World Footy News

After the Easter weekend break, the final two rounds of AFL New Zealand certainly did not disappoint. Despite an upset (courtesy of the Western Crows) that derailed their hopes of an undefeated season, the Central Giants finished off as the recipients of the 2018 AFLNZ premiership.

The Southern Saints took on the Northern Suns at QBE Stadium in the first game of the day. This north-south rivalry has been hotly contested all year, and the Round 8 edition was no exception.

A pair of goals from both sides kept things fairly level for the first period, as the Saints’ Josh Morgan-Ranui showed his class, opening things up for tall forward Alex Fakatoumafi inside 50. The margin was only a goal at halftime, however, thanks to some clever ball movement by the Suns, particularly midfielder Mitch Ryan (two goals) and forward Robbie Mostert. The northerners led by a mere eight points at three-quarter time.

The fourth quarter was the moment of truth for both sides, and ultimately, the Suns took advantage of their opportunities, booting six in the final term to give themselves a 35-point victory. Forward Will Kempt (two goals) was named best on ground.

Final: Suns 14.8.92, Saints 9.3.57

Best on ground (Suns): Will Kempt

Best on ground (Saints): Blake Williamson

Leading goalkickers (Suns): Robbie Mostert (4), Mitch Ryan (2), Will Kempt (2), Jackson Clince (2), Peter Van Kampen, Joel Brown, James Kusel, Layton Cahill

Leading goalkickers (Saints): Charlie Dixon (4), Josh Morgan-Ranui (2), Alex Fakatoumafi, Michael Boyce, Clayton Walters

Game two featured the top two sides -- the Giants and Crows -- and it was just as exciting as expected. Despite the Giants’ explosive forward line, the Crows were the ones who started off fast from the first bounce. Lewis Gill and Alastair Maisey both slotted goals early in the first, starting off a back-and-forth match that resulted in a virtual stalemate at halftime.

The Crows’ backline was under siege all afternoon due to Giant superstar James McKenzie, who had already booted three majors by halftime. But those expecting a high-scoring, wide-open second half would be disappointed.

Both sides turned up the pressure and kept the scores low, with the Crows ultimately scoring a massive 10-point win, giving the ladder-leading Giants their first defeat of the season. The Crows’ Sam Burdett was rock-solid in defence, and the Christchurch native earned a well-deserved best-on-ground nod for his efforts.

Final: Crows 7.15.57, Giants 7.5.47

Best on ground (Crows): Sam Burdett

Best on ground (Giants): Nick Bailey

Leading goalkickers (Crows): Lewis Gill (2), Zac Maio, Brad Wade, Alastair Maisey, Jevaan Croft, Chris Mundell

Leading goalkickers (Giants): James McKenzie (3), Wayne Sullivan (2), Nick Bailey, Finn Moffat

Round 9 Recap

It was a Saints vs Crows clash in the final round of AFLNZ premiership action, and the Crows were left short-handed in the midfield, missing star Kiwis Te Kope Tipene-Thomas, Jay Johnson, and Shane Leat. With that trio gone, Saints captain Michael Boyce took full advantage, helping his side dominate the clearances and even kicking two goals himself.

The Saints led by nine goals at the main break, as high-flying forward Alex Fakatoumafi kicked a record 10 majors in the contest (four of them in the first half). It was deja vu for the Crows backline, as Fakatoumafi had booted five goals against them back in Round 6. Ultimately, the Saints avoided the wooden spoon and also scored an AFLNZ premiership record 155 points in their win.

Final: Saints 24.11.155, Crows 5.4.34

Best on ground (Saints): Alex Fakatoumafi

Best on ground (Crows): Ryan White

Leading goalkickers (Saints): Alex Fakatoumafi (10), Dan Howie (3), Pat Gibbs (2), Michael Boyce (2), Nathan Hayes (2), Jackson Hemmingsen, Misilifi Faimalo, Josh Morgan-Ranui, Nico Donnell-Brown, Andriu Secu

Leading goalkickers (Crows): Zac Maio (3), Ty Smith, Joseph Alesich-Tamariki

The Giants were already outright AFLNZ premiers after Round 7, but the subsequent upset loss to the Crows had left a bad taste in their mouths. In the final round, the Giants righted the ship and gave themselves a boost heading into the offseason with a 92-point dismantling of the Suns.

James McKenzie kicked five goals on the day for the winning side, cementing his name in AFLNZ history with a premiership-record 31 goals on the season. The Giants were only four goals ahead at halftime, but the outcome was never truly in doubt as they cruised to a big victory. Key midfielder James Dakin was influential, and James Bowden (three goals) combined with Josh Cunliffe (six) for an offensive flurry that kept pressure off McKenzie in the forward line. Dakin received best on ground for his efforts.

Final: Giants 23.12.150, Suns 8.10.58

Best on ground (Giants): James Dakin

Best on ground (Suns): Matthew Bennetts

Leading goalkickers (Giants): Josh Cunliffe (6), James McKenzie (5), James Bowden (3), Sam McKenzie (2), Sean Andrews (2), Tayne Lockwood (2), Elliott Bennetts, Wayne Sullivan, Andrew Johnston

Leading goalkickers (Suns): Dan Otley (4), Will Kempt (2), Matt Colless, Reyne Westbury

That’s a wrap on the 2018 AFL New Zealand premiership season, but there’s still plenty of other footy-related action on the other side of the Tasman.

On April 22nd and 24th, the New Zealand national team will take on the NAB AFL Academy side at Westpac Stadium in Wellington. It’s an excellent opportunity for the Kiwis to show their skills against some highly-touted Aussie youngsters -- many of whom could be playing on the MCG sooner rather than later. On the 23rd, the AFLNZ Combine will take place, also in Wellington at the ASB Sports Centre.

Additionally, the Mornington Peninsula juniors league is sending three separate teams -- a U14 boys side, a U16 boys side, and a women’s team -- to compete against some AFL New Zealand academy prospects (also on the 24th). It’s a special occasion for all involved, particularly during the buildup to Anzac Day.

Harley Vague on tour in Europe gives us his observations and opinions on footy in France.

Yesterday Toulouse hosted an Australian Football double-header. The Blagnac Aviators from Toulouse played a catchup game against Les Coyotes de Cergy-Pontoise followed by the top of table clash in the Toulouse Hawks Vs The Paris Cocks.

It was a good time to reflect on Australian Football as played in France. I had driven 2.5 hours to Toulouse but that paled against the long journey of the players from the two Paris football teams who had rolled the dice with the striking SNCF railways and arrived.

The Toulouse Hawks play out of the university grounds but talking to a Toulsouse player they do not draw on students as players. All their players are working, They have to be, to be able to afford the transport costs associated with playing Australian Football in a national league of the size of France.

Much has changed in French football since I first witnessed the 2010 Coupe de France in Strasbourg. In 2010, There were fewer teams, less organisation, few umpires and less skill then. Whilst the CNFA has expanded by organic growth, AFL Europe has been responsible for raising umpiring standards and improving general organisation. The growth in the south of France has been instrumental in lifting competition and general football standards.

Unfortunately the whilst the growth of the national competition has been responsible for lifting the standard of French Football that can be seen by their improving International Cup appearances it has also seen the demise of some clubs. The Montpellier Firesharks and the Marseille Dockers are no longer.The Strasbourg Kangourous have returned to playing with their German neighbours.

It is obvious to me that French Football needs one of two eventualities. French Football needs to develop metro football leagues to keep players longer and lessen the demands of travelling. At the moment the best candidates would be the large cities of Paris and Toulouse. Perhaps Strasbourg could play more German football and return to the national league.

The other alternative would be for the CNFA ro receive some external support and we all know how likely that would be to happen.

Talking to players ifrom Toulouse I have no idea why Australian Football even exists here. AFL has dissappeared from French screens and most AFL activity is blocked. For example all radio on the internet is blocked during AFL games. The only way to catch some football viewing is to look at Youtube highlights. It is a catch-22 situation for the AFL, nobody is going to pay to watch AFL if they don't know that AFL exists.

I say quite often that every region is different. There are local circumstances that come into play. France is a very social counttry. Many people live in communes. Ok, they are not communist communes but local councils yet the communes do more than just the essentials - there is a lot of co-operation.It is possible to leverage some help occasionally. In france, when people 'bonjour' they are just not being polite in saying hello, no, it is almost obiligatory in celebrating being French.

Back to the football. Les Coyotes de Cergy-Pontoise quite confortably accounted for the Blagnac Aviators. It was monster score by the Coyotes but the Aviators managed to post an otherwise respectable score in response.

Strangely, the score would have been considerably higher if both teams kicked more accurately. The second game was much more of a contest. The hosts, the Hawks, got an early break and kicked away, but in a purple patch the Cocks narrowed the gap to within string distance just before half-time. After the main break Toulouse was able to re-assert it's dominance.

When Australians learn that Australian Football is not restricted to the land of Oz they invariably enquire as to the standard. It's an unfortunate fixation of Australian Football and has resulted in the demise of some historic leagues by way of indifference. It is difficult to quantify 'standard'. Certainly a team with Australian representation usually wins because they kick longer and with greater precision but there are great examples in other areas. It goes without saying that most French players (especially from the south) tackle hard, bone-crunchingly hard. Somebody must be watching AFL and Richmond because I witnessed some of the best "don't-argues" outside of AFL.

Of course, the fend-off is also a familiar part or rugby. The surprise was marking. Some very good displays of marking. If I was a french skills coach I would target kicking. Most players are still kicking low on the point of the ball - rugby style. That's OK for passing but when when it comes times for the big roost, shots on goal go missing. One facet of playing the game here that probably goes unrecognized is the difficulty in reading the play. Under the grass is rock hard clay producing erratic bounces and the lack of football experience produces an air of unpredictability.

Merci, to all the people I talked to at the games. ...

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