AFL club the GWS Giants made headlines when with the AFL's assistance they lured Israel Folau from the NRL. As a publicity stunt it was an early success as Folau generated headlines and general interest that no other squad member could have whilst the Giants were limited to playing in the NEAFL.

Now it appears the adventure is over with the Giants confirming it at a media conference this afternoon with Folau and coach Kevin Sheedy and CEO Dave Matthews. He has now announced that he will 'retire' from the AFL. The Age reports that he is on the verge of rejoining the NRL via the 2013 wooden spooners the Parramatta Eels (coached by Ricky Stuart).

"It is understood the Eels have made contact with his manager and will be keen to snap him up to bolster their backline after finishing with the NRL wooden spoon in 2012."

The GWS Giants statement is below.

As Brett Northey remarked about my new book about footy, Australian Football The People’s Game 1958-2058 (wallawallapress.com), Kevin Sheedy suggests that in the future when ‘the Los Angeles Coyotes play the London Wolves for four points’...

Where will footy be in its bicentenary year, 200 years after the world’s oldest form of codified football had its rules written down?  Will there be an international competition?  Or, more modestly, will many international players play in the new Australasian Football League, which will include teams from Auckland and Wellington?  If it is the second, then this will be a kind of reprise of 150 years ago when New Zealand won several matches at the 1908 Jubilee carnival, celebrating the game’s first 50 years.

Here's some thoughts of my own, and a call for discussion from our readership. 

Stephen Alomes, who fits in being a writer, broadcaster, painter and Adjunct Professor in the Globalism Research Centre at RMIT University when he's not writing for World Footy News, has released a book many years in the making.

It captures his passion for Australian culture and its place in the context of globalism, specifically focusing on Australian Football.  Having been a regular at International Cups and writer for WFN, it's no surprise the book includes consideration of international footy.  The result is: Australian Fooball - The People's Game 1958-2058

It embraces the future, towards the 2058 bicentenary of the game, as well as exploring recent changes over the last 50 years.  In the preface Kevin Sheedy sees a future AFL match featuriing Los Angeles and London ("the Los Angeles Coyotes play the London Wolves for four points"), and David Parkin also enthuses about the book.
 
‘If you love Australian football, its past, its present and its future, then you have to read this book’ (Kevin Sheedy).

‘A book for generations of Aussie football lovers ... a great read for the real football addict' (ex Carlton coach David Parkin)

Available from Walla Walla Press.

The Australian Football League has reported impressive participation growth in 2012, with 6.81% across all forms of the game in Australia and 10% internationally.  That brings total numbers nationally to 844,799 and 110,292 internationally.

AFL General Manager - National and International Development and General Counsel, Andrew Dillon, said “As interest in the game continues to grow internationally we’ve again seen an increase in those people playing the game outside of Australia with the strongest participation numbers coming from countries such as South Africa, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.”

The following information from the AFL delves deeper into the Australian figures.  We hope to get a more detailed breakdown of the international numbers later in the year.

 

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When the final siren sounded yesterday afternoon, one of the more interesting efforts to circumvent the AFL draft and develop talent outside of the primary channels had a milestone moment of vindication.  Mike Pyke's journey to the AFL is now pretty well known - in Australia.  What has also happened over the last week has been a recognition of his efforts 'back home' in Canada.  And with yesterdays win - we now see the file photos of Pyke from the Canadian national Rugby side during the 2007 RUWC replaced with Mike Pyke, Swans player, and a premiership cup.

Goals :
Haw : Franklin 3, Roughead 2, Gunston 2, Hale 2, Breust 2, Ellis, Smith
Syd : McVeigh 2, Malceski 2, Morton 2, Jack 2, Kennedy 2, Hannebery, Reid, Roberts-Thomson, Goodes

Norm Smith Medal : Ryan O'Keefe, (Syd), 28 disposals and 15 tackles.

Att : 99,683

Premierships : 1909, 1918, 1933, 2005, 2012

In a see-sawing final quarter Hawthorn had kicked out to an early lead, only to see the Swans pegging back the lead then first levelling the scores before pushing ahead by a first a point, then a Goodes goal to lead by 7. 3 Consecutive misses including a poster from Gunston and 2 (snaps) by Sewell (who had battled valiantly all day with a game high 33 disposals) saw the Swans leading by just 4 points with just minutes remaining. The Swans surged forward, there ensued a stoppage and large pack from which Malceski snapped the match sealing goal, after kicking the Swans first he closed the deal with the last. Hawthorn could rue several posters, and other misses including Franklin who finished with 3 goals 4 plus one very much across the face and out on the full at a crucial time kicking to the Punt Rd end just before half time. Roughead also finihed with 0.3 while Hale squared his ledger with 2.2 after his 2 first half misses. The Hawks inaccuracy cost them, and for the Swans, with the frees ledger sitting 9-22 against, there might have been an grudging excuse had they lost. In the end it was a classic contest irrespective.

Of interest to Canadian footy fans - Mike Pyke finished with 16 disposals and 6 marks and 29 hit outs. The Swans headed into the last quarter with substitute player Luke Parker still to be brought into the game - and shortly into the last made the call of removing a tall. That they replaced big Shane Mumford (6 disposals, 2 marks) was a massive show of faith in Pyke who rucked out the last quarter. Including a key late pack mark (that led to Adam Goodes scrabbling a goal to put the Swans up by 7) as well as a couple of vital contesting efforts in the play that saw his mid-air hack at the ball marked by Jetta who went back with about a minute and a half remaining to drive the ball to the teeth of goals - from where the pack developed that lead to Malceski's match winner.

After the Swans had surged to a 28 point lead midway through the third term, Hawthorn had shown courage to fight back, take the lead just before 3/4 time but conceded a 50m penalty (against Sam Mitchell for a sloppy return of the ball) and late goal to Jarrad McVeigh who regained the lead for the Swans. The first 2 goals of the last quarter came to the Hawks The Swans kicked the last 4 goals of the game, against the Hawks 5 behinds. Goals first to Hannebery on the run to get back with 6; then Jack in the goal square to tie up the scores, followed by Goodes and finally Malceski.

Kieren Jack manages to go one better than his dad (Balmain legend, Garry Jack) did for Balmain in the NRL (losing to Canterbury in 1988 and Canberra in 1989). Jude Bolton has been revealed to have played on through the finals with a partially torn PCL and more significantly a partially torn ACL - and is facing a knee reconstruction and the question would be posed as to whether he's played his last game. Nick Malceski as well headed in for his LARS knee reconstruction in early March 2011, was walking within 4 days and now has a premiership medallion to fully validate the decision. Rhyce Shaw who missed out at Collingwood almost 10 years (the 2003 50 pt loss to Brisbane) ago has tasted the ultimate success and was congratulated by brother Heath after the game - however, the emotion of Mark and Jarrad McVeigh's embrace across the fence during the lap of honour was palpable. (Read Mark's tribute ). Mike Pyke as well has 'stuck it up' his detractors (chief of whom perhaps 'BT' - Brian Taylor, although in part tongue in cheek at times, becoming a bit of a running 'gag' on Ch.7 during the season - so much so that even Swans president Richard Colless passed a message via Ch.7 boundary riders back to 'BT' from the rooms after the game.). Pyke was interviewed on the ground post match by Cameron Ling - and perhaps Pyke doesn't know the Canadian for 'Lingy' as Pyke said it with perhaps a hint of Aussie twang? Mitch Morton spoke of having to earn the trust of his teammates to finally get a game, and the surreal feeling he had as a premiership player 12 months on from leaving Richmond. Adam Goodes has been reported to have suffered a torn PCL early in the contest - through which he played out the game and continued to compete strongly, including kicking a vital late goal. Meanwhile, Swans stalwart Kenny Williams again led the Swans song back in the rooms - premiership cup in hand.

As the clock counted down to the first bounce and from the international angle - the plot was threatening to twist and turn. The late rumour doing the rounds (incl. AFL website here) was that Swans #1 ruckman Shane Mumford was very much doubtful with a hamstring injury from training during the week.

Canadian Mike Pyke has been built up in the media (somewhat overdue Melbourne based recognition - including on AFL.com.au today), and ironically former Hawthorn premiership player and now media commentator Dermott Brereton had suggested that with the weather forecast that the Swans might consider replacing a 'tall'. The obvious candidate would have been Pyke as suggested in the Age here.  Yesterday Swans coach John Longmire denied that Pyke's place was in jeopardy (the Australian here).  Whilst Mumford was in doubt, then Pyke would have been called on to take the number 1 ruck role with perhaps Irishman Tommy Walsh slipping into the 22 (Another of the Swans emergencies is Trent Dennis-Lane with Burmese background).

 Please note that these details are correct at the time of publishing. WFN accepts no responsibility for any changes to these times by broadcasters. Please check local guides or afl.com.au. 

2012 AFL Grand Final INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST SCHEDULE Saturday 29 September.

Hawthorn and Sydney will battle it out this Saturday for the 2012 AFL title.

Every year since 2005 World Footy News has displayed an extensive list of Grand Final Parties around the world. And with finals starting this week we once again call for clubs around the world to send details of your party so that fans of the game in your city can watch the big game with you.

You can either post details as a comment below (you must register before you are able to post a comment) or email troy@worldfootynews.com - all these details will be collated as per previous years.