The Sydney Swan's Dennis Carroll Trophy for Most Improved Player was last night awarded to Canadian Mike Pyke. This award is decided by the Match Committee and is based on votes in 2010 compared to 2009, among other criteria.

Pyke, 26, played International Rugby Union for Canada before moving to Australia in 2008 to try his hand at AFL with the Swans. This year he played 18 senior games, developed his all-round game and skills, and held down the number two ruck position.

The night's main award, the Bob Skilton Medal (for the club's best player in 2010) was won by Kieren Jack, completing a fairytale rise from budding rugby league junior to elite AFL midfielder.

Coinciding with the AFL Grand Final rematch this Saturday 2 October, is the 2010 OAFL Grand Final, to be contested by the Central Blues and the Toronto Dingos.

The event will be held at Humber South (Lakeshore West and Kipling) and will get underway at 11am.

Apart from the match itself, guests will have access to a licensed beer garden, live music and plenty of BBQ food.

The Dingos are four-time OAFL Premiers, with their most recent Premiership in 2005, whilst the Blues will appear in their first ever Grand Final. The Blues were stronger throughout the Home and Away season, although both teams have performed solidly thoughout their finals campaigns. The Blues enter the match with fresher legs, given a week off because of their superior ladder position. The Dingos and Blues have met twice in 2010, with the Blues comprehensive winners on both occassions, and consequently they enter this match as favourites.

There was some worries that ESPN would not be able to free up broadcast space for the 2010 AFL Grand Final Replay which comes about due to last Saturday's draw.

But never fear because the match will be shown on ESPN Classic – live coverage of the match only at 00:00EST. ESPN 2 – will join the match in progress at 01:00EST on Saturday

Online the match can be viewed on http://ESPN3.com where avaialable with live coverage of the match only at 00:00EST on Saturday. http://Omnisport.tv will have their pay serview showing the match live from 00:00 EST Saturday.

As his club prepares for the biggest day of the year, Collingwood's Shae McNamara will be an excited onlooker. He has successfully negotiated his way through the 2010 VFL season and will be looking to break into the AFL in 2011. The video below shows some of what he has been up to during the year and he discusses his thoughts on being an American in Melbourne.

Former Carlton and Collingwood AFL footballer Chris Bryan was last week cut by the Green Bay Packers. But the end of his NFL adventure had only just begun - as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have trialed Bryan this week and now offered him a contract as their punter for the coming season.

Bryan will join the other Aussies with Aussie rules backgrounds in Matt McBriar, Ben Graham and Sav Rocca in the NFL for season 2010/11. He will make his regular season debut at home against the Cleveland Browns at 5.00am Monday Melbourne time.

The MAAFL crown was decided this weekend when Nashville Kangaroos met Chicago United in Nashville. The following report comes to us courtesy of Nashville's Alex Benjamin.

The crowd of 315 came together in the 92 degree (farenheit) heat to witness the first ever MAAFL Grand Final on the Kangaroos turf at Heartland Park in Donelson. Chicago came in at 3-2 record and 2-0 in the MAAFL, but their last match was 2 months ago against Milwaukee, in which they won 86-22. The Kangaroos came in at 6-2 and also 2-0 in the MAAFL after the 153-7 massacre against the Ohio Valley River Rats.

This weekend see the MAAFL Grand Final being played in Nashville, Tennessee. Alex Benjamin provides the following preview.

This week is the biggest week in close to 9 years for the Nashville Kangaroos as they are just one win away from winning the MAAFL (Mid-American Australian Football League) Premiership. What is separating them is the 3-time defending champion Chicago United. Whoever wins this game...wins the Premiership.

St Louis Blues' Dan Sarbacker (seen here around the 2 minute 50 second mark in possibly his most famous US Footy moment) is having a stint in Victoria's GVFL with Mansfield. Mansfield have received good coverage recently centred around their coach Craig Kelly, who is also a player agent and former Collingwood premiership player.

But Sarbacker is generating his own press with coverage today in Melbourne's The Age newspaper. Paul Daffey who writes for The Age and is one of the founders of The Footy Almanac penned this latest piece following Dan's senior debut for Mansfield last week.

Sarbacker also featured in The Age last month in Adam McNicol's article Rural footy lures US player.

Sav Rocca did not leave the bench in his battle with Ken Parrish for the Philadelphia Eagles punting position on the weekend. Parrish took the kickoff and punting duties (Rocca did hold for field goal attempts) for the Eagles practice match, but has been released from their squad, leaving Rocca to hit his booming torpedo's and measured drop punts for the Eagles again this season.

The other former AFL footballer Chris Bryan's battle with Tim Masthay continued to run neck and neck with both punters perfoming well but with similar returns in their practice match. Three more matches are scheduled before the regular season and it may take all those matches before Green Bay make their decision.

As the 2010 NFL season is about to enter into preseason games we take a look at the former Aussie rules footballers who have been trying to secure a place in the position of punter at various clubs across the US.

Ben Graham - Arizona Cardinals - after a great season in 2009 Graham is guaranteed to be the starting punter for 2010 and will be holding punts for his former Jets team mate Jay Feely.

Sav Rocca - Philadelphia Eagles - the club has brought in Ken Parrish to compete with Rocca for the punting job and it looks like the competitior might beat the incumbent for the place on the team as he can kick off, saving wear and tear on the leg of the team's kick David Akers, who turns 36 in December. If Rocca does lose the job he may get a shot elsewhere in the NFL during the season.