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.

While this weekend sees the annual ‘Big Meat Pie’ footy carnival – the event will be tinged with sadness at the news of the passing of former Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) Special Coordinator Graeme Wilson.

The USA and Finland have not met in International footy before. In cool and overcast weather this morning it was probably the Finns who felt a little more at home on the Western Oval.

Quarter Time USA 9.1 (55)  Finland 0.1 (1)

 

In a story that has been splashed across the mainstream media of Australia, AFL players have been taxed by the New Zealand government for matches played in Wellington over the last two years.

The first-ever match on foreign soil to be played for premiership points saw the Swans take on the Saints in a historic clash in 2013. The Saints then returned to Wellington in round six of this year to take on the Lions.

However, it has been revealed that the players who took part in the matches were taxed a portion of their match fee because the Kiwi government deemed them to be ‘entertainers.’

NZ’s Shem Tatupu, one of Hawthorn’s International Rookies, will miss the remainder of the season with stress fractures in his foot.

General Manager – Football Operations Chris Fagan confirmed the the key forward/ruckman prospect felt soreness in his foot at a training session a few weeks ago.

Tatupu was sent for scans, which revealed stress fractures that will force him onto the sidelines for the rest of the season.

“We had some X-rays and scans on that that turned out to be stress fractures, which have required surgery,” Fagan said.

The South Pacific Under 16s squad finished up their week on the Gold Coast with a tough game against the Australian indigenous Flying Boomerangs at Metricon Stadium on Saturday.

The benefits of the week of competition showing in their game play that was regarded as their best displayed across the carnival with improved spread and ball movement. A little more finishing ability and the scoreboard may have reflected a tighter result. With 3 games played across the week – the footy learning also is the result of up to 10 months preparation through the AFL South Pacific talent pathways.

The following is a summary of the week - comments based on AFL South Pacific.

Peter Cresswell is a Kiwi who found footy in Auckland and is glad he did, his story below originally appeared on The Footy Almanac website earlier this week.

I didn’t see my first game of footy until just before my twenty-first. No wonder. There wasn’t a lot of it about in Greater Auckland.

With cartilage falling off the inside of my knees in great chunks, the quack had said “No more contact sport for you, son,” which seemed to rule out any more rugby, league or soccer. And a mate had said, “I’m playing Rules on Sunday. D’you wanna come out and take a look.” The idea of something involving ‘rules’ didn’t sound too appealing to a bloke whose idea of a good night out was pogoing to loud punk bands. But that was how the game was known in Greater Auckland.

So I went, and I laughed.

The AFL Fiji Club Championships came to an end on a Warm sunny and cloudless day at Albert Park in Suva, Fiji with the Raiwaqa Giants taking out the AFL Fiji Club Championships 2014.

In a lopsided event, the Giants ran away with the game before half-time with a 19.14.128 to 8.11.59 thrashing of heavy favourites Nausori Cats.
In a thrilling and spectacular display of power footy at its tropical best, Bulldog Player of the Match was Juta Vateitei. Cats Player of the Match was Nathan Wesley and a special mention also goes to Finn Murphy for the Giants who took a few brilliant marks and kicked truly finishing the day with 7 goals.

With the Club championships now at a close, attention turns to the final preparations for the International Cup in Melbourne.

Fiji will be looking to jump up into Div 1 this year after winning division 2 in 2011.

Back in 2012 a photo surfaced on social media. It showed a young man wading into a creek to retrieve a footy. The caption read along the lines of “if you kick it in, you get it yourself”. It was a reference to the one and only football belonging to that club.

The club turned out to be the Raiwaqa Bulldogs, the youngest junior Australian Rules football team in Fiji. The photo cannot be found now, lost in the vacuum of social media feeds, but the club just won the 2014 AFL Fiji premiership. An incredible effort, given that less than two years ago their single football was their most valued possession.

The Fiji Times (online) ran a story detailing the events of grand final day: