers on the weekend. The Bombers got away to a good start before being worn down by the Tigers. They held a 14 point lead at the first break before the Tigers came back and took a four point lead to the break. The game was up for grabs by three-quarter time with the Tigers up by 10 points, but they held firm in the final quarter to win by 34 points.

Final Score: Perpignan Tigers 112 d Bordeaux Bombers 78

In the other game over the weekend, the Cergy-Pontoise Coyotes leaped back to the top of the table with their third win of the season. This time they remained undefeated with a big win over the Toulouse Hawks. The Coyotes dominated early and continued to pull away, recording a 99 point win over the still winless Hawks.

Victories this weekend to both the ALFA Lions and the Paris Cockatoos has created a very interesting battle for places in the top four. The situation will become even tighter regardless of the result next weekend.

The Lions have leapt to the top of the CNFA Ladder on eight points just ahead of the Cergy-Pontoise Coyotes also on eight. Behind them, the Bordeaux Bombers sit in third place on six points with the Paris Cockatoos and Paris Cockerels as well as the Perpignan Tigers fighting for fourth place on five.

Round Two will wrap up next weekend with either the Toulouse Hawks winning to jump into fourth place or the Blagnac Aviators surprising the Hawks and joining the logjam for fourth place.

 

In the following article by Peter Ryan on the www.afl.com.au website, the visit of a trade delegation from the Netherlands has been undertaken to explore the role of the game within sectors of Australian society. Whilst their aims seem to have a broader scope than simply sport, or indeed Australian Rules football in the Netherlands, it is interesting that our game is considered a potential blueprint for other nations to follow.

A HIGH-LEVEL trade delegation from the Netherlands visited AFL House on Friday, keen to understand Australian football's place in the community. 

 

The delegation included the Dutch Minister for Economic Affairs, Mr Henk Kamp, the Deputy Director of European and International Affairs, Ms Yvette van Eechoud, and officials from various Dutch sports including the Royal Dutch Football Federation. 

 

Travis King from www.afl.com.au reports that Essendon’s young Irish recruit, Conor McKenna, has signed a new deal which will see him on the Essendon senior list for 2017. The signing provides a great platform for McKenna to launch a long-term career with the Bombers. 

NORTHERN Irish speedster Conor McKenna will remain at Essendon next season after inking a fresh one-year deal. 

After playing 12 games this season, the former Category B rookie has also been rewarded with elevation to the senior list in 2017.

In this article from Travis King on the www.afl.com.au website, Hawthorn’s post season list changes have included the addition of another young Irishman to accompany their other Irish player Conor Glass.

HAWTHORN has signed its second Irish rookie in 12 months, luring emerging Gaelic football and rugby star Conor Nash to Waverley.

As reported by AFL.com.au in August last year, the Hawks have been circling Nash for some time and the talented Irishman has finally joined the club.

 

The youngster, who hails from Navin about 45 minutes north-west of Dublin, will link up with the Hawks when pre-season training begins next month.

After two completed rounds of the CNFA 2016/17 season, the Cergy-Pontoise Coyotes have cleared out to a handsome lead. They sit on top of the ladder with two wins from two starts and a very healthy percentage after a huge win against the Perpignan Tigers.

The Tigers came to Paris determined to take the game up to the Coyotes, but the home team was switched on from the beginning. By half time they led by a whopping 96 points, having shut the game down early. From there, the run to the final siren went much the same way. The clinical skills in a last quarter that yielded 60 points to nil underlined the strength of the Coyotes.

A new footy force is starting to growl softly in the south of Sweden. The Eksjö Bulldogs have arrived and they intend to take the Swedish footy world by storm, just as their AFL namesakes, the Western Bulldogs, did this year. “We come out snarling, Bulldogs through and through.”

The town of Eksjö is located a little over 300 kilometres to the south-west of Stockholm, close to the southern city of Jönköping and a part of the Jönköping County. The town is also close enough to the Skane County clubs such as the Helsingborg Saints and Port Malmo Maulers to entertain fairly regular matches.

Gustav Svensson is the force behind the ‘Dogs, but already has plenty of friends prepared to work hard to develop this team and bring it to full fruition.

Football evolves. It is the nature of sports as they tap new markets, respond to opportunities, move to develop stronger fan bases and keep ahead of potential challenges.

Such is the story of France’s newest Australian football team, the Lille Eagles. The city of Lille sits close to the border with Belgium in the far north of France, a little over 200 kilometres north of Paris. With a population of over 200,000 (and an greater urban population of over one million), the city is a prime location to develop the game, particularly with its proximity to the city of Amiens and the nearby memorials of The Somme Battlefields where Australian and French teams play their annual ANZAC Day memorial clash - an area that has already embraced Australian football.