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Women's Division - Irish Banshees into stride against Fiji Vonu

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This report by Harley Vague.

Thank somebody for small mercies because the weather prediction was simply horrible for game day Sunday. Apart from the temperature being a little chilly there was only a slight breeze that had no bearing on football.

The centre square was a little slippery from overnight rain and not a good surface for bouncing the ball which some players optimistically later tried doing. Being the in the first round of games there was much interest in how the Vonu would fair against the highly experienced Banshees.

It didn't take long for Ireland to get some system going using their advantage in height and skill to put 3 majors on the board with Leiha Shrubsall timing in nicely for scoring opportunities. Fiji managed to stage mix it in the midfield for a considerable period before Ireland managed 2 more majors through their strong running players. Had it not been for the efforts of diminutive Aloesi Buidravo for Vonu taking some timely marks and general attack on the ball the score could have been much more.

The second quarter was a much different affair. The game opened up and the Fijians were much the better for it keeping the Irish goaless. Tall Laura Corrigan for Ireland stamped her authority on the game as the quarter progressed and joined in some physical clashes, one in particular. Her efforts probably prevented the Vonu from taking that quarter's honours.

The third quarter was probably a true indication of the relative strengths of the the two teams with Ireland having, and using their talls to good advantage whilst Fiji matched Ireland in general ground play but lacking a forward focus. Ireland attacked well using another tall Aimee Louise Hazley this quarter as well as her kicking an opportunistic soccer goal. Goalsneak Leigha was taken from the field after a heavy clash but later returned to provide options.

Upliftingly, the last quarter saw Fiji into attack for most of the quarter however this led to a very open forward line for the Irish. As we have often seen in the AFL the defending team is able to rebound against the flow of play and to capitalize with some quick transferances and a couple of goals. Fittingly, the constant pressure from the Vonu was finally rewarded with a good roving goal.

Considering the wealth of success that the Banshees have experienced in Australia and Europe it was a good performance from the Fiji Vonu who will much more competitive for the experience. They have a good balance of size, physicality and speed. The Irish are strong contenders and will probably be able to step up a notch when required.

Ireland Banshees5.1 5.6 7.710.7 (67)
Fiji Vonu0.0 0.0 0.01.0 (6)

Goals
Ireland: Rafferty 2, Dempsey 2, Mahony 1, McGahon, Lousie Hazley, L Corrigan, Roarty
Fiji: Bale

Best players
Ireland: Corrigan, Kelly, Keatley, Rafferty, Dempsey, McCann
Fiji: Nabalarua, Matanisigadrau, Buidravo, Katonivere, Matakibau, Tadrau

...


Nauru ruthless on Garudas

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The third game up on McAlister Oval pitted IC regulars Nauru against IC newcomers Indonesia. It looked like a mismatch and that's how it turned out but even in these matches there is much to be learned for the minnows. Under increasingly threatening skies that had so far held off - the Nauru cheer squad took position by the fence and one Oppenheimer Kenneth in the goal square.

The diminutive Indonesian side was always going to be struggling against the hardened Nauru outfit. While Nauru may not have the height they certainly have the footy pedigree (being the national sport) and man for man had the weight advantage. Oppenheimer Kenneth (#2) was on song from the start bagging 4 first quarter goals and appearing a class above. The Indonesian squad impressed with their attitude, never giving in despite being clearly mismatched. The early reward was not quite the main prize – a shot on goal by Dimas Adi Prasojo (#7) looked to be tracking for a goal but faded. The behind however was their first score in the International Cup.

By quarter time Nauru had kicked away by 7 goals and would only extend the lead further through a dominant second quarter – however, against the trend of play Indonesia brought the ball forward and a mark and goal to Dillah Syah Abdillah was something to hang their hats on.

Thereafter, the rains came in the third term as a cold, cold wind blew through. Nauru continued to pile on the pain and ran out eventual victors – and taking the ‘sweep’ for the round with a final withering burst of 11 goals in the final stanza. Kenneth finished with 9 of the best in a dominant display supported by Donatallo (#12) and Jonas (#7) in what was really a team effort.

Indonesia took positives out of the game, including the pace and flair of Daichi on the wing, Bachtiar and half back Aleiandro tried hard as did Vincent Halim in the midfield.

Nauru7.1.(43) 16.5.(111) 24.14.(158) 35.17.(227)
Indonesia0.1.(1) 1.1.(7) 1.1.(7) 1.1.(7)

Nauru cheersquad

the big men fly

Marked and now to kick my nations first goal

It pays to keep your feet ...

'Il y a du vent'... 'There is wind'... French Coqs blown over by Great Britain Bulldogs

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Story by Steve Alomes

The cold Melbourne August wind seemed to claim another victim, as the French Coqs went down, comprehensively beaten by the British Bulldogs, in a conflict which in more military forms went back to the 100 years war in the middle ages.

There were scuffles, though the umpires did a brilliant job of quickly extinguishing potential spot fires with free kicks, something which might happen more in the AFL.

In this battle between the teams, the difference between the forces could have been predicted by the stat sheet. The Brits had two players nearing Sandilands height, of over 200 cms, and another four who were 190 cms or more; the French only two of the latter. Similarly, when it came to high level experience the Brits had at least 11 players currently playing in Australia, while the French had only three playing in Australia.

In weight, too, there was a difference: only three French list players over 90 kgs compared to 10 on the Bulldogs’ list.

Despite the French coming second in the Euro Cup in 2013, and the number of French players from the Toulouse Hawks in that southern rugby town, auguring well for tackling skills, there was a gap between the teams.

The Bulldogs established their ascendancy early with 5 goals in the first quarter and 3 more in the second, while the French had difficulty in troubling the scorers. While the game was one sided from the early stages, at different times the French matched the Brits (who included the giant full forward Sam Pitman), the French were competitive.

In fact, they had more possession of the ball as the game went on, and used the ball more convincingly – perhaps the opening game of an International Cup has more butterflies than we have so far realised.

As in several other games, including Pakistan vs South Africa and Japan vs PNG, the losing team had a lot more of the ball than the scores indicated. However, in different ways they lacked the physical strength, or the footy skills, or the confidence, to post some majors on the scoreboard.

The rising interest in the International Cup was apparent in the big crowd, which braved the brass monkey weather, despite the consolation of sunny moments.

Some of the action happened off the field. The French had several junior francais who had their own colourful dances, and the chant ‘Allez la France!’, while the Brits had one distinctive boundary line cheer squad, with its own Glaswegian banner about Sam Pitman; they also tried to convince me to add stories about his role in the team off the field, as well as other general stories on how ‘abstinence is good for footy’.

The Bulldogs ran out comfortable winners, 12.17 (89) d France 1.1 (7), raising again the complex question of whether multiple divisions should run through the comp rather than only in the later stages.

Great Britain5.5 8.10 10.13 12.18 (90)
France 0.0 0.1 0.1 1.1 (7)

Goals
Great Britain: Pitman 2, Rymer 2, Mitchell 2, Maguire 2, Saunders, Brown, Smith, Talbot
France: Martinez

Best players
Great Britain: Rymer, Mitchell, Trigg, Maguire, Matias, Ryland
France: Patacq, Schieber, David, Gazeau, L,Hotellier, Dandaleix









...

Northern Lights shine first up

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If it's not the biggest clash in international women's footy it is the most regularly played. The Northwind and Freedom teams have been playing each other since 2010 with the Canadians holding an advantage in the Win-Loss record.

On the wide open space of the Western Oval these two teams made it look like it was played on a grid iron field. There were no easy possessions for anyone through the game as every stat was earnt and many disposals were smothered or sent sideways as a tackle was applied. The windy conditions, often across the ground but mostly favouring the eastern end of the ground made marking and kicking into that breeze hard work.  Amongst the congestion it was Canada’s moments of football clarity and ability to find space that won out though.

Northern Lights captain Aimee Legualt won the toss and elected to kick to the Princes Park end.  In the first quarter the Canadians had the ball at their end for the majority of the quarter but it looked like we could have a contest on our hands as Jen Nicholl’s opening goal for Canada was quickly replied to by the US through Courtney Sherman. Kendra Heil added a second to give the Northern Lights a slight lead at quarter time.

Quarter time score: Canada Northern Lights 2.3 (15) to USA Freedom 1.0 (6)

In the second quarter the Candians edged away perhaps finding that they needed to be roving to the ruckwork of American Haillie Lee who won most taps.  Blatnick and Shelton did their best to turn things the way of the USA, but Perry and Arnold both added goals to give Canada a very hand 25 point lead in a match that was already an arm wrestle.  Bodaschesky's long kicking, as well as Dickinson and Willis' continual forcing themselves into and out of packs stood out for the Candians.
 
Half Time: Canada Northern Lights 4.8 (32) to USA Freedom 1.1 (7)
 
If clear possession was difficult so far it was about to become tougher as the third quarter delivered the rain that was promised for the late afternoon.  Lee again dominated the ruck for the USA and was taking marks around the ground.  Teufal, Hemenway, Johnson and Stein all had a hand in keeping the Canadians to just one goal for the quarter despite the continual pressure applied by Aimee Legault, Comolli, Annicchiario, Willis and De Brabandere.  That came about when Candace Kwan kicked truly after looking dangerous all match.
 
Three Quarter Time: Canada Northern Lights 5.10 (40) to USA Freedom 1.1 (7)
 
As quickly as the rain came it went and as the final quarter got underway in bright sunshine with a rainbow that appeared to arch from McAllister Oval to the Western Oval.  Kastanek went into the ruck for the USA and continued their dominance at the ball ups.  But it was Canada who dominated the game.  The conditions were still greasy so getting the ball free into space was difficult but the Candians managed to do it often enough to add another three goals.  Ginnocchio goaled twice and Margot Legualt added another to see the Northern Lights home by 54 points.
 
Had the Candians been a bit straighter in front of goal (there were a number of shots out on the full also) they may have had a much bigger win, we can probably put some of that down to the conditions.  On today's effort they look a certainty to be there at the final on August 23rd and the Irish would be looking over their shoulder as their main challenger has improved considerably since IC11.
 
Final Score: Canada Northern Lights 8.13 (61) def USA Freedom 1.1 (7).

Goals

Canada: Perry, Legault, Ginocchio, Nicholls, Arnold 1, Heil 1 Kwan 1

USA Freedom: Sherman

Best players

Canada: Perry, Nicholls, Bodashefsky, Leguault, Heil, Dickinson,

USA Freedom: Lee, Blatnick, Teufal

...

Ladders after Round 1

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It's perhaps a bit early to stare too hard at the ladders but here we present the complete set after Round 1 of the 2014 AFL International Cup.

The Women's is straight forward but the Men are divided into 3 pools, with the complication being that the top 4 that go through to the semi-finals after 3 rounds are the top of each pool and then the next best based on combining all the teams - hence we've also shown a Combined ladder.  That will also determine the teams that make what the AFL has called Division 1, i.e. teams 5 - 12, and Division 2, i.e. teams 13 to 18.

There are, as always, some bizarre percentages, due to lopsides matches and not in a small way because we've stuck to the AFL / Victorian way of calculating percentage, which is now spreading throughout Australian football  throughout the world, namely points for divided by points against multipled by 100, rather than the conventional maths of for divided by (for plus against) multipled by 100.  So the % means per 100 points scored by the opposition, not per 100 points of the total scores.

 

                           2014 AFL International Cup Ladders - completion of Round 1 (Sunday August 10th)
Men's Pool A
PosTeamWL%
1Nauru103300
2Great Britain101286
3Ireland10550
4Fiji0118
5France018
6Indonesia013
Men's Pool B
PosTeamWL%
1Tonga102767
2PNG102717
3South Africa101143
4Pakistan019
5Japan013.7
6India013.6
Men's Pool C
PosTeamWL%
1NZ10infinite
2USA1018200
3Canada1011900
4China010.8
5Finland010.5
6Sweden010.0


Men's Combined Division
PosTeamWL%
1NZ10infinite
2USA1018200
3Canada1011900
4Nauru103300
5Tonga102767
6PNG102717
7Great Britain101286
8South Africa101143
9Ireland101117
10Fiji0118
11Pakistan019
12France018
13Japan013.7
14India013.6
15Indonesia013.0
16China010.8
17Finland010.5
18Sweden010.0
Women's Division
PosTeamWL%
1Ireland101117
2Canada N/Lights10871
3Canada M/Suns10429
4Tonga0123
5USA Freedom0111
6Fiji019
7USA Liberty00-
...

PNG Mossies sting Samurai, repeatedly

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The final game for the day on Ransford oval put IC powerhouse the PNG Mosquitos up against the proud Japanese Samurai. Again – the chances of a close contest are slim but any followers of world footy know that the Samurai are nothing if not tenacious and will make even PNG earn their rewards. With the worst of the weather past – the sun poking through the trees and the chill breeze coming from the South-West and favouring the Brunswick end goals.

Like a number of games today – it became clear from the start that one side was a class above the other. Even so, the Japanese defence battling against the breeze - forced PNG to work for the goals but with the class of the experienced Amua Pirika (#10) providing a potent target up forward the Mossies were soon able to get scoreboard reward. Five first quarter goals and the Samurai held scoreless but Sekiguchi (#9) and Nakamura (#1) were fighting the good fight up back with support from Sakaki (#12).

The hopes of an early revival in the second term on the back of the breeze – the Mossies put paid to that with a mark and goal to Pirika within the first minute. Brendan Beno (#9) really came into the game in the 2nd term and PNG piled on another 6 but despite this the Samurai kept up the fight and were justly reward when a downfield free kick saw a relatively easy shot put through and the Samurai on the board with their first goal. By half time the margin was 73 and the game well and truly over as a scoreboard contest.

Despite the margin the Samurai came out in the third term and continued to fight hard and often were forcing the Mossies onto the back foot and conceding ground back out of their forward zone. The key though was the ability for the Mossies to absorb the pressure and feed the ball back to a teammate in better position or to switch to advantage. Surer hands meant fewer turnovers. Surer hands included a mark of the day nomination from Paul Philip (#8) who took a specie near goal and kicked truly. PNG didn’t have it all their own way but even under pressure from Japan they managed 6 goals 7 for the quarter with a few low percentage shots attempted under pressure that perhaps against a classier opponent might be punished on the rebound.

The last quarter saw a bit of ‘party time’ as PNG skipped right away – veteran Emmaus Wartovo (#12) capped off a solid game with a couple of last quarter goals including a nice volley out of the air. Pirika ended up with a neat half dozen and Beno with 4. All in all a pretty even effort across the field – others to impress included jumping jack Philip and Jeffery Namete (#18) in the ruck and around the ground.

PNG5.4.(34) 11.9.(75) 17.16.(118) 24.19.(163)
Japan 0.0.(0) 1.0.(6) 1.0.(6) 1.0.(6)

PNG Mossies war dance

Gideon Simon shows class

Tough day on Pirika but battled manfully

Veteran Wortovo on the ball

Tanaka rucked hard

and rewarded with his sides sole goal ...

Round 1 Summary - No surprises

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A cold, at times wet day in the parklands of Melbourne, some crisp clean footy but also some cobwebs, some awkward players that look new to the game but still ploughing into danger, slightly barren fields at the end of winter, football field markings painted over the lines of other sports, a modest but passionate crowd, displays of skill that leave passers-by surprised and exclaiming they didn't know Aussie Rules was played in country xyz, colourful flags and dedicated volunteers shuffling around treating injured players, running drinks and trying to coordinate 24 teams of footballers.  It must be the latest instalment of the International Cup.

Yes the 2014 AFL International Cup is well underway with Round 1 now complete.  Today saw the welcome debut of Indonesia and Pakistan in the Men's competition, and Fiji and Tonga in the Women's, as well as the development Canada and USA teams.

Despite all the changes that can occur in three years in many ways there were no surprises on day one.

All the matches went as most experienced Cup watchers would've predicted.  There were some massive margins and it would've been nice to see the dominant sides take their foot off, but their places in the semi-finals or Division 1 will, in many cases, come down to percentage, so no mercy can be expected when playing for their country and generally at great personal expense.

The biggest hammerings were in the Men's Pool C, where New Zealand didn't allow the Swedes to score (alas the Elks don't seem to have improved since IC11 and paid a heavy price), the United States were ruthless and very efficient in front of goal against Finland, showing they just might be genuine contenders, at least for top 4, and Canada wore down a brave but inexperienced China.

But there was no shortage of pain in pools A and B on what was a day of battlers against the big guns.  Indonesia's players were feisty and fast and plenty showed they knew how to play footy, but their bigger bodied opponents in Nauru increasingly realised they could bust straight through the Garuda tackles and impressively powered to the biggest score of the day, a whopping 35.21 (231). At least Indonesia did get on the board, scoring 1.1 (7).  Like Indonesia, Pakistan also battled hard on debut and made the South Africans look erratic and fumbly early but the Lions settled to completely blow away the Shaheens in the second half.

Great Britain looked to be locked into a tight tussle with France with scrappy play disappointing, perhaps the small ovals preventing clear room to move.  Playing together rarely also restricts the early flow of teams and as the game progressed the difference in ability began to become apparent and 82 points in the end was a significant margin.

Not so tight was Japan vs PNG, one of the tournament favourites. Yet again early on the Mozzies were held close, but eventually found their rhythm and their speed and skill resulting in a 157 point demolition.  Although Japan have a solid league and proud history they are now falling well off the pace of the top teams.

One of the smaller nations, Tonga, monstered one of the biggest, India, in their match.  160 points was a tough margin for India who would've been hoping for better given a number of players with experience in local football in Melbourne.  Footy development is in its infancy on the sub-continent so perhaps they'll memory bank that one for 2017 or 2020.

Maybe the most interesting Men's encounter was Fiji serving it up to Ireland.  The islanders were typically fierce and hunted the Warriors who probably felt there was some undue targetting.  It did seem to pay dividends as the Cup favourites rarely got their flowing skill game going and were well held for a 45 point win.  This could prove decisive if Ireland drop a game (Nauru the one to watch) and need to rely on percentage to scrape into the 4th spot for the semi-finals.  Indeed it now seems likely Ireland can't afford to drop a game this tournament if they are to win it.  No pressure.

The Women's matches tend to be less fast paced and lower scoring so the blow outs were always going to be smaller.  No shock when Ireland beat newcomers Fiji by 61 points, Canada showed impressive depth to have their development squad the Midnight Suns too good for debutantes Tonga, and to prove the point Canada's Northern Lights beat the USA Freedom by 54 in what most probably expected would be a tight encounter.  USA Liberty, the American's development squad, had the bye.

In summary of the Men's competition, the favourites are all safely on the board, Fiji looks like they will build on their 2011 second division title and might cause some grief for those just off the top few, and Indonesia and Pakistan have debuted with matches that were no worse than the first up efforts of many nations in the past and can hold their heads high.  In the Women's we welcome Tonga and Fiji, but already it looks a race in two between the champs Ireland and last Cup's runners up Canada Northern Lights, who seem to have increased their lead over the USA Freedom and boast impressive depth across both their sides.

Expect a much tighter round of matches when the Cup resumes on Wednesday again at Royal Park (mostly), with most matches featuring teams ranked much more closely.  Although one fears that PNG vs India and New Zealand vs China could see 300 points reached if the weather is good and the mood ruthless.  Will the AFL ever bite the bullet and start the tournament with separate divisionsω  It would save a lot of dashed spirits and less than inspiring one-sided matches. ...

IC14 Vignettes – Jim Oertel (Canada Northwind)

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Jim has become a journeyman in his quest to become the best Australian Rules footballer that he can be. Now out in Australia for the IC14, Jim tells us of his own journey.

“I found Aussie Rules through my best mate’s dad, Mike McFarlane, who ran a clinic at our primary school in Delta, BC. We all loved the game so he started up the North Delta Junior Australian Football League (NDJAFL)”

“I started out playing a few years in the NDJAFL, then started playing seniors for the Burnaby Eagles in Vancouver at the age of 14. I travelled to Australia in 2008 with the Junior Team Canada Wolfpack. My first senior Northwind game was in 2009 at the age of 17 against USA at the Parallel Cup. I recently moved to Australia (just two years ago) and played the 2013 season with Palm Beach Currumbin AFC and the Coolangatta Blues in the QAFL and played the 2014 Season with the Elmore Bloods in the Heathcote District Football League.”

Jim is a product of a growing Australian Rules football culture in Canada, and is proud to be a part of the squad. “Team Canada has brought a well-rounded team to this cup with a great structure set up by the coaching staff. We have a skilled group that will play hard bringing the bloods culture.”

“Footy is rapidly growing in Canada with recent expansion in the east and west. More and more people are finding the love for this great game.”

And his tips for this year’s IC14 competitions? “In the men's competition, I am going to have to back us (Canada Northwind) as the underdogs. In the women's competition I'm going to back our Canadian Northern Lights.”

“I'm very excited to be attending my first International Cup. I unfortunately had a few surgeries a few years ago which kept me out. It was nice to get a strong start today against China who I think surprised everyone with their toughness today, and we're looking forward to our rematch against the states and the rest of the cup.”

We wish Jim and the Canada Northwind the best of luck for the rest of the International ...

Northwind efficiently account for China

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Thankfully the rain had passed and the weather returned to a light cold breeze. Good for football but chilly for spectators.

The Chinese Dragons are another entity that has come from relative nowhere to recently build a number of domestic competitions.  The Canadians of course have had a strong domestic competition for some time that has not quite provided the expected edge internationally.

As the match began the Canadians immediately went into attack and that's where it remained for the quarter.  With both Neil Casey and Read Conrad dominating the ruck the ball was continually punched into attack through Nathan Strom producing many opportunies for the likes of Michael Kolwinski who starred with two great mark and goal combinations.
 
The second quarter saw the Northwind fine tune their play. Rotating their rucks and executing many lead, mark and scoring attempts with Michael Kolwinski and Adam Nash producing three and two goals respectfully.

Rucks Neil and Read were used in the classical football positions of rotating through full forward producing some good marks and goals.
 
In fact a good curling snap by Neil from a mark fell short only to be marked brilliantly on the line by Clay Lund for another goal.
 
The Dragons put together some good passages but the Northwind always had someone in defence who could read the play, take a defensive mark and set up yet another attack.
 
Dragon players worked hard all day. None harder than Peng Gao and others trying to get system into the Dragons' play under relentless pressure.
 
In the meantime Canada played out some well-practiced moves running, handpassinng, leading, marking and goaling.
 
Both the third and final quarters saw the Northwind work to the same successful formula of the second.
 
Though they weren't quite so clinical in the last quarter, maybe tiring or better opposition it was the still the best quarter for Northwind on the scoreboard.
 
 
I was surprised by the Dragons. They seemed much better than the scoreboard suggests. The facts are that the Northwind were very efficient in attack for this game
and defensively read the play very well. It will be very interesting how their games against experienced opposition will fair.
 
The Dragons can take heart that they have a lot of potential and international experience will help them immensely.  They have the speed but need some key positional players.


Canada 3.2 8.2 13.5 19.5 (119)

China 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 (1)

Goals

Canada: Kozlowski 6, Strom 3, Casey 3, Lund 2, Nash 2, Duggan, Harbour, Konrad

China: - None.

Best players

Canada: Casey, Kozlowski, Millar, Settle, Shaughnessy, Oertel

China: Peng Gao, Hao Qui, Shaoliang Chen, Ming Yang, Yifeng Zheng, Kunsong Liu

...

IC14 Vignettes – Una McKay (Irish Banshees)

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The dominance of the Irish Banshees women’s teams has been profound for a number of years, and it is women like Una McKay and her team mates that uphold the standards of those who went before them. Una is in Melbourne with the Banshees and has shared her own journey.

“I came to Australia for six months work experience and it had been mentioned to me that women play AFL, so I was keen to try it out. I was introduced to Limerick Camogie and AFL player Marie Keating (twice all Australian). She invited me to a new team’s training – [they were] called the Shamrocks.”

“I learnt the base skills and game play and managed to try out and make the NSW 2009 state team after a few months of training. We travelled to Perth and reached the Division 2 finals (runners up to SA). Playing for a great bunch of girls in the Shamrocks and the NSW squad made me want to stay longer and play for a few years.” “I was lucky enough to get the NSW Player’s Player [award] at Perth nationals and the “Rookie of the Year” for NSW on top of really enjoying the challenge of the new game.”
“I gave Australian Rules a go as I always enjoy a new sporting challenge and had watched it on television back in Ireland. It is also a great way to settle and get into a work/sport life balance.” I remember travelling to All Ireland [Gaelic Football] finals with a range of 20-40,000 in attendance just to see the women play and their high skill levels.”

“It would be excellent to see this replicated here in Australia. Well over 100,000 women play Gaelic football alone. It's a strong traditional sport ingrained in society. It’s a sport for all the family as it was built on parish rule which means you had to play for your village or town. This instils healthy club/ school links, rivalry and a string sense if pride and culture therefore fuelling a good participation coaching and volunteering base. “


“The standard [of the International Cup] has evidently improved over the past 3 years but I'd say Ireland in both genders will still be tough to beat with their constant support plays and hand-balling skills brought over from Gaelic games.”

Results on the first day of competition certainly support Una’s prediction, and we wish Una and the Irish teams the very best of luck for IC14 ...

Photos from Round 1

Meet the players - Erik Vig - Sweden

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Meet the players - Erik Vig (Sweden).

Name :Erik Vig
Club (Sweden)Karlstad Eagles
Age :27
Hgt :186 cm
Pos :Full Forward
Fave AFL team :WC Eagles
Fave AFL player:me
Years playing :2
IC14 Tips
MensSwedish Elks
WomensCanada
Sporting Idol :Jörgen Jönsson (Ice Hockey)
Simpsons or FuturamaSimpons
Star Wars or Star TrekStar Wars
Banana or Check-sideBanana
Team mate most likely to become President/PMChris Mårtensson
Team mate who spends most time in front of the mirrorMe
...

Meet the players - Brendan McGeever - Great Britain

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Meet the players - Brendan McGeever (Great Britain).

Name :Brendan McGeever
Club (GB)North London Lions
Age :33
Hgt :185 cm
Pos :Full Back
Fave AFL team :Sydney Swans
Fave AFL player:Adam Goodes
Years playing :7
How found footy :New Years eve in London bar and a Sydney guy told me there was an AFL League - found the Lions and never looked back.
IC14 Tips
MensNZ
WomensIreland
Tightest (stingiest) teammate :Any of the Scottish born players!!
Least want to sit beside on plane :James Talbot (Lions teammate and a pest!!)
Favourite Food :Irish Roast Lamb
Sporting Idol :Brian O'Driscoll (RU - Ire)
Footy highlight :Winning AFL London GF with North London
Simpsons or FuturamaSimpsons (the older stuff)
Star Wars or Star TrekSame thing isn't it??
Banana or Check-sideBanana
Team mate most likely to become President/PMWill Worthington
Team mate who spends most time in front of the mirrorLuke Matias

Huge honour to be playing with GB for my 2nd IC - massive tournament showcasing spirit of AFL around the world. ...

Meet the players - Brent Mergen - United States

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Meet the players - Brent "Mergo" Mergen (United States).

Name :Brent "Mergo" Mergen
Club (USA)Minnesota Freeze
Club (Other)Denmark-Walpole Magpies (SE West Aust)
Age :28
Hgt :6'2"
Pos :FB/CHB
Fave AFL team :Freo Dockers
Fave AFL player:Ryan Crowley
Years playing :9
How found footy :Studied abroad at Uni Notre Dame in Fremantle
IC14 Tips
MensUSA
WomensIreland
Tightest (stingiest) teammate :Sars
Least want to sit beside on plane :Tiger
Funniest/embarrassing footy moment :Brad Bootsma in GSFL (WA) took speccie (x2!!!) over my shoulders in 20 seconds.
Footy highlight :Playing & beating Sth Africa at ANZ Stadium in IC 11
Simpsons or FuturamaSimpsons
Star Wars or Star TrekStar Trek
Banana or Check-sideBanana
Team mate most likely to become President/PMBen Carpenter-Nwanyanwu
Team mate who spends most time in front of the mirrorPonyboy
...

Meet the players - Timothy Lindgren - Sweden

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Meet the players - Timothy Lindgren (Sweden).

Name :Timothy Lindgren
Club (Sweden)Port Malmö Maulers
Club (Other)
Age :17
Hgt :176 cm
Pos :Half forward
Fave AFL team :Port Adelaide Power
Fave AFL player:Chad Wingard
Years playing :6
How found footy :Teacher was national team coach
IC14 Tips
MensSweden
WomensUSA
Least want to sit beside on plane :Buster Sund - too much talking
Sporting Idol :Michael Jordan
Funniest/embarrassing footy moment :Got lifted up and smashed into the ground dring an exhibition match against an English team.
Footy highlight :Winning BOG infirst senior match
Simpsons or FuturamaSimpsons
Star Wars or Star TrekStar Wars
Banana or Check-sideBanana
Team mate most likely to become President/PMTony Persson
Team mate who spends most time in front of the mirrorMax Skärlén
...

Meet the players - Sam Willatt - Great Britain

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Meet the players - Sam Willatt (Great Britain).

Name :Sam Willatt
Club (GB)Birmingham Bears
Age :20
Hgt :190 cm
Pos :CHF
Fave AFL team :Adelaide Crows
Fave AFL player:Taylor Walker
Years playing :2
How found footy :At Uni - University of Birmingham (Sharks)
IC14 Tips
MensNZ
WomensIreland
Tightest (stingiest) teammate :Ollie Di-Lieto
Least want to sit beside on plane :James Talbot
Favourite Food :Pizza
Sporting Idol :Sonny Bill Williams (RL, RU, Boxing, tiddly winks)
Funniest/embarrassing footy moment :Missing from in front of the sticks
Footy highlight :BOG vs AIS academy for European Legion
Simpsons or FuturamaSimpsons
Star Wars or Star TrekStar Wars
Banana or Check-sideBanana
Team mate most likely to become President/PMDom Mitchell
Team mate who spends most time in front of the mirrorLuke Matias
...

Meet the players - Nathan Strom - Canada

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Meet the players - Nathan Strom (Canada).

Name :Nathan Strom
Club (Canada)Ottawa Swans
Club (Other)Uni Blues (NZ)
Age :31
Hgt :6'2"
Pos :Midfield
Fave AFL team :Collingwood
Fave AFL player:Scott Pendlebury
Years playing :3 years
How found footy :Via Rugby players in Wellington (NZ) who played it over summer
IC14 Tips
Mens(1) Ireland
Womens(1) Canada N.L.
Tightest (stingiest) teammate :Kaspers - (2 for 1 dimmies!!)
Least want to sit beside on plane :Mike Kozlowski - whinging the whole way - already by half way Ottawa to Vancouver was too much!
Favourite Food :Sushi - but, NZ sushi
Sporting Idol :Francesco Totti
Funniest/embarrassing footy moment :Handballed to an opponent (but he DID call for it)
...

Women's World Rankings Round 1 IC14

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Women’s World Rankings

A World Ranking Scheme as applied to the Eighteen (18) Women’s International Tests/Matches played after completion of Round 1 International Cup 2014 would look like:
1. Australia
2. Canada 46.72 9 matches played*
3. USA 37.12 9 matches played*




Provisional:

Ireland 49.65 6 matches played#
Canada 2 Midnight Suns 43.00 1 match played#
Fiji 39.72 1 match played#
Tonga 37.00 1 match played#
PNG 33.51 5 matches played#
AIM@ 33.29 4 matches played#

Three 49th Parallel Cup matches since 2010 and International Cup matches*
International Cup matches#
Australian Indigenous & Multicultural@
Yet To Play:
USA 2 Liberty 40. ...

Round 2 predictions for the WFN World Rankings

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International Cup 2014 and World Footy News World Rankings - Pre Round 2

Round 2 of IC14 will produce more interesting outcomes on the WFN World Rankings as all but three matches will see rate exchanges take place with as many as 13 nations rising or falling in Rank.

Let’s look at the three matches where the rating gap is greater than +/- 10.00 first. Ireland (55.15 rating points): 2nd v France (36.09): 15th, Papua New Guinea (54.66): 3rd v India (28.45): 21st and New Zealand (53.00): 4th v China (31.36):18th are first time encounters between these nations where fortunately no advantage is gained by the higher ranked nation and likewise no points are lost by the lower ranked nation tho unfortunately blow out scores are very likely.


 

Three further first time encounters include Fiji (40.18): 12th v Indonesia (40.00): provisional and Japan (30.39): 19th v Pakistan (39.56): provisional, where despite the rating gap being very close (+/-0.18) in the first instance and Pakistan’s rating points being higher than Japan’s it is unlikely for the two debutant nations to prove superior to Fiji or Japan. Wins by Fiji and Japan will see each nation rise one place at the expense of Croatia and China respectively. The South Africa (49.47): 6th v Tonga (44.73): 9th is also the first meeting of these two nations and since the Ranking Scheme predicts that the higher ranked nation will win more often than not a win by South Africa will push Tonga down one place to 10th below Denmark ring to 9th.

However, if Tonga were to upset South Africa they could leap from 9th to 7th place with South Africa falling to 8th place.

The remaining three matches are between nations that have met before at International level, the first we look at is Nauru 5th (51.17) v Great Britain 7th (46.88) have a win each and the rating gap is +/- 4.30. A Nauru win will push Great Britain one place to eighth. Great Britain would rise to 6th and Nauru would fall to 8th if Great Britain were to prevail over Nauru.

United States 8th (46.61) and Canada 13th (40.08) meet yet again with the Revolution having the wood over the Northwind with 12 to 1 superiority and a USA win combined with Great Britain losing to Nauru will see them climb to 7th place. If Northwind can pull off an upset then USA would fall to 10th place and the Northwind climb to 12th place.

The final match of the round we look at is Sweden 16th (35.74) v Finland 20th (29.02) and Sweden having a 4-0 record over the IceBreakers. Rating gap is +/- 6.72 so Sweden could climb 2 places to 14th pushing Peace Team and France down 1 place each. Finland losing will see them fall from 20th to 21st. However if the Icebreakers can bring down the Elks they will drag the Elks down to 18th place and climb to be 'frost' biting at their heels at 19th place.

This round promises to be very exciting as far as movement up and down the ranks is concerned, lots will happen and even more rises and falls could happen.
.
Best of luck to all the combatants!!!
  ...

IC14 Vignettes – Maciu Raida (Fiji Tribe)

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The Raiwaqa Giants (Bulldogs) created the biggest upset in Fiji football this year when Maciu Raida’s pride and joy (the club he created and developed) won the 2014 AFL Fiji premiership. Maciu is now in Australia as part of the Fiji Tribe team at the IC14 and proud to be representing his country at his adopted game.

“It's very cold here in Melbourne.” He begins, and you can feel he is rubbing his hands together for warmth. “But anyway, I [came to] know this game from 2011, before the last International Cup, from a workmate Chris Sagaitu. He introduced it to me and asked me to have a shot. For me as I grew up I hated this game [Australian Rules footy], but once I had tried it I really loved it. It was a very exciting game and most of all it's a mixture of a lot of other sports.”

“For the IC14 this Fijian team was prepared very well because our pool is very tough. Our first game was with Ireland, the winner from 2011. We take our pool seriously and do not underestimate any team. We are very new into this game [compared to other teams in their pool].”

“Our journey was tough because we had to pay our own fares and accommodation, so it's very, very tough. Some of the new players were upset and distressed at first because [to come and play] this game is very expensive in Australia. But [to represent our country] we have to come to play.”

“Our competition is tough and for our first game we play a top team. But it's a boost for us to play against an experience team. It’s a great learning experience for us all.”

As for who Maciu thinks will win the men’s and women’s competitions he says “I’m not ready to commit any predictions yet as it is too early and anything can happen.”

After a first round loss to Ireland, the Tribe come up against Indonesia and then Great Britain. We wish the Fiji Tribe all the best for the rest of the tournamen ...
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