If you were to believe the comments of former St Kilda coach, Grant Thomas, the team with the worst list in the AFL just won the premiership. If you take the time to read further, across a variety of social media platforms, you can see that there is a Victorian bias in the draw and finals fixtures, particularly the use of the MCG as a permanent Grand Final venue. Former West Coast premiership veteran, Sam Butler, has stated as much.

Everyone is entitles to opinions, and past VFL/AFL players or coaches are in a uniquely knowledgeable position, being so close to the highest levels of the game. But it doesn’t necessarily make them right and a short look at some history and data can put things in a different perspective.

The AFL is constantly under fire for their efforts to even out the game. Strangely, I still remember people critical of the then VFL for not doing something about the “Silvertail” Carlton Blues when they could seemingly “buy” premierships. The poor old AFL/VFL cannot win here - they have either made it too even or not even enough. Classical “Goldilocks Syndrome” where to many it is never “just right”. From my position that view is distorted heavily by whether or not one’s own team wins a flag or languishes again outside the finals.

The 2017 AFL Grand Final kicks off at the MCG on Saturday afternoon in Melbourne. Richmond will play Adelaide in the Premiership decider.  The full international broadcast schedule can be seen below.

In addition to the TV networks you can also subscribe to the Watch AFL service that will give you live access to all the matches and more (outside Australia only).  You can access that service by clicking on the link here or the  Watch AFL banner below and paying the subscription fee.

 

GAME	DATE	TIMESLOT	MATCH	VENUE	LOCAL	GMT
Grand Final	30-Sep	DAY	Adelaide v Richmond	MCG	14:30	4.30

 

The 2017 AFL Grand Final is just a few days away where the Richmond Football Club will take on the Adelaide Crows at the MCG.  This weekend all over the world Grand Final Parties will be taking place and we want to help viewers find them.

If you would like to add to the list you can either post details as a comment below (you must register before you are able to post a comment or login via Facebook) or email troy@worldfootynews.com - all these details will be collated as per previous years.

Uncharacteristically for myself I'll get straight to the point.  The AFL has a once in a generation opportunity to significantly boost world footy whilst at the same time add depth and colour to the AFLW, with a not unreasonable chance of even greater benefits down the track in terms of international representation for Australia's female footballers, all for virtually no cost.

The simple change - allow and encourage AFLW sides to add international rookies with no penalty to the number of players already on their lists.

The possible outcome - a pool of internationals ready to: boost the standard and colour of the AFLW, to promote the sport back home, to prove a semi-pro pathway exists, to one day provide opposition that will allow Australian women the chance to pull on an Australian jumper to play a true Aussie Rules international (a potentially alluring but difficult to quantify enhancement to AFLW).

The signs are that this opportunity will not be taken.

Below the case for the small but significant change is argued, including here and in part two we show the support by people from across the football spectrum, from the GWS Giants to a current AFLW player to an international captain and others involved in the game outside Australia.

With all due respect to the powers that be, this is a rallying cry to those that love the game, whether it involve male or female players.

 

worldfootynews.com has been publishing unofficial Men's World Rankings since 2006 and has been using a consistent methodology since 2010.  In establishing that methodology we consulted with our readership and that influenced the final decision.

Although some informal updates were published during IC17 our last formal edition was in late 2016 and we're due to issue a post-IC17 update, but find ourselves confronted by some difficult decision regarding which teams qualify.

It has been suggested that a match involving Canada B could be included, as well as games by the hybrid sides Indochina and Asia Lions.  There's also a match between the USA and Canada way back in 1993 that has been suggested as needing to go into our statistics. In the spirit of the 2010 debate, we're seeking feedback from our readers as to their thoughts.

Firstly, let me preface this article by clarifying two things – I was on the losing end of that scoreline, and this was only my second game for this club so I haven’t endured the season this particular club has. Having said that, very few articles about footy dare to look at the positives that might be found in a 290-point loss. Here goes!

In helping out another local team earlier this season, and playing my first ever senior game in the process, I was a part of a similar hiding. Without bothering to research the web for the actual scores, I can say with some surety that the opposition that day kicked about 35 goals. Our tally was far easier to deal with – we got one. It marked the first time in my predominantly junior and reserve grade career that I had experienced such a loss. It was an eye-opener, but for vastly different reasons that many might think.

 

To help to promote and celebrate the 2017 Toyota AFL Multicultural Round, the  www.afl.com.au    website has published a wonderful collection of vignettes of Australians involved in the game at all levels from diverse cultural backgrounds. From current players at the highest level to those involved with local footy, the stories of these people’s journeys in footy tell a great story of passion and love for our game – as well as highlighting the contributions made to the game by people of such varied multicultural backgrounds.

FOOTBALL has long been promoted as a game anyone and everyone can participate in. Whether you're playing, coaching or umpiring at the highest level or contributing voluntarily at grassroots, there's a role for all of us.

Several themes emerge from this snapshot look at the footy stories of 12 people from vastly different backgrounds: the game is fun, can help break down barriers and ease the transition into a new culture, draws families and communities together, teaches various skills and helps build resilience.    

This weekend sees the multicultural roots of our national game recognised and honoured with a round of matches, both at the highest level of the game and at grassroots level, played as a mark of respect to those people of multicultural backgrounds and their contributions to our game.

The timing of the round is ideal, occurring a week before nations from across the world send the national Australian Rules football teams to Melbourne for the 2017 International Cup (IC17).

The AFL’s positive community message states that:

“AFL is a game for everyone, no matter who you are or where you’re from. Australian Football has the extraordinary power to bring people together regardless of background. Toyota AFL Multicultural Round gives us the opportunity to celebrate the diverse cultures that make up our amazing game. Everything’s possible when we unite through the love of the game.”

The AFL Players’ Association is proud to present Supporting Multicultural Footballers, Best Practice Guidelines, a document aimed at promoting multiculturalism within the game.

 Supporting Multicultural Footballers, Best Practice Guidelines is intended to be a resource to help the industry better understand the various cultures represented within the AFL.

 The document profiles 39 countries represented by AFL and AFLW players and provides important information on topics such as cultural awareness, family traditions, language and key dates.

 More than 13 per cent of the AFL player population, both male and female, identify as multicultural by being born overseas or having at least one parent born overseas.

The AFL Players association is celebrating the AFL multicultural round. A great initiative they have released on their site is the "2017 Multicultural Map" which shows all the 149 AFL and AFLW current players that were either born outside Australia or have one parent born outside Australia.

From Austria to Zimbabwe, there are 38 countries represented on the 2017 Multicultural Map — the third of its kind.

Players highlighted in green were born outside Australia, while those in red have a parent born in another country. Therefore, some players may be listed against more than one country.

You can check it out here.