It was a chilly, breezy, but sunny day in Racine Wisonsin.  Five divisions of men's footy and  two divisions of women's footy was played in good conditions. 

In the Men's Division 1 Pool A was dominated by last year's champions Golden Gate and Pool B was dominated by 2015 and 2016 Champions the Austin Crows.  Golden Gate will take on last year's runners up in their semi final tomorrow, while Austin will face the New York Magpies.

 In the Women's Division 1 Pool A was dominated by the San Francisco Iron Maidens, while Pool B was taken out by Denver Lady Bulldgos who finished the day undefeated after a 2 point win over the Minnesota Freeze.  Denver will now play the Seattle Grizzlies who will be looking for an upset to make the Grand Final against the winner of the Iron Maidens vs Freeze semi final.   

Results of all divisions can be seen here www.usafl.com/nationals/2018/schedule 

Day 2 Streaming Details can be seen here -  www.golivesportscast.com/2018/10/live-on-espn3-usafl-nationals-sun-oct-14th-2pm-eastern/

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 The Austin Crows and San Francisco Iron Maidens sit atop the USAFL footy tree at the end of 2018 taking out the the Division 1 Men's and Women's Divisions respectively.  

Both teams know the feeling of holding the cup well, with this being the 3rd year out of four that Austin have taken out the competition and the third (or back to back to back) title for the San Francisco Iron Maidens.

The Crows easily accounted for the New York Magpies in the Semi Final to line up their shot against the 2017 Champions the Golden Gate Roos.  Golden Gate narrowly saw off the LA Dragons in their semi final but could not overcome the Crows who ran out five point winnners.  Austin Crwos 4.6 30 defeated Golden Gate Roos 4.1 25.

In the Women's Division 1 the final saw up starts Seattle Grizzlies who earlier shut down the scoring power of the Denver Lady Bulldogs, make their USAFL Division 1 Grand Final Debut.  The experience of the Iron Maidens was key though and they restriced the Grizzlies from mounting any serious challenge in their forward 50.  The final result a 3.2 to 0.0 victory for three in a row glory despite sneaking through by just 3 points earlier in the day to Minnesota Freez Women.  

In the other Divisions;

Div 2. Minnesota Freeze 5.7 37 defeated the Portland Steelheads 3.0 18

Div 3. Philadelphia Hawks 7.4 46 defeated the Cincinatti Dockers 3.2 20

Div 4. Baltimore Dockers 4.7 31 defeated the Seattle Grizzlies 3.1 19

Div 5. Austin Crows 9.3 57 defeated the Golden Gate Roos 2.4 16

Div 2 Womens won by Sacramento Suns/Montreal Angels/Wisconsin Wombats Combination. 

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Marc McGowan reports on the www.afl.com.au website about Geelong’ signing of more Irish talent ahead of the 2019 season. To read the original article, go to: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-10-18/another-irish-cat-stefan-okunbor-joins-geelong

GEELONG is set to have three Irishmen on its list next year, with Stefan Okunbor to join Zach Tuohy and Mark O'Connor at the Cattery. 

The final details are still being finalised, but the 20-year-old is likely to accept a two-year rookie contract with Chris Scott's side.

There will be an influx of Irish talent in the AFL in 2019, with James Madden (Brisbane) and Mark Keane and Anton Tohill (Collingwood) already signed and Jordan Morrissey linked to Essendon.

 Yvonne Bonner (Greater Western Sydney), Ailish Considine (Adelaide) and Sarah Rowe (Collingwood) have also joined AFLW clubs ahead of the next season.

Okunbor has long been on the AFL radar and attended last year's NAB AFL Combine, along with countryman Cillian McDaid, who spent this season at Carlton before being delisted. 

He went home to Ireland without finding an AFL home, but spent the past year honing his skills, as well as playing Gaelic football for Kerry and Na Gaeil. 

Okunbor was the Munster region's under-20 player of the year and viewed as someone who would progress to powerhouse county Kerry's senior squad. 

Former Saint and Swan Tommy Walsh's visit six years ago to his old school, CBS The Green, where Okunbor was attending, sparked the latter's interest in the foreign game. 

The 190cm athlete, who is of Nigerian heritage, was hooked after watching a YouTube clip of Brownlow medallist Dustin Martin issuing one of his famous fend-offs to a hapless opponent. 

"I knew this was a sport that suits me," Okunbor told AFL.com.au last year. 

Okunbor scored 22 out of 30 in the kicking assessment at the Combine and ranked top 10 in the agility test and 20m sprint in an example of his physical prowess.

"I reckon it's the ball drop (that is most challenging)," Okunbor said. 

"I scored a left-leg snap shot, where you turn around the corner, which is very similar (to kicking a Gaelic ball). 

"But you see Tadhg (Kennelly)'s a great kicker, Mark O'Connor's a great kicker – all the Irish boys coming through, once they've been taught from the very start with someone beside them, they've improved. 

"Hopefully that happens to me." 

Na Gaeil released a statement confirming Okunbor's impending agreement with Geelong. 

"Stefan has been one of the stars of our senior team over the past few years, as well as an underage star for the club all the way up the various age groups," the statement read.

"He was exemplary both on and off the field and a role model for all in the club. 

"While we are very sad to be losing such an outstanding talent; we wish Stefan all the best from all in the Na Gaeil club. 

"We hope he makes it in the AFL, but if he decides to return at any stage, the club will welcome him back with open arms."

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In the afterglow of the recent Euro Cup in Cork, Ireland, where the Tel Aviv Cheetahs competed brilliantly and even won an important game, the club has been inspired by a young titan of the game – Nic Naitanui. Will Taylor and Ashley Browne report on the www.afl.com.au website about his vivit to inspire the Cheetahs whilst in Israel. 

INJURED West Coast star Nic Naitanui worked closely with his fellow ruckmen leading up to the Eagles' premiership and his coaching journey has now taken a more exotic turn, this time to Israel. 

Naitanui spent Monday night on a bumpy soccer field, conducting training for the Tel Aviv Cheetahs, who play in the AFL Europe competition.  

Naitanui is in Israel on holiday, and has spent the week travelling through all parts of the country, from the Galilee region in the north, down to Beersheva and the Dead Sea in the south.

The 28-year-old has also spent time in Jerusalem and has crossed the border into Palestine, visiting Bethlehem and other holy sites and judging from his Instagram feed, he is having a blast.

"Growing up with a pretty strong Christian faith with my family ... and to be able to come and walk in his footsteps ... it was a pretty awesome experience," he told The Four Hoarsemen podcast from Tel Aviv.

He was mobbed at the Cheetahs' training session, with more than 50 players attending, drawn from the ranks of Australian expatriates as well as students on exchange programs and on gap years. 

Club captain Shir Shalev said he and his teammates would long remember Naitanui's visit.

"The boys were obviously very excited about meeting him and having him come to our pitch for the practice," Shir said.

"The first thing you notice about him is how humble he is, and that's really heart-warming considering his impressive career and achievements.

"It was a great honour for all of us to meet such a legend." 

Shir told afleurope.org the words of wisdom Naitanui gave the team would hold it in good stead.

"An encounter like this brings a great boost of energy and motivation for all of us," he said.

"His visit definitely helped us with spreading the word about the team and attracting new people." 

While in Israel, Naitanui has maintained his own training as he recovers from the ACL tear in his right knee sustained in July and he hopes to be back playing at AFL level by the middle of next season. 

"I've started doing a lot of my rehab and cross-training and weights with my leg," Naitanui said. 

"I start running as soon as I get back from Israel. It's pretty funny. There’s been people hitting me up from all walks of life, so I was actually at a physio this morning doing some exercises and getting some treatment from an Israeli guy who used to reside in Melbourne." 

The Eagles will be pleased at how sensible he has been; he chose to take a chairlift to the top of the ancient and historic Masada fortress in the Negev Desert, rather than walk the winding and rocky 2km trail to the summit. 

Unlike Collingwood midfielder Daniel Wells, who infamously blew out while on a pilgrimage to Israel two years ago and who struggled for fitness on his return, Naitanui has been watching his diet. 

"I think they eat about two kilos of hommus every day," he said. "I've got to stay away from that stuff and the bread as well." 

"Every meal comes out with about two loaves of bread, so my skinfolds aren't doing too well. Every morning I've been having shakshouka (a spicy egg and tomato dish), so I'm trying to claim it's healthy, but Israeli food is really good but at the same time it's really bad for people like me." 

There had been suggestions of a photo opportunity with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 'Bibi' Netanyahu, because of the similarities of their surnames. 

"Everyone's calling me 'Bibi' over here," he said.

To read the original story by Will Taylor and Ashley Browne, go to: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-10-24/nic-nat-visit-inspires-local-team-in-israel

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Riley Beveridge from the sww.afl.com.au website reports that Port Adelaide has a new partner in China for the next three years. After talk and speculation since the Gold Coast Suns withdrew from future agreements, St Kilda has formally been announced as the new opponent for the Power in Shanghai, commencing next season. 

PORT Adelaide has struck a deal to take on St Kilda in its annual China clash from 2019 and beyond, with the two sides confirming a three-year agreement on Thursday.

Gold Coast had been Port Adelaide's opponents in Shanghai over the past two seasons, with the first home and away game played on Chinese soil back in the 2017 campaign. 

However, the Saints will replace the Suns in 'hosting' a match at Shanghai's Jiangwan Stadium, which has a capacity of around 11,000 people for AFL matches.

 Next year's match will be played on a Sunday in round 11, with the AFL confirming that the two sides will again have the bye the following week as they return to Australia. 

Speaking on Thursday, the AFL's general manager of clubs and broadcasting Travis Auld said the agreement would allow both sides to plan for a long-term future in China.

"We have seen commercial and broadcast success in having hosted two premiership season matches in Shanghai in recent years and are pleased that St Kilda and Port Adelaide are committing to play a match each year from 2019 to 2021," Auld said. 

"Port Adelaide has been leaders in engaging the Chinese market for the last few years and St Kilda has sought the opportunity to join them in playing future matches. 

"To be able to commit to playing matches in Shanghai for at least the next three years will allow both clubs to develop long-term engagement strategies both here in Australia and in China, while building on the growth achieved in having hosted previous matches in China."

The AFL has also confirmed that match will be broadcast live by Fox Footy, while it will be simulcast into South Australia via Channel Seven.

Port Adelaide has won the two previous matches in China, beating Gold Coast comfortably on both occasions. Both matches drew crowds in excess of 10,000 people.

The original story by Riley Beveridge can be viewed at: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-10-25/saints-set-for-shanghai-showdown-with-port ...

The GIANTS have welcomed Irish recruit Callum Brown (in the red and white left)to the club as a rookie for the 2019 season.

Brown is an up-and-coming Gaelic Football star in his home country and is a tall, skillful and athletic prospect.

The 18-year-old was identified by the GIANTS’ Irish scouting program in July 2017 and undertook a 12-month trial process with the club.

He flew to Australia in August to spend two weeks training with the GIANTS under the eye of coach Leon Cameron.

Brown is the second Irish international signing in the club's short history after Setanta Ó hAilpín played two injury ridden year's with the club at the end of his career.  Also currently on the club's list is Aidan Corr who was born in Northern Ireland but has lived in Australia since he was three.

Image: irishnews.com

Brown is an Ulster Minor Championship winner and All-Ireland finalist with Derry last year who also won provincial honours with the Oak Leaf U20 side this season.

GIANTS List Manager Jason McCartney said Brown showed plenty of promise.

“Callum really impressed when he spent time at the club earlier this year,” McCartney said.

“He’s an incredibly athletic and skillful player and showed an ability to pick up the nuances of AFL footy during some intensive training sessions.

“We know it takes some time to adapt to our game and we won’t put any pressure on him but as an 18-year-old, he’s a really exciting prospect.”

Brown will move to Australia next month to begin training with the first-to-fourth year players when they return to the club on November 19.

Irish players can be signed directly to a club’s Rookie List under the International Player Rule and do not have to go through the draft. ...

Will Taylor from the AFL Europe website www.afleurope.org reports on the upcoming clash between Norwood and both the Croatian Knights men’s and Croatian Queens women’s teams. Not only does this present as a unique pre-season opportunity for the Redlegs, it is also another great step in the development of Croatian teams – fast-tracking the development of the national women’s team. 

In a first for footy in Europe, South Australian National Football League (SANFL) side the Norwood Football Club will play the Croatian men’s and women’s national teams in a friendly fixtures this weekend in Biograd na Moru. 

The Redlegs have made their way over to Croatia to start their pre-season training camp that will involve a fixtures against the Croatian Knights  and Croatian Queens this Sunday.

 Coach of the Croatian men’s side Ivan Molnar said the “squad is excited and they are looking forward to the experience”.

“It feels great and it makes us very proud,” Ivan said.

“For me it crowns all the hard work that our association has been doing on development of Australian Football in Croatia in the last decade.” 

The connection with Norwood comes from the time Croatian superstar Tomislav Cvetko has spent with the club in Adelaide as both a listed player and a Project/Coaching Clinics assistant. 

In 2018, the Redlegs had a very successful year finishing the season as runners-up to North Adelaide in a very competitive SANFL Grand Final. 

As one of the powerhouses of Australian Football in South Australia, Ivan is looking forward to seeing his team learn from these professional athletes. 

“The squad is feeling excited and we are looking forward to this experience,” Ivan said. 

“It is not often that you have the chance to play against the professional players.” 

“We also hope it will help in the promotion of the sport.” 

Aside from the games, the Croatians are ensuring the hosts are well looked after during their stay in Biograd. 

It’s their hope that a successful visit from the Redlegs could help encourage other teams to visit Croatia for similar types of camps in the future.

“We have also organised some things for them to do beside training like a visit to the national park,” Ivan said.

“The most important part is that our guests leave Croatia happy and with some nice memories.”

“Who knows maybe they are not the last club to come to visit us for preparationsω”

After arriving in Croatia on Monday, the Norwood squad will spend ten days in the nation before returning to Australia at the end of the month. 

The matches between the Croatians and Norwood FC will take place from 1:30pm local time this Sunday. 

The original story on the AFL Europe website can be viewed at: https://afleurope.org/croatians-to-take-on-norwood-fc/ωfbclid=IwAR29IZAuhfxUcV6Low-T992l-v5A299MluVZv2QPqlhQ-hMWRZ8OWKQzl9U ...

Marc McGowan from the www.afl.com.au website reports on the growing number of Irish footballers signed or about to be for the 2019 season. Following is an extract from the story. 

AN UNPRECEDENTED number of Irishmen are set to compete in the AFL next year if North Melbourne's bid to lure a prospect from a small county is successful. 

Red Óg Murphy, a forward from Sligo, is that player. 

Óg is the Irish equivalent of 'junior', for the uninitiated, but you can already take a pretty accurate stab at what his nickname will be in Australia. 

He could follow countrymen James Madden (Brisbane), Mark Keane and Anton Tohill (Collingwood), Stefan Okunbor (Geelong) and Callum Brown (Greater Western Sydney) into the League in 2019.

 Murphy's looming signature would bring to 14 the Irish footballers on AFL lists, one more than ever before despite four such players retiring or being delisted this year. 

That would be two extra than the 2018 season, one above the 2017 figure and three more than 2016. But there were only six Irishmen in the AFL as recently as four years ago. 

This year's Irish raid is a somewhat extraordinary development, given there are typically only a couple of recruits – and usually just one – from the Emerald Isle each off-season. 

"I think there's just more awareness about that Category B prospect," one Irish AFL scout told AFL.com.au. 

"It's like, 'We've got a spot here, these guys are presented to us, it's a free hit and what have we got to loseω'. 

"If it comes off, great, and you can finish up with a Zach Tuohy or whatever, but if it doesn't, well, you've only used up a Category B spot, which you weren't going to use anyway, so why not take a chanceω"

The Irish players are mostly plucked from the thriving, but amateur, Gaelic football scene, with some identified as young as their mid-teens and others not until their early 20s.

What began as 'the Irish experiment' in 1983 is no longer considered experimentation, at least for most AFL clubs, with the Giants the latest to take the leap in recruiting Brown. 

To read the full article from Marc McGowan, click on the following link to the story on the AFL’s website: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-10-28/truck-of-the-irish-takeover-continues-with-record-number ...

Geelong has now officially signed Gaelic footballer Stefan Okunbor as a Category B Rookie for the next two seasons, after it was reported almost two weeks ago that the move was happening. 

The Irishman is an emerging player in his homeland and has been on the AFL scouting radar for a few years. In 2017 Okunbor was invited to attend the AFL Academy Camp in Florida and the AFL National Combine in Melbourne.

Image: sportsjoe.ie

The 20-year-old then returned home to Ireland to work on his game, playing for home club Na Gaeil in Tralee, University of Limerick and Kerry U20’s at inter-county level.

Okunbor had a dominant season in 2018 where he was awarded U20 Munster Player of the year and helped Kerry secure the Munster title with a man-of-the match display against Cork.

A well-rounded athlete, Okunbor has strong defensive qualities, and takes the game on with ball in hand.

Geelong’s recruiting team have followed the young defender closely over the last few years, and have been impressed by a number of his performances with Kerry and Na Gaeil.

"Stefan is a physical and competitive player. His speed, power and endurance are well-suited to AFL football,” Geelong’s recruiting and list manager Stephen Wells said.

 “He is a talented young player, who has wholly committed to the opportunity of becoming an AFL footballer.”

 Okunbor’s signing makes him the third Irishman on Geelong’s list, joining fellow Kerry local Mark O’Connor and Zach Tuohy at GMHBA Stadium. Okunbor will arrive at the Cats in November.

Geelong have also elevated rookies Jack Henry and Mark O’Connor to the club’s senior list.

A rookie draft selection in 2017, Henry enjoyed a breakout year, playing 22 consecutive games after his AFL debut in round 2. Henry was named the club’s Best Young Player at the club’s ‘Carji’ Greeves Medal after playing a key position role in both attack and defence, he also earned a rising star nomination in round 7.

A former Gaelic footballer, O’Connor joined the Cats in the 2016 pre-season and has played seven games since debuting in round 8, 2017 including this year’s elimination final clash with Melbourne.

Fellow Irishman Conor Glass was also upgraded to the Hawthorn senior list for the 2019 season.
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Ryan Finnerty reports on Hawaii Public Radio about the development of an Australian Rules football club in Hawaii. In the wake of the recent USAFL Nationals in Racine, and the current Mason Cox mania, a Hawaiian football club is further proof of the increasing uptake of the game across the United States. Follow the link below for an audio interview detailing the club and its journey.

The interview is contextualised by the following introduction on the http://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/ website.

What do you get when you combine American football, rugby, soccer, and a few other sports into oneω A little game called Australian Rules Football. It’s one of the most popular, and rough, sports from the Land Down Under.

 But the game isn’t confined to its native land. The US Australian Football League held its national finals in Wisconsin this past week and a Hawaii resident was on the championship team. He’s part of a local club trying to bring Aussie Rules to Hawaii. 

To listen to the audio interview, click the following link: http://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/post/australian-rules-football-comes-hawaiiωfbclid=IwAR3k9WYpZDc9O1Nwy02P-i0Oa_2LrRmTJVhGxlfE9ZCSTvmwl2eg07_JUtw ...

Niall Seewang from ESPN reports on the impact that Collingwood’s Mason Cox and other USA products are having on decisions regarding future U.S Combines. The following is an extract from the original article. To read the full article, go to the link at the end of this extract. 

Mason Cox's emergence as a legitimate attacking weapon could spur the reintroduction of the AFL's U.S. Combine. 

The AFL had travelled to U.S. every year since 2012 to hold trials for American athletes -- often college basketballers, footballers and soccer players who miss out on professional contracts in their chosen sports -- but held no such event in 2018. 

However, it could be brought back in 2019, with the AFL set to make a decision on its future before the end of the year.

 Cox became the poster boy for the 'American experiment' after one of the individual performances of the season during Collingwood's crushing preliminary final win against Richmond at the MCG. In just his 43rd game, he took 11 grabs (eight contested) and slotted three goals from 15 possessions as the Magpies stormed into the Grand Final. The 27-year-old was subdued in the first half of the following week's decider against West Coast but lifted significantly in the second as Collingwood fell agonisingly short against the Eagles. 

Last season, the Magpie -- was signed by Collingwood as an international rookie after wowing talent scouts at the 2014 U.S. Combine in Los Angeles -- ranked second across the league for contested marks, highlighting his aerial dominance. 

Cox was left shaking his head when asked about the AFL's decision to put the U.S. Combine on hold after his preliminary final heroics. 

"I'm not too happy about it but it's not my decision to make," he said. "All I can do is play well and show them there's a good avenue. It's an interesting one, I don't quite understand it but there's a lot more that goes on at the AFL than I can get my head wrapped around."

His September emergence had many questioning why the AFL had seemingly scrapped its search for American athletes, but the league's national talent manager Kevin Sheehan said it could be back on next year. Sheehan pointed to the fact no American athlete had been signed the previous two years as the primary reason it was scratched. 

To continue reading Niall Seewang’s ESPN story, go to: http://www.espn.com.au/afl/story/_/id/25113166/afl-us-american-combine-return-thanks-mason-cox ...