Papua New Guinea's Stanis Susuve spent 2009 with the young Gold Coast Football Club as they made their way in the TAC Cup Under 18 competition. He almost didn't make the cut as the club, which enters the AFL in 2010, acquired elite young talent from around Australia ahead of their 2009 step up to VFL level. But Susuve was kept on to keep developing his footy, and last weekend made his VFL debut with the Gold Coast.

Although named in the back pocket he obviously got forward, slotting a critical goal from a tight angle late in the third quarter, giving the Coasters a narrow 8 point lead at the final break over Geelong's VFL side. In the last quarter GC pulled away to record their first win of the VFL season, adding to an earlier draw.

With the Gold Coast allocated most of the prime picks in the AFL Draft at the end of the year, holding a spot will be very difficult, but making his debut in the club's first VFL win must be a good step in the right direction.

GCFC 2.1 (13) 3.3 (21) 7.4 (46) 10.8 (68)
Geelong Cats` 0.3 (3) 2.7 (19) 5.8 (38) 5.10 (40)

GC Goals: Thompson (2), Russell (2), Weller, Magin, Susuve, Daye, Harris, Liddy
GC Best: Magin, Hutchins, Weller, Swallow, Ah Chee

PNG 15 year olds Victor Rame and Max Lavai this week visited Essendon, which according to our information signed them to international scholarships in February during a major dash for PNG talent (see AFL Clubs Sign another 6 of PNG’s Finest). The visit to Melbourne included a look around Windy Hill and meeting the Essendon senior list.

Rohan Connolly of Melbourne's The Age newspaper recently published an article titled International Rules OK, detailing many of the developments in international footy now impacting on the AFL, most of which have been covered in a variety of articles on WFN previously, but pleasingly are now getting a run in the biggest media publications. The information below comes from that article.

This year marks a new era for Aussies rules in Papua New Guinea as the AFLPNG and AFLNCD (National Capital District comprising the region around PNG’s capital of Port Moresby) have met to discuss various issues affecting AFL in PNG and how best they can manage the running of the sport, especially at the senior level.

Among the issues raised by the AFLNCD chairman Veari Maha and AFL PNG representatives Walter Yagomina and AFL development manager for Asia Pacific region Andrew Cadzow were conducting courses for umpires and the competition at the senior level.

AFLPNG has agreed that players at the senior level competition will be selected to undergo training in umpiring. The players selected should have been part of the PNG Mosquitoes side at one time or another.

In great news for NZ footy, the AFL's Hawthorn Football Club will visit New Zealand in June this year. The itinerary includes the three major centres of Christchurch on Monday 21st, Wellington on Tuesday 22nd and Auckland on Wednesday 23rd.

Players will visit schools and community groups to assist in the promotion of AFL in New Zealand. Details of players attending and a finalised itinerary are yet to be decided. The visit corresponds to the AFL's split round, with Hawthorn having a break the weekend following their visit.

In World War Two New Guinea was Australia's last line of defence against Imperial Japan. As the Japanese invaded from the north the local Papuans helped Australian troops defend, often assisting by carrying equipment and guiding through heavy terrain. The legend of the Kokoda Trail (Track) is perhaps the most famous memory of those events, with many Australians walking the path each year, including AFL players.

Decades later and the links remain. Carlton's PNG recruit, Peter Labi, recently returned to his home town of Lae and while he was there he searched the war cemetery, eventually finding the final resting place of Jim Park. The 1938 Carlton premiership player made the ultimate sacrifice during the war and his surviving daughter, Joan Schinner, was delighted to have Labi pay tribute to her father.

2818 soldiers of the Second World War are buried there (444 of them unidentified), including Jim Park and Labi’s five great uncles - Gesengus Tae kikia, Hansa Gageng Gindingeng, Leo Kikuctung, Yanger Dingu and Nasala Pedere. Labi said, “I was trying to imagine what Jim went through, to leave his young family behind and go to another country to fight. To think that Jim never came home to see his wife or his little girl. It’s very sad.”

The full touching story can be read at Peter’s PNG pilgrimage to Jim Park’s grave.

Papua New Guinea's Stanis Susuve has been named in the back pocket for the Gold Coast in the VFL this weekend, up against Geelong's VFL side at Southport, Queensland.

Also a chance to play VFL seniors is Carlton's Peter Labi, also from PNG, who has been named on an extended bench for the Northern Bullants, having so far played for their Reserves side. The Bullants play Casey Scorpions.

Will one of these players become the first footballer born and initially developed in PNG to play in the AFL?

Nic Naitanui from the West Coast Eagles is the NAB AFL Rising Star Nominee for Round Four. The exciting ruckman was a standout for the Eagles as the team scored its first victory for the 2010 season over Essendon at Subiaco Oval on Friday night.

Dominating the ruck with Dean Cox – a player he once idolised as a junior - Nic had 17 hitouts and gathered 13 disposals, 10 of which were contested and five tackles. His ability to clear the ball from ruck stoppages was a highlight with a game high equalling seven clearances.

The milestone for Naitanui will be keenly followed by those in his family's homeland of Fiji and no doubt by many immigrant Australians who dream of making their mark in Australian football. Nic is a raging favourite to take out the Rising Star award for the entire 2010 season following his outstanding form in the season so far.

AFL PNG has had a long relationship now with Queensland footy, but it would be almost impossible to think that any local club would be the home to ten PNG footballers. However, the Coolangatta Blues are doing just that now, with the club hoping the talent from PNG will help them off the bottom of the AFLQ Pineapple Hotel Cup ladder (effectively the second tier of AFLQ's competition).

PNG players (from left) Ferdinand Musi, Ali Pinda, Henry Henry, Ogla Pena, Paul Philip, John Ikupu Junior, Emmanuel Tupia, Johnny Vogae, Freddy Peni (obscured) and Gagu Kaiyage will play for Coolangatta in 2010. (Picture: Scott Fletcher)

The Blues with new president Scott Reid, who is also the president of AFL-PNG, secured the services of the 10 players from PNG to boost the club after receiving the wooden spoon in 2009.

Coolangatta is a partner club with AFLPNG, and are more than happy to accommodate the players, who range in age from 17 to 24 years.

For more information, see PNG recruits to help Blues off bottom of the ladder on goldcoast.com.au.

Two of Papua New Guinea's best exports continue to make excellent progress in Queensland's top league, with John James and Amua Pirika, starring in Mt Gravatt's 8 point trial game win over Broadbeach.

According to the AFLQ website's article PNG Boys Alight, James was at his electrifying best, putting on a best-on-ground display, while Pirika booted for 4 of the Vulture's 14 goals.

Both players were prominent for the PNG Mosquitoes in the 2008 International Cup. It's clear that PNG has joined Ireland as a nation that can regularly produce talent capable of competing to at least Australian state league level.

One of the interesting stories over the next 18 months will be seeing if most PNG stars will be available for IC2011 duty, or whether the Mozzies will effectively become an "emerging PNG" team.

Outspoken Hawthorn Football Club President Jeff Kennett, who is also a former Victorian Premier, has suggested the AFL will expand to 20 teams (up from 16 now, and soon to be 18 with the Gold Coast and Western Sydney). His prediction is that it will occur within 10 to 20 years, and that one of those new clubs may well be New Zealand based.

"I think in 10-20 years there might be 20 clubs. That will be the full bottle for the AFL", Kennett said. "I think there should be one in New Zealand because you think of the young Caucasian athletes over there, they find it very hard to get into their own football code (Rugby)" and "20 clubs, play each other once during the season and then move into the finals".

It was a wide-ranging interview with Kennett on Melbourne radio station SEN, including his disagreement of the way the AFL handled their investigation of the Lara Bingle-Brendan Fevola nude photo incident. Typical of some of the narrow minded Melbourne football media who still don't see the big picture, one journalist suggested that if not for Kennett's credentials he would be considered "a stark raving lunatic" and that "it's not going to happen".

Although Kennett often has some left field ideas that don't always gain traction, it is encouraging that the idea of New Zealand one day fielding an AFL side is beginning to arise in circles of influence.