Touring teams provide AFL New Zealand High Performance players with the best opportunity to test and push their skills, and VAFA were certainly effective at that. With the annual two game series this year the Ammos certainly provided some lessons to the Kiwis in how to play footy.

However, the experience gained by the New Zealand players will be invaluable in their journeys as AFL players and athletes. Many of the players in this side will go on to be Senior New Zealand Hawks representatives, a few already have been. For now, many players within the squad will be returning to club matches around the country, and will be in a fantastic position to apply what they have learnt through regular time on the field.

In the first game of the series played in slippery wet conditions, the VAFA were unstoppable moving the ball into the attacking area, and were simply too classy despite a valiant effort from the New Zealanders.

The International Cup held in Melbourne sadly lacked a NZ Women’s team but the NZ U 18 Kahu recently completed their two game series for the AFL International Youth Girls’ Cup against the Australian U 18 national side, The Breeze.

Though the results were totally one-sided it provided the Australian girls with a chance to represent their country and a way for the New Zealanders’ to benchmark their development.

The first game was played with a fiercely competitive spirit, with both teams playing their hearts out until the final hooter. The result was a large win to Australia, with the talent and class of their players evident throughout the game. At no stage though did the Kahu ease off on the pressure, and they made it clear to the Breeze that they were in a contest.

As reported earlier this year – 2 representatives from Solomon Islands AFL (SIAFL) were playing the year with AFL Darling Downs side Coolaroo. Francs Ramo and Peter Nuku were afforded a chance of a lifetime to play footy in Australia. And - in what is a relatively young footy region - the Darling Downs having been formed as the Darling Downs Australian Football League in 1971.

The AFL Vanuatu 2014 Grand Final was run and won on Saturday by perhaps the underdog in Mele Eagles who overcame the Erakor Golden Star Tigers by at the end a comfortable 33 point margin.

Ryan Bonga who has represented Vanuatu and the South Pacific in Australia – took out the award for best on ground.

The final score – as the brand new scoreboard tells the story – was Mele 6.14.50 to Erakor 2.5.17.

The Olinda Ferny Creek Football/Netball club visit is a major undertaking in itself and sets a high standard for other clubs to aspire to - read more.....

The AFL Vanuatu season reaches it's conclusion tomorrow (Saturday October 4th) at Kazza field in Port Vila. The Mele Eagles managed to book a date with the Erakor Golden Star Tigers for the 2014 AFL Vanuatu Grand Final showdown with a stirring preliminary final victory. The win didn’t come easy – a hard fought 4 point win over the well-credentialed Onesua Magpies.

Mele and Erakor are established rivals in the AFL Vanuatu circles and the Grand Final match up should be a fitting finale to another positive season of growth and development for footy in Vanuatu.

Both the Auckland and Canterbury Leagues are well advanced in their seasons whilst the Wellington league will commence the first weekend in October for a short 6 game regular season before a Grand Final in early December.

The Canterbury League sees all 4 teams with a win after Round 4 with both the Eastern Blues and Christchurch Bulldogs on 3 wins each. For more see http://www.cafl.co.nz

The Auckland League after three rounds sees Waitakere Magpies undefeated, one game clear of North Shore Tigers, University Blues and Mt Roskill Saints, Both Pakuranga Panthers and Manurewa Raiders are winless rounding out the competition. For more see http://www.aafl.co.nz

It’s grand final time of year and over the last couple of weeks leagues are wrapping up around Australia – and for that matter in Papua New Guinea. Saturday week ago the Lae Grand Final was held whilst the weekend just gone the big AFL PNG Esiloan Grand Final Day at the Murray Barracks Oval in Port Moresby was run and won.

Esiloan sponsored trophies and medallions.

In Port Moresby a big day of footy was scheduled on Saturday starting off at 11am with the Women’s play off followed by the ‘A’ Reserves; Oldies v Masters and finally at 2.30pm the main game.

Officially joining Hawthorn's list this season Kiwi Kurt Heatherley has at times looked close to selection for an AFL debut.  Particularly during periods where Hawthorn's defensive stocks were worn thin by injury and suspension.  But this has looked further away as the season wore on and Hawthorn gradually got their best defenders back on the park.

Heatherley has persisted in defence playing 13 matches this season with the Hawk's VFL affilliate side the Box Hill Hawks.  Box Hill won the 2013 VFL Premiership and now find themselves in Sunday's Grand Final against Footscray at Etihad Stadium.  Most of the attention in Box Hill's team selection has been on Cyril Rioli who will test his suspect hamstring in the VFL Grand Final (if Hawthorn defeat Port Adelaide on Saturday afternoon) with hopes of making it through and then playing in the AFL Grand Final the following week.  But our attention is well and truly on the selection of Heatherley who has been named on the half back flank.  

This selection alone is a huge reward for the young Kiwi who relocated as a schoolboy to Australia to pursue his AFL career.  It is also a huge credit to the talent identification and development pathways of AFLNZ. But to win a VFL premiership in his first season of senior football would be an even bigger acheivement and hopefully a tasty entree to an AFL debut in 2015.

 

The Big Meat Pie Nationals vs Barbarians annual footy festival day was the place to be in Honiara across the weekend - below is a report from AFL Solomon Islands.

The stage was set at King George VI for yet another historic clash between the Solomon Islands Nationals against the combined expatriate & local side – Barbarians. A hot and dry day would see plenty of rotations and test players endeavour and willpower to win the footy for their team. With several National players unavailable for selection this year the Barbarians were hoping for an upset victory and to claim the trophy for first time.