New Zealand enjoyed considerable Australian footballing success in 2005. Besides winning the International Cup, the Pacific nation was invited to compete in the Australian Country Championships and thousands of junior participants were exposed to the sport. This February, Auckland hosts New Zealand's premier domestic football tournament - the National Provincial Championships - which will determine the nation's best senior league and will include junior participants for the first time.

The AFLPNG will this year send three junior teams on tour to Australia, with a boys under 16s squad touring in April, an under 16s girls team playing in the North Queensland challenge in Cairns in October and some of the boys under 14s competing at the Queensland Country Championships in June.

In another boost for the game in Australia's northern neighbour, the AFL has agreed to increase funding to AFL-PNG by AU$15,000 per year. Garry Breust, AFL-PNG board member, released the information last week and has advised that the Board will meet "in the New Year to discuss this decision and the practical implications". He went on to say that "We are pleased to see an extended commitment from the AFL and AFLQ and look forward to working with you (AFL-PNG supporters) to see the further growth of AFL football in PNG in 2006."

The original advice was from AFL Queensland CEO, Richard Griffiths - more information follows.

2005 saw the New Zealand Aussie Rules community assert itself as the pre-eminent footy nation outside Australia, the senior Falcons winning every match at the International Cup by an average margin of 55 points, footy played in more cities around New Zealand than ever before, two young NZAFL players attending the AIS-AFL draft camp and the national team being invited to join the Australian Country Football Championships.

World Footy News takes a look at NZ's domestic leagues and development programs and how they shaped up in 2005.

One of the more recent countries on the international footy stage is the Kingdom of Tonga, a Pacific nation whose nearest neighbours include Samoa and Fiji. Australian Mark Korsten was based there in 2004 and started the game going, and although he has moved on, Mark has continued to ensure a sound structure is built. His focus has been on junior development, with the assistance of an AusAID position (currently filled by Ed Cowan), and includes a scholarship at an Australian school. In a year when start-up plans in Fiji were shelved and the promising Solomons Island program appears to have gone a similar way, it's encouraging to know that Mark has a long term strategy to ensure the game in Tonga.

As reported yesterday in major Melbourne newspaper The Age, AFL club Hawthorn have cancelled a series of clinics due to be held in Christchurch, New Zealand, after the Hawks' request for the AFL to help fund their pre-season training session was turned down.

Scott Reid is well known in international footy circles for having been involved in the early days in Samoa and more recently being a key player in the development of AFL PNG. After much thought Scott has accepted a job in Australia but is confident he leaves Australian Football in good hands in Papua New Guinea.

AFL club Hawthorn will be conducting a training camp in New Zealand for their players in December, following on from a similar program by Port Adelaide in 2004. The NZAFL have issued a Press Release saying that the Hawks will also be taking time out to conduct clinics for the South Island's Aussie Rules league, the Canterbury AFL, based around Christchurch.

In somewhat of a breakthrough for Australian football in New Zealand, the Kiwis have been invited to attend the 2006 Australian Country Championships. With Papua New Guinea and NZ both close neighbours of Australia, they are both benefiting from increased interaction with Aussie leagues. PNG has so far pursued a juniors pathway with AFL Queensland, and NZ now take a significant step towards their goal of being recognised as a football peer to the Australian states. As the championships pit region against region, the Kiwis will also bring some of their best Australian players, provided they are now based in New Zealand.

During the second International Cup, staged in Melbourne in August, World Footy News spoke with New Zealand AFL General Manager Rob Malone. Originally from Western Australia, where he played for West Perth in the WAFL (he also had a short stint at St Kilda), Malone has a professional background in football administration, including Football Manager at West Perth and General Manager at Claremont. During the train trip to Wangaratta we discussed the quality of the Kiwi team and the challenges facing the game. Their following game against Samoa confirmed for this author that Malone's rating of his squad was on the mark, as the Falcons demolished what was an otherwise competitive unit, before completing the tournament undefeated. Below is a transcript of the interview and a link to the audio, however the latter is relatively poor quality due to background noise levels on the train. We'll bring you further exciting news about NZ footy in the next few days.