Hollywood actor, Natalie Portman, has recently visited Australia and spent some time with the Melbourne Demons. On her return home, Natalie has taken our game to the world stage with a brief mention on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, taking the "platypus" of sports into homes across the United States and the world.

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 Last week, World Footy News reported on the arrival of a new centre for Australian Rules football. Hawaii, better known for Pacific holidays, Pearl Harbour, Waikiki Beach and Kilauea, has some hardy enthusiasts getting together in Honolulu to create a new club – a club that could potentially develop like no club before it. 

Dallas McCulloch isn’t your average footy player. But his drive, along with a great team around him, is making positive things happen. They are onto something. Our interview with Dallas and his vision for the future makes for some very interesting reading. 

The prospects of a Pacific-wide Australian Rules football competition have been discussed for many years with many locations touted as potential venues. However, the arrival of Hawaii as a football destination might just add another dimension to that argument. 

Here is our chat with Dallas.

Niall Seewang from ESPN reports on the impact that Collingwood’s Mason Cox and other USA products are having on decisions regarding future U.S Combines. The following is an extract from the original article. To read the full article, go to the link at the end of this extract. 

Mason Cox's emergence as a legitimate attacking weapon could spur the reintroduction of the AFL's U.S. Combine. 

The AFL had travelled to U.S. every year since 2012 to hold trials for American athletes -- often college basketballers, footballers and soccer players who miss out on professional contracts in their chosen sports -- but held no such event in 2018. 

However, it could be brought back in 2019, with the AFL set to make a decision on its future before the end of the year.

Ryan Finnerty reports on Hawaii Public Radio about the development of an Australian Rules football club in Hawaii. In the wake of the recent USAFL Nationals in Racine, and the current Mason Cox mania, a Hawaiian football club is further proof of the increasing uptake of the game across the United States. Follow the link below for an audio interview detailing the club and its journey.

The interview is contextualised by the following introduction on the http://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/ website.

What do you get when you combine American football, rugby, soccer, and a few other sports into oneω A little game called Australian Rules Football. It’s one of the most popular, and rough, sports from the Land Down Under.

 The Austin Crows and San Francisco Iron Maidens sit atop the USAFL footy tree at the end of 2018 taking out the the Division 1 Men's and Women's Divisions respectively.  

Both teams know the feeling of holding the cup well, with this being the 3rd year out of four that Austin have taken out the competition and the third (or back to back to back) title for the San Francisco Iron Maidens.

The Crows easily accounted for the New York Magpies in the Semi Final to line up their shot against the 2017 Champions the Golden Gate Roos.  Golden Gate narrowly saw off the LA Dragons in their semi final but could not overcome the Crows who ran out five point winnners.  Austin Crwos 4.6 30 defeated Golden Gate Roos 4.1 25.

 

 It was a chilly, breezy, but sunny day in Racine Wisonsin.  Five divisions of men's footy and  two divisions of women's footy was played in good conditions. 

In the Men's Division 1 Pool A was dominated by last year's champions Golden Gate and Pool B was dominated by 2015 and 2016 Champions the Austin Crows.  Golden Gate will take on last year's runners up in their semi final tomorrow, while Austin will face the New York Magpies.

Division 1 Pool A
New York Magpies	defeated	Denver Bulldogs
2.3.15		2.1.13
Golden Gate Roos	defeated	Denver Bulldogs
8.8.56		1.0.6
Golden Gate Roos	defeated	New York Magpies
5.2.32		0.1.1
Division 1 Pool B
Los Angeles Dragons	defeated	Quebec Saints
6.1.37		1.5.11
Austin Crows	defeated	Quebec Saints
8.8.56		1.0.6
Austin Crows	defeated	Los Angeles Dragons
4.1.25		2.1.13

  

Sam Nichols reports on the Vice Media website about the growth of the game in North America – specifically the New York Magpies as a microcosm of the challenges facing the growth of the game as a whole. As the USAFL Nationals kick off in Racine, Wisconsin this weekend, this excellent story marks a good time to reflect on the journey of one club as an example of the journeys of others.

With just under 2000 registered players and 42 clubs, Australian Rules has taken a foothold in America without fans or money. 

At a public park in Brooklyn, parallel to the East River, the New York Magpies—the city’s only Aussie Rules team—gear up to train, just like they do every Monday evening. 

 

“There’s usually more people at training,” Shane Lowry, a longtime player and recently appointed coach, tells me. “We had a big weekend of footy in Philly, so I reckon a lot of people are tired.”

 

You know you are finally cracking the veneer of the American sporting market when you have the attention of the New York Times. On the eve of the USAFL Nationals in Racine, Wisconsin, that is just what is happening with journalist S B Tang getting Collingwood’s American Pie onto the sports pages of one of the biggest and widely read newspapers in the United States.  

Below is an extract from Tang’s story. To read the article in full, go to: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/08/sports/mason-cox-football-australia.html#click=https://t.co/MOUZRQyQGb

 

How an American Basketball Player Became a Star in Australian Rules Football 

 

MELBOURNE, Australia — As Mason Cox sprinted toward the football, one thought ran through his mind: attack it.

The USAFL's National Championships will see seven divisions of men's and women's footy in Racine, Wisconsin over the coming weekend, October 13-14 at the SCORe Complex. 

This year's tournament features 45 teams spanning seven divisions, representing nearly forty clubs across the USA and Canada.  Two women's divisions, four men's divisions and one men's reserves division. 

Everyone will be out to hunt down Golden Gate who took out the 2017 titles in both the Men's and Women's Division 1.  And those divisions are very strong with six stand alone clubs in each all eager to take that title.  

 

 

Marc McGowan reports on the www.afl.com.au website about the reaction in the United States to the extraordinary success of Texan, Mason Cox, ahead of his AFL Grand Final appearance tomorrow. Cox has already captured the imagination of Australians, but as the AFL’s biggest game of the year draws closer, Americans are realising the magnitude of his achievements.

AMERICAN Mason Cox's extraordinary Australian football journey to Saturday's AFL Grand Final is finally gaining traction in the Collingwood giant's home country.   

The United States media's relative lack of interest until now pales in comparison to the fanfare the 211cm forward has long received in Australia.