The following story from the Essendon Football Club website details the club’s support for the “Racism. It Stops With Me” campaign. Heading the push on behalf of the club is Cairns born Bomber, Courtney Dempsey, who played junior football here in the northern city for Manunda Hawks.

 

As a coach of another Cairns-based club which has 92% indigenous players, I also strongly support this initiative. Having coached from Under 14 to Under 18 age groups at the Pyramid Power club, and though schools since 2001, I have personally seen, and been directly involved in, the  ugly, damaging side of racism. Not all people are racist. The overwhelming majority of supporters at local level are people with the knowledge of, and acceptance of difference. But the damage done by a bigoted minority can be devastating, and I have sadly dealt with this personally and do not want to again.

 

 

Thank you to the Essendon Football Club for this article.

 

As reported by Peter Ryan at the www.afl.com.au website, the number of teams for next year’s inaugural national women’s competition is likely to now be eight, with Victorian clubs fighting hard for just four licences and the other four going to clubs in Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland. Clubs have already been lobbying hard and this will continue now as the reality of the 2017 season gets closer.

 

EIGHT women's teams aligned with AFL clubs could form the new women's national competition planned for 2017.

 

 

The AFL is considering running a national competition in February and March next year that includes four teams from Victoria and one each from Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland.

The 2016 AFL NAB Challenge series kicks off this Thursday night with reigning premiers Hawthorn playing wooden spooners Carlton in Launceston. 

Please see below for the local and international broadcast schedule.  Note that all programming is subject to change and may occur without notice at the whim of the broadcast networks. Please check local guides for confirmation.

Often lost amongst the crash and bash of senior based footy – men’s or women’s – is the layer of talent that stands to receive the baton after the existing playing groups have become too old to keep running. In so many ways, the kids are THE most important people in the game. It is all very well to have great players, administrators, umpires and so forth now. But ensuring that the pipeline runs deep into the future is vital.

That is why there is nothing quite like seeing the smile on a kid’s face when they have a footy in their hands. The future is so much more secure when we can see the love of the game growing in the next generation – and the next.

 

We are reproducing Matt Zurbo’s training manual for those that are challenged by small numbers out on the footy track. This series first appeared in The Footy Almanac.

As the push for a national women’s AFL competition continues to go from strength to strength, an argument about the possibility of women’s matches being played as curtain-raisers to AFL matches has grown. As the women’s game continues to grow both across Australia and abroad, any type of positive publicity generated by the women’s game will only aid that growth.

 

The following arguments are from an article on the www.afl.com.au  website, written by Matt Thompson and Nat Edwards, looking at the various for and against debates on the issue.  Some of the points would also resonate with other women’s competitions in terms of strategies for the future growth of the women’s game across the world.

 

Yes - the perfect curtain-raiser

 

AS THE AFL pushes towards a fully-fledged women's competition in 2017, the only way for it to work is to become the standard curtain-raiser to men's games every weekend.

 

 

The AFL's All Australian team was announced back in September.  State of Origin football is in a long hiatus - but theoretical State teams are announced each year - the ones on the AFL Player's Association site here for 2015 are worth a look.  They take in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia as well as an Allies team (NT, Tasmania, ACT, Queensland and NSW). 

But what about the rest of the world? If the Rest of the World were to play against any of the teams above, what is the best team they could muster?  Using the International Cup eligibility rules we have named the 2015 World Team (so this does not include foreign born but Australian raised players).  As with the International Cup the coach can be Australian but should have a strong link with international football.  We intend this team to be an annual announcement going forward.

In addition to those currently on AFL lists there are two players that have played in premierships in the O&MFL the past two seasons after having previously played with AFL clubs and three players named on the interchange bench that have all played in the International Cup for their country and also played senior footy in strong Victorian leagues in 2015.

Here is our 2015 World Team