Kookaburras go double back-to-back premiers
- Wednesday, August 25 2004 @ 08:48 pm ACST
- Contributed by: Brett Northey
- Views: 3,626
Welcome to World Footy News Saturday, November 08 2025 @ 11:01 pm ACDT
The first ever game of Australian Rules football played in the United States, at least in the "modern era", was between the Cincinnati Dockers and Louisville Cats, in 1996. In less than a decade the sport has spread to all corners of the country, with thousands of players competing. Alas Louisville went into recess a couple of years ago, but plans are underway to re-form this historic club.
Australian Rules football continues to grow steadily in the United States. Unlike many top American sports, Aussie Rules does not have a strong college presence. However several colleges have taken on the game, and September sees an exciting new phase for the sport, with the Inaugural Collegiate Invitational. This may well be the springboard needed to accelerate football's growth in universities throughout the US.
The Western Regionals are being held in San Diego this weekend. This is the second leg of the series, to help determine seedings for the United States AFL 2004 Nationals, to be held in Atlanta in October. With each of the attending five teams playing against every other team once, the Regional should be a fair measure of the relative strengths of the teams. The draw follows.