The following is a press release from the AFLNT looking at the increasing role and exponential growth of women’s football across the Northern Territory. As the new season approaches and plans for 2015/16 are put into place, the AFLNT is looking more closely at how that growth can be built effectively and positively into future plans.

As Territory Football approaches its Centenary year, focus is turning towards the women who make the game great.

Australia wide, the role of women in football has changed dramatically from fans and loyal club volunteers to elite athletes, coaches and umpires in their own right.

AFL Northern Territory (AFLNT) has seen exponential growth in TIO NTFL women’s football over the last few seasons, and to acknowledge this growth and successes AFLNT CEO Tony Frawley has pledged scholarships for women who wish to further their development in coaching, umpiring or administration of the game. 

“We’ve been proud of the success of our female programs particularly over the past few years and how they have been received in the community,” Frawley said today.

“We’ve looked at various options internally around ensuring the needs of women in football are met, and we are confident by using a whole of organisation approach from game development, community football and of course talent, we are achieving this.

“By assigning funds to individual women who wish to further their development in their chosen field within football, we hope they become role models encouraging more women to be involved.”

The four scholarships, worth $500 each come off the back of statistics which show more than 50 female football coaches from 426 active, accredited Northern Territory football coaches, three of which are level 2 coaches.

The NTFL Umpires Association also boasts a make up of 25% females, a talent depth that is visible through TIO NTFL Women‘s Round each season.

The scholarships have been allocated off the back of statistics presented at a recent AFL National Participation Conference which shows the Northern Territory takes out five of the top ten female players to population (per capita) spots.

West Arnhem, Barkly and East Arnhem take out the top three positions of female participation in Australia, while Darwin and Darwin rural come in fifth and sixth respectively.

The TIO NFTL itself will also expand this coming season with an additional women’s division added to the mix.

Previously comprising of youth girls and senior women, the league will now encompass Under 15, Under 18 and seniors, with senior women to jump up the pecking order in regards to scheduling of senior games.

Discussions have also commenced around a women’s Service to Football Award to be announced and presented at the 2016 Nichols Medal to recognise the important contribution and positive change women are making to the game.

Also in women’s football:

Northern Territory to host the Under 18 Girls National Kickstart Championships from 21 – 25 September 2015

Under 18 Youth Girls to have a stand-alone team for the first time in 2016 (traditionally a joint team with Tasmania named the Thunder Devils)

Women’s talent programs to continue throughout the offseason due to high demand and commitment of identified talented female players.

  ...

Friday night footy at the MCG kicks off Round 18 with Hawthorn hosting Richmond. 

Once again viewers around the world can access matches live or delayed on a number of TV networks or stream the telecast via subscription to Watchafl.com.au. 

The broadcast schedule for this round can be seen below.

The broadcast schedule is published here in good faith from schedules provided by the AFL.  All schedules may be subject to change. ...

Another big week for International players in the VFL as Round 15 was played in good conditions on Saturday and not so good on Sunday. The standout performances were the ruckwork of Eric Wallace and an impressive defensive performance by Kurt Heatherley.

A quiet day for opposing Irish players in the Essendon vs Geelong match. Lucey (Ire) had 5 kicks, 5 marks, 4 hit outs and 3 handballs for the Cats and Conor McKenna (Ire) on the winning side had 8 kicks, 3 handballs and 3 marks and kicked 1.1 to see the Bombers home by 13 points.
 

Jason Holmes (USA) also had a quiet day for Sandringham with just 16 hit outs, 4 kicks, 2 marks and 2 handballs. It was a comfortable win for the Zebras over Richmond to the tune of 45 points.
 

Mason Cox (USA) had 5 kicks, 6 handballs, 4 marks and 7 tackles to go along with a goal and 27 hit outs in Collingwood’s easy win over Casey Scorpions at Victoria Park.
 

In wet conditions at Chirnside Park Werribee defeated the Box Hill Hawks. Eric Wallace (USA) had a massive 54 hit outs for the Tigers along with 6 kicks, 1 handball and 6 tackles. Shem Tatupu (NZ) kicked 1.1 for the Hawks and Kurt Heatherley (NZ) with 18 disposals - 3 marks - 5 tackles - 6 rebounds 50s was named in the best for Box Hill across half back.
 

The Northern Blues had the bye. It has been confirmed the Ciaran Sheehan (Ire) will miss the rest of the season through injury.

ST KILDA MEDIA RELEASE

THE rapid improvement of St Kilda’s international rookie Jason Holmes has resulted in a one-year contract extension for the 2016 season.

Until recently, the American-born Holmes had never heard of Australian football let alone played it but after completing his career as a college basketballer, tried his hand at an AFL combine.

The Saints selected him with pick 36 at the 2014 Rookie Draft and immediately set upon fast-tracking his development through the club’s VFL affiliate Sandringham.

The 25-year-old has since become a staple of the Zebras outfit, transferring his basketball skills to become the team’s number one ruckman.

St Kilda coach Alan Richardson said the contract extension was a suitable reward for the development Holmes had shown in a short period of time.

“Jason came to us with tremendous athleticism and a competitive nature but very little understanding of Australian football,” Richardson told SAINTS.com.au

“To come to the other side of the world to try your hand at a game you know very little about says a bit about his character and willingness to succeed at elite sport.

“His willingness to learn and develop has been a key factor in his rise and we are excited about the potential he has shown.”

Holmes – who has been trialled as a forward in recent weeks - said he was thrilled to commit to a third year with the Saints.

“This whole experience has been a steep learning curve for me and I am feeling like I am improving as a footballer,” Holmes said.

“The club has helped fast-track my learning of the game with detailed coaching and tuition and I am grateful for the investment my coaches and teammates have made in me.

“My ultimate goal is to play at the highest level and I will continue to work as hard as I can to achieve that dream.”

The recent season ending shin injury to Jack Billings has created an avenue for Holmes to be elevated to the senior list for an AFL debut. ...

The USAFL, in conjunction with AFL Canada, will be streaming all four Parallel Cup matches live on YouTube.  Both days’ coverage will begin at 5:45pm ET, with Brian Barrish and Denis Ryan leading the commentary team for the weekend.  There will also be live updates on Twitter and Facebook.

Live Stream: Full schedule and YouTube links on USAFL.com

Twitter: @USAFL1997 and @AFL_TEAMCANADA

Facebook:USAFL and AFL CANADA

Schedule

Date	Event	Venue/Field			Watch Stream (Click on Icon)
Jul 31 06:00pm	49th Parallel Cup Men's Development: USA vs Canada	Broward County Stadium
Jul 31 08:00pm	49th Parallel Cup Women's Development: USA Liberty vs Canada Midnight Suns	Broward County Stadium
Aug 01 06:00pm	49th Parallel Cup Women: USA Freedom vs Canada Northern Lights	Broward County Stadium
Aug 01 08:00pm	49th Parallel Cup Men: USA Revolution vs Canada Northwind	Broward County Stadium

...

With a little over a week until the AFL’s Multicultural Round gets under way it is timely to have a look back at the genesis of our game and the part that players with strong and diverse ethnic backgrounds have played.

Whilst some might consider the “multicultural” aspect of the game a relatively new phenomenon, the fact is that the game’s past is garnered with a multicultural smorgasboard.

One of the first names that comes to mind is “Jezza” in the 60’s and 70’s. Carlton’s Alex Jesaulenko, of both Ukrainian and Austrian descent, became one of the better known surnames of his era. The commentary surrounding his famous mark in the 1970 grand final over Graeme Jenkins from Collingwood became part of folklore. Mike Williamson excitedly called “Jesaulenko, you beauty!” immortalising the mark and also a multicultural surname in one breath.

But a look through lists of past players goes even further.

A look at Greek players gives us Koutoufides, Francou, Christou, Malaxos and more.

Little wonder the footy scene is growing so much in Croatia, a country about to host the 2015 Axios Euro Cup. With a player list boasting names like Didak, Dorotich, Sumich, Jakovich, Pavlich and Starcevich among so many others it could be argued that the country breeds future AFL stars.

Germany have given us names like Ditterich, Gehrig, Weidemann, Reiwoldt, Schwass and Loewe and more. Italy boasts names like Barassi, Mercuri, Misiti, Alessio, Camporeale, Dal Santo, Deledio and of course Dipierdomenico as well as a host of others.

But the list goes on. Ramanauskas (Lithuania), Yze (Albania), Van Der Haar (Netherlands), Brereton (Ireland), Romero (Chile), Balraj Singh (India), Daicos & Malceski (Macedonia), Demetriou (Cyprus) and even Scotland (Scotland!) are names which show that our games multicultural heritage is scattered across the globe.

A full list of past and present player names with multicultural heritage can be found at the www.afl.com.au website: http://www.aflcommunityclub.com.au/index.phpωid=640

With that history in mind, the AFL now celebrates that diversity and ethnic heritage with the Multicultural Round, this year being Round 19 from 7-9 August.

For a complete understanding of the round and associated directions and objectives, the AFL’s website states:

Australia Post AFL Multicultural Program

Australian football is becoming the sport of choice for diverse communities. Up to 25% of current AFL lists are from diverse backgrounds (11% Indigenous and 14% Multicultural).

The Multicultural Unit has been established to ensure Australian football is a vehicle that encourages community strengthening and inclusion within the wider Australian community.

The AFL's Multicultural programs are enabling more young talent to be identified and giving more opportunities to aspiring young AFL players.

Australian Football has the capacity to bring people together from diverse cultural backgrounds. With this in mind, the AFL is working closely with state football bodies to build strong working relationships with many diverse communities to identify barriers and to develop strategies to encourage involvement.

A range of resources and programs have been developed to help local leagues and clubs located within diverse communities to take action to ensure their activities are welcoming and inclusive to create safe and healthy family friendly football environments for people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) communities.

The Multicultural Program has 10 Multicultural Development Officers (MDO’s) based in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia. This enables the AFL and the AFL clubs to reach more people in the community and add value and quality to all our initiatives. The MDO’s are based at and working closely with AFL clubs to deliver programs encouraging participation in Australian Football within multicultural communities and schools across greater Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and some rural areas.

The program aims to introduce young people from targeted culturally and linguistically diverse communities to Australian Football and to influence mainstream Australian Football clubs to embrace multicultural diversity as part of their ongoing operations.

Twenty percent of Australians were born in another country, of whom more than half came to Australia from non-English speaking nations. Combined with their Australian-born children, they constitute 43 percent of the population.

By 2025 overseas born families will outnumber locally born families and by 2049 Australia’s population is expected to grow to 35 million, the majority of this increase will come from migrant sources. Two thirds will continue to come from Asian nations.

In 2009, the number of permanent and long-term migrants arriving in Australia has soared to more than 500,000 a year.

Multicultural Australians have economic clout. Their spending power has doubled since 1991 and is now over $58 billion a year.

Sydney and Melbourne more than 50% of the population is born overseas or has one or more parents born overseas.

If you have an interest in the multicultural background of Australian Rules football, or want to find out more details about the upcoming AFL Multicultural Round from 7-9 August you can visit the AFL’s website at: http://www.afl.com.au/multiculturalround as well as following events and features through social media via the AFL Diversity on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AFLdiversity or through the AFL Multicultural Programs page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AFLMulticulturalProgram

So join the many, many thousands of proud Aussies from a diverse and proud variety of multicultural backgrounds and support the AFL Multicultural Round.

"Jesaulenko - You Beauty!" Herald Sun ...

In a hard fought match in damp conditions under lights the US Revolution prevailed over the Canadian Northwind by 16 points.  After a close first quarter the US pulled away in the second as the big men up forward began to dominate. 

The Northwind tried valiantly in the third to bridge the gap but poor kicking and a solid US defence did not allow them to make up much ground.  The push from Canada continued into the final quarter but when they finally goaled to put them within ten points with five minutes to go the clock was always going to beat them.  Mike Murphy kicked a late goal just before the siren for the US to seal the result.

USA Revolution 6.9.45
Canada North Wind  3.11.29

In the earlier women's match the Canada Northern lights ran out comfortable winners against the USA Freedom by 39 points.  Rain fell during the match and may have prevented the score blowing out further.

USA Freedom 5.3.33

Canada Northern Lights 11.6.72

Some post match reports coming through have suggested that the Canadian Northern Lights team may have had some non-Canadians take the field.  The ramifications of this are yet to be known and we will seek further clarification on this matter.

Scores from Friday Nights Women's and Men's Development Team matches were as follows.

To celebrate this weekend’s upcoming Multicultural Round Port Adelaide will wear a Chinese-inspired guernsey against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday at Etihad Stadium.

The Power will wear a variation of its V-lined black guernsey. The guernsey will feature both the Chinese and Australian national flags on the front underneath the AFL logo and the respective player’s name in Chinese characters on the back above the number.

Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas said the Multicultural Round guernsey was another sign of the club’s commitment to China.

 “Over the past couple of years Port Adelaide has made a conscious effort to promote both the club and the AFL competition through Southern China,” Mr Thomas said. 

“We proudly sponsor both the Chinese national AFL side Team China and the Southern China AFL competition.

 “Since 2013 we have regularly held business luncheons at the Hong Kong Football Club, where we have established great relationships and a reciprocal membership arrangement.

 “This year we have been distributing highlights of our home games with Mandarin commentary and sending these out through key social media platforms both here in Australia and into China.

 “And within the next two to three years we’d ideally love to play a game in China either as a pre-season fixture or as a game for premiership points.”

 Mr Thomas said the game of AFL is still very foreign in China so there is a need to be consistently visible in their region and continue to engage their community.

 “Back here in South Australia we have thousands of Chinese international students and we would love to help them assimilate more easily into our culture here in Australia,” Mr Thomas said.

 “We feel a good way of doing this is to make them feel part of the Port Adelaide family and our indigenous Australian game.

 “This Multicultural Round guernsey is just another way of showing Port Adelaide’s commitment to China and promoting the inclusive nature of our game.”

  ...

The AFL is pleased to announce the 2015 Toyota AFL Multicultural Round, celebrating ‘Many Cultures, One Game’ will take place in Round 19 of the Toyota AFL Premiership Season.  

Multicultural Round highlights the contribution multicultural communities have made to the game’s history and welcomes new communities to embrace Australian Football as fans, players, umpires or administrators.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said he is proud to announce a record number of activities will take place in Round 19 to mark the Toyota AFL Multicultural Round.

“With 27 per cent of Australians born overseas and around 200 languages spoken every day in Australian homes, the AFL is committed to reflecting Australia’s growing cultural diversity. 

“As an industry we will continue to reach out to new and emerging communities not only because it’s important for the growth of our game but as the number one sporting code in the country, we have a leadership role to play in social cohesion.

“This year, we are excited to launch our first ever Multicultural Festival at the Collingwood v Carlton match at MCG and to see all games broadcast in the seven most spoken languages via the AFL app, along with in-language messages integrated at all the venues and on field during Round 19 of the Toyota ALF Premiership Season.

“Together with our inclusion partner Australia Post, we have launched the 2015 My AFL Passport Ticketing campaign which aims to welcome over 24,000 people who have never experienced Australia Football to attend an AFL game for free in Multicultural Round,” said Mr McLachlan.

Australia Post Group Managing Director and CEO, Ahmed Fahour said Australia Post’s ongoing commitment to celebrating cultural diversity was something it shared with the AFL and hoped that, through their Multicultural programs and Multicultural Round, they would encourage new fans and communities to the great game of AFL.

“Australia Post employs 37,000 people from 137 nations and almost a quarter of our employees are from non-English speaking backgrounds, so the celebration of diversity and multiculturalism is something very personal to our organisation,” said Mr Fahour.

“Footy has the power to bring neighbourhoods together and connect communities and people from different cultural backgrounds. The upcoming Multicultural Round and the Many Cultures, One Game Festival before Collingwood V Carlton at the MCG are just a few examples of the platform that footy gives us to highlight the inclusive benefits of sport”.

In 2015, 14% of AFL players listed are born overseas or have one parent who was born overseas.

Toyota AFL Multicultural Round highlights:

● The first ever AFL Multicultural Festival celebrating ‘Many Cultures, One Game’ will be held at the MCG in Yarra Park at the Collingwood v Carlton game on August 8. The festival will run from 11.30am - 5.30pm and will include loads of free and fun activities for the entire family, including live entertainment from SBS PopAsia, Hip Hop dance, African drummers, Bollywood and many others.  http://www.afl.com.au/multiculturalround/festival

● All nine AFL matches during Multicultural Round will each be broadcast in the seven most spoken languages in Australia, other than English via the AFL app.

● All venues will feature in-language markings on field and in-language messages in stadium.

● The Sherrin official AFL match ball will be translated into Arabic, Hindi or Mandarin and will feature at all nine matches.

● The AFL field umpire shirts will feature the word umpire translated into one of the seven most spoken languages in Australia, other than English.

● The AFL is excited to launch its official AFL Sina Weibo account. Weibo is the largest Chinese social media network and has over 538 million users, including 1.2 million Australian Chinese users.

● The AFL and Australia Post have together launched the 2015 My AFL Passport Ticketing campaign which encourages people who have never experienced Australian Football before to attend an AFL game for free in Multicultural Round. Tickets to AFL matches at venue in Melbourne and Sydney are still available: afl.com.au/myaflpassport

● During Multicultural Round, the AFL will highlight the role of its 13 Australia Post AFL Multicultural player ambassadors and 233 community volunteers across the country who share their passion for Australian Football and connect communities through engaging in AFL.

● The Round 19 AFL Record will feature an introduction to Australian Football in the seven languages.

● The AFL has partnered with the Victorian Government on the Embrace Diversity campaign which encourages support for cultural diversity across various social media channels.

● This year marks 10 years since the AFL launched its Multicultural Program in 2005 to engage people of all ages from multicultural backgrounds in Australian Football.

● From the 14 August – 31 October 2015 The Immigration Museum will host a photographic exhibition showcasing multiculturalism in Australian Football.  Highlights include rare photos of players from both private and AFL collections. Visitors to the Immigration Museum during the exhibition dates can present any game ticket from multicultural round and receive a two for one entry.

● Multicultural entertainment will feature pre-match on field at Multicultural Round matches including a Bollywood performance prior to Collingwood v Carlton and St Kilda v Fremantle, and a Chinese Dragon Procession at Melbourne v North Melbourne and a Chinese Lion dance and Arabic Drummers at the GWS Giants v Essendon match.

● A citizenship ceremony will take place prior to GWS Giants v Essendon and Adelaide Crows v Richmond matches.

●The Auburn Giants will play the UTS Shamrocks in the curtain-raiser to the GWS Giants v Essendon and the Nic Naitanui Academy will play in a curtain-raiser at Domain Stadium prior to West Coast Eagles v Hawthorn.

● AFL Queensland is hosting a World Fiesta at its headquarters at Yeronga this weekend, celebrating cultural diversity through football, food and family entertainment. Across 25 marquee junior and senior matches in Queensland, boundary umpires will wear orange socks and goal umpires will wave orange flags to symbolise harmony.

● WatchAFL (the AFL’s official global streaming service) are offering all people outside of Australia with the opportunity to watch all Round 19 matches for free wither Live or On Demand.  Visit:  http://watchafl.afl.com.au 

● The 2015 Toyota AFL Multicultural Round marketing campaign highlights the stories of grassroots footy legends and the many wonderful cultures who all share a common passion for footy.

For more details on the 2015 Toyota AFL Multicultural Round, please visit: www.afl.com.au/multiculturalround ...

To help celebrate the 2015 AFL Multicultural Round, WatchAFL (the AFL’s official global streaming service) are offering all people outside of Australia with the opportunity to watch ALL Round 19 Matches for FREE (August 7-9) either Live or On Demand. 

Multicultural Round FREE passes will be available at  http://watchafl.afl.com.au from Wednesday 5th August. 

As an added bonus, the On Demand versions will also  have games called in different languages!

·        Adelaide v Richmond - GREEK

 ·        Collingwood v Carlton - HINDI

 ·        St Kilda v Fremantle - HINDI

 ·        Western Bulldogs v Port Adelaide - MANDARIN

 ·        Melbourne v North Melbourne - MANDARIN

 ·        Brisbane v Gold Coast Suns - VIETNAMESE

 ·        West Coast Eagles v Hawthorn - ITALIAN

 ·        Geelong v Sydney - SPANISH

 ·        GWS v Essendon - ARABIC

This is a great opportunity to watch some great footy action - and introduce the game to the world! ...

Friday night footy in Adelaide kicks off Round 19 with Adelaide hosting Richmond. 

Once again viewers around the world can access matches live or delayed on a number of TV networks or stream the telecast via subscription to Watchafl.com.au. Details of free passes for viewers outside Australia for this round only can be found here.

The broadcast schedule for this round can be seen below.

The broadcast schedule is published here in good faith from schedules provided by the AFL.  All schedules may be subject to change. ...

Getting to the business end of the season of the VFL.  Shem Tatupu and Conor McKenna's efforts up forward and Mason Cox's ruckwork were the standout performances among the Internationals in the VFL this week.

Alex Aurrichio (USA) continues to hold his spot at the Northern Blues but probably did not enjoy being on the end of a 112 point belting at the hands of North Ballarat. He finished with 3 disposals, 3 tackles and 20 hit-outs.

Williamstown were 32 point winners over Collingwood. Collingwood’s Mason Cox (USA) had 10 disposals, one mark and three tackles to go along with 26 hit-outs (see video below), while his countryman Eric Wallace (USA) had a quiet day with 12 disposals and one tackle for the Seagulls.

At Frankston Oval Geelong smashed the Dolphins by 72 points. Padraig Lucey (Ire) kicked 1.1 for the Cats and had 7 disposals, 4 marks and 14 hit-outs.