worldfootynews.com caught up with AFL International Development Manager Tony Woods the morning after the big AFL Fiji fundraiser in Adelaide a couple of weeks ago (Tony is pictured with David Rodan Senior, Fiji's coach).  Some of those discussions have featured in recent articles.  In this part we canvas how he has found the role, the new development officer in Europe, and for those in international footy who have had close dealings with the AFL's Josh Vanderloo, we asked about his current status in relation to the international side of the game.

Brett Kirk's International Cup world tour continues, with the former Swans captain now in South Africa, visiting townships that play Australian football. He recently departed India and we hope to bring you details of his time there soon.

For anyone new to football and not familiar with Kirk's style, there's a small package of his work below on youtube.

[youtube:tD_p0H6PyqY]

Round 1 of the NAB cup saw the new 3 team 20-minute half format. Half the clubs took the park in week 1. The preseason games allow the clubs to see how players who haven't yet made their senior AFL debut will fair against seasoned opponents and with a number of players on club lists still recovering from injuries this gives some of the internationals at clubs a chance to show their wares.

Melbourne had the best of the Adelaide teams on their own turf on Friday night showing the benefits of seasons of rebuilding a list at the bottom of the ladder. English born Brad Moran in for the Crows and Fijian-Australian Alipate Carlile suiting up for Port Adelaide.

Saturday night saw the big drawcards Collingwood, Carlton and Richmond fill Etihad stadium,  and the Pies continued where they left off 2010 in solid form. Three Irishmen took the field in Jamie O’Reilly for Richmond playing in defence, Setanta o’hAilpin at centre half forward and Zac Tuohy both lining up for Carlton. Not a great deal to report for any of them but they are up and going and in the mix for the season proper.

The AFL today announced the creation of a state-league based knockout competition from 2011 onwards -- the FOXTEL Cup -- which will showcase the quality of state league football across the country.

AFL General Manager National and International Development David Matthews said the AFL had now concluded all arrangements for the new competition, in partnership with FOX SPORTS, which will bring 16 teams from the various state leagues across the country to play in a unique knockout competition which will be televised exclusively by FOX SPORTS and supported by naming rights sponsor FOXTEL.

Over the last 25 years former AFL Commissioner Colin Carter has been one of the influential people at AFL HQ pushing for game development and an international presence (see Carter returns to Geelong). After leaving the Commission he returned to Geelong's board in 2008 and has now taken over from Frank Costa as the Cats' President.

It will be interesting to see if Carter will combine his position and his enthusiasm for international footy to ensure Geelong gets behind the game's spread. International Australian football is already known at Geelong, such as through the goodwill of player James Bartel and the company of outgoing President Frank Costa has been a great supporter of football in South Africa through sponsorship of FootyWILD.

AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou's pre-recorded address to the UN forum can be watched by clicking "Watch" on the video below. Footage of international teams and matches are included in the video. The importance of the international competitions to the game overall can be felt in the video and among Andrew's words.

Greater Western Sydney coach and high-profile international footy supporter Kevin Sheedy has come out in support of reduced-field footy in Sydney, saying that 11-a-side could be a tool for spreading footy in new territories.

In an article in Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper today, Sheedy said that he'd been trialling 11-a-side footy at training sessions, and said that he envisioned it being played on soccer and rugby grounds.

With 9-a-side footy having created a niche for itself in the international scene, Sheedy's comments are sure to create some talk in the International footy community. The full article can be read here.

It has been a very wet start to the year for many parts of Australia. Areas of WA, Victoria and NSW have suffered from flooding, but Queensland has copped the worst in widespread flooding at extremely high levels.

“On behalf of the AFL I want to extend my condolences to those thousands of people who have been devastated by the floods, especially those who have lost family and friends,” Mr Demetriou said. “It’s also been heartwarming to see so many people give their time and resources to help. In particular, I want to acknowledge the great work by state emergency services and the Queensland Government headed by Premier Anna Bligh.”

The AFL and its 18 clubs have contributed $500,000 to the relief appeal and Mr Demetriou acknowledged the generosity of AFL players in donating a further $150,000 through the AFL Players’ Association. “The AFL, its clubs and the wider football community is committed to helping the people of Queensland get back on their feet over the coming weeks, months and years,” Mr Demetriou said.

In August 2011 the International Cup will be staged in Sydney and Melbourne, and one proven way for representative players to improve their skills is to play for an Australian club, with all the week after week of high standard training and playing. It worked wonders for many of the Nauruan players in 2008, as well as players from other countries.

Now the Coolangatta Australian Football Club in south-east Queensland is offering eligible international players the same chance in 2011. The following offer is from Scott Reid, President of Coolangatta. He has been one of the key men behind the re-birth of Papua New Guinean footy over the last decade, so he his knowledge of international Australian football is both deep and realistic.

 

As we come to the end of 2010 worldfootynews.com has its annual reflection on the year gone by. We've been in the happy position over our existence to be able to report on 6 to 7 years of excellent growth in international Australian football. This year has been no exception. And that's not spin presented to try to give the impression footy is on an upward curve.

There is no question that, from a modest base, Aussie Rules has been doing very well; not always exploding in numbers, and with plenty more to do, but very positive indeed, after a rather sluggish first century or so.  Instead of going into depth on all the various achievements, this year we'll just list some of the highlights that come to mind from across the year, as well as some more dubious events.

Of course because international footy is now so diverse and widely spread, even with around 500 stories in 2010 we're bound to miss some significant achievements, either on a larger scale or great local happenings.  Did we miss something special?  Got your own favourite?  Let us know by posting a comment on this story.