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Kevin Sheedy has come good on his promise to look far and wide for talent, with the signing of a South African recruit.
Sobetwa adds to the list compiled below and adapted from Worldfootynews of the ‘international’ class of 2010.
Senior Listed
Ireland – Sydney: Tadhg Kennelly (158 games since 2001)
Ireland – Carlton: Setanta O’hAilpin (58 games since 2005)
Ireland – Brisbane: Pearce Hanley (3 games since 2008)
International Scholarship Listed
Fiji – Western Bulldogs: Solomoni Loki
Fiji – Western Bulldogs: Inoke Ratua
PNG – Essendon: David Meli
PNG – Carlton: Peter Labi
PNG – Brisbane: Donald Barry
PNG – Brisbane: Brendan Beno
PNG – Brisbane: Ezra Kautu
NZ – Hawthorn: Kurt Heatherley
International Rookie Listed from Ireland
Adelaide – Brian Donnelly
Essendon – Michael Quinn (6 games 2009)
North Melbourne – Conor Meredith
Brisbane – Niall McKeever
Carlton – Zach Tuohy
Richmond – Jamie O’Reilly
St Kilda – Tommy Walsh
Sydney – Chris McKaigue
International Rookie Listed from other countries
Canada – Sydney: Mike Pyke (8 games 2009)
USA – Collingwood: Shae McNamara
Unofficial but associated with AFL clubs
PNG – Gold Coast: Stanis Susuve
PNG – Brisbane: Amua Pirika
Okay, so not all of them will succeed. However, with the two International junior sides to compete in the AFL national championships from this year on, we may well see an expanding of this list by quite some way.
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February 2nd 2010 @ 1:29pm
Dogz R Barkn said | February 2nd 2010 @ 1:29pm | Report comment
Either Sheeds or Barass, or one of those great coaches, once said that they’d go looking for players on Mars if they thought they could find some good’uns (or words to that effect).
I’m not sure if it’s all that sudden a trend, recalling that Jimmy Stynes was recruited back in the early 80s under Barass, and he wasn’t the first either (but easily the most successful of those recruited from Ireland, although Tadgh would now give him a shake).
Looking on from the outside, my educated guess of why it’s picking up pace is:
1. the AFL is looking to a future where they would have exhausted all growth prospects within Australia; and/or
2. it’s all sort of happened organically, and all of a sudden, they’ve cottoned onto the idea of increasing the talent pool via places like PNG and South Africa.
Also, Sheeds knows he’s not going to field a team from blokes recruited from within NSW/ACT – so invention is the mother of necessity as they say.
I heard on Radio National this morning that they were tipping India as the next big thing – whether that was based on fact or wishful thinking, I have no idea.
February 2nd 2010 @ 2:58pm
Michael C said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:58pm | Report comment
certainly a bit of both,
there’s a recognition of the fact that Australia is about the worlds most competitive sports/football market place and sadly, only a population of 21 odd million. Building the talent pool and establishing I guess a ‘parent/child’ relationship with external markets. What comes of it all….well, who knows.
The hard nosed dollars focus on development has been the national league etc since the mid/late 80s.
So, point 2 – certainly correct – so much of this happened organically, the AFL seemed unconcerned for quite some time – but, do seem to all of a sudden ‘cottened on’. That said – - who HAD to do the cottoning?? Because, one of the AFL Commissioners (former now) Colin Carter got involved personally in Sth Africa. Now – he’d probably have an easier time convincing the fellow commissioners and the executive than he would’ve convincing the 16 clubs that it was a good idea.
India – they were here for the last IC – a lot of it is still based on students over here forming the basis of the side – and getting a local incarnation established over there is a bit of a priority. China is looking more promising in many respects THUS far. Long term though – who knows.
February 6th 2010 @ 4:43am
Gatto Nero said | February 6th 2010 @ 4:43am | Report comment
Well summarised, though I think you forgot one factor – the grassroots.
It’s been about 20 years now since serious footy leagues were founded outside Australia, give or take a few years (and not counting those running at the turn of the 20th Century). Those leagues in Europe, North America, Asia and the Pacific have reached critical mass, established a playing base that is no longer expat dominated, and the view of the footy community outside Australia is that the game is for everyone. Those same clubs that began as a couple of Aussies kicking in the park have grown to the point where they’re at par with local clubs in Australia – many now have dedicated grounds with facilities, firsts and reserve teams and have instituted junior programs. I think in a way this all caught the AFL off-guard, but over the past 10 years they have moved from a cautious attitude to a pro-active one where they are embracing the grassroots growth overseas and helping it along when they can.
February 2nd 2010 @ 2:22pm
Lazza said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:22pm | Report comment
“AFL is the sort of game where a team will cop an absolute hiding if they are not quite up to scratch (and both rugby codes can be the same, soccer is a bit different in that respect).”
That’s why soccer is so successful. Underdog teams have a chance to win and frequently do which captures the imagination of the country and the sport becomes very popular. Rugby and Cricket haven’t really progressed because their 2nd tier teams always get killed.
Aussie Rules is even less forgiving and that’s why Sate of Origin died and why representative games will fail to capture the imagination of anyone, including AFL fans.
February 2nd 2010 @ 2:31pm
Redb said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:31pm | Report comment
It’s also why soccer can bore you to tears with the lack of action and highly defensive game play. Every game has its merits and demerits.
February 2nd 2010 @ 2:50pm
Lazza said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:50pm | Report comment
That’s why Soccer is the world’s most popular sport by a million miles, because it’s boring. That’s why AFL will never take off or even be able to convert half our own country. It’s just too damn exciting Redb. You get a nose bleed from watching it if you haven’t been weened on it from birth. It should come with a health warning.
February 2nd 2010 @ 3:55pm
Simmo said | February 2nd 2010 @ 3:55pm | Report comment
true words. There’s no perfect code of football.
February 2nd 2010 @ 2:34pm
Brett McKay said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:34pm | Report comment
thanks guys, Redb’s probably given the answer I was expecting, that international rookies fall outside the draft (of course). Do they still count toward the salary cap though, or are all rookies not counted until they’re promoted to the senior list?
February 2nd 2010 @ 2:38pm
Redb said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:38pm | Report comment
senior list I think once rookies are elevated.
February 2nd 2010 @ 3:10pm
Michael C said | February 2nd 2010 @ 3:10pm | Report comment
correct – no rookies count towards the salary cap – otherwise – they’d effectively be covered by the AFL distributions to the clubs. They aren’t – such that, the wealthy clubs can afford to be more expansive and innovative with rookies full stop, whether from 2nd tier leagues, from other codes as conversion projects or from international sources.
The value is that should a kid be an absolute gem – he can then be elevated from the rookie list to the senior list at the cost of a low (round 6 for example) draft selection. The Swans used this method to secure Craig Bird elevated from the NSW scholarship/rookie list process. Would’ve likely been a top 20 draft pick. Got ‘cheap’ so to speak.
The clubs with the real big budgets with the deeper and better resourced football departments – and now a bit of experience working with guys relatively new to the game – are the ones best placed. However, as with the PNG kids coming through the QLD system – these guys will progressively get less and less ‘raw’. PNG is number 1 in this respect – and benefitted by being near to Australia. RSA number 2.
February 2nd 2010 @ 3:22pm
Brett McKay said | February 2nd 2010 @ 3:22pm | Report comment
thanks MC..
February 2nd 2010 @ 2:59pm
mahony said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:59pm | Report comment
lol – the whole thing.
February 2nd 2010 @ 4:08pm
Michael C said | February 2nd 2010 @ 4:08pm | Report comment
lol you.
February 2nd 2010 @ 3:20pm
Dogz R Barkn said | February 2nd 2010 @ 3:20pm | Report comment
Those of us coming from different sporting backgrounds might look at this with a bit of amusement, but the world is littered with examples of sports that have slowly spread to other countries from very low bases, in fact, far too many to mention.
League has a small but growing international presence, so I would never dream of knocking the Australian game, and I can’t understand why anyone would mock Australians trying to spread their own game to another country.
Even if it’s all small scale (only 15,000 registered players in South Africa), really, so what? Why pan it?
Here are some interesting facts about soccer – the undisputed world game:
* The Kuwaiti football association was formed in 1952, and was good enough to qualify for the World Cup in 1982 (and there must be countless such examples); but better still
* The North Korean football association was formed in 1945, but only admitted to FIFA in 1958, and within 8 years they defeated Italy in the World Cup finals (and Italy went on to win the European championships two years later).
The lesson, and this goes for all sports, League included – who knows what can happen over the course of a few decades.
February 2nd 2010 @ 4:25pm
Art Sapphire said | February 2nd 2010 @ 4:25pm | Report comment
Good post Dogz – who knows what will happen in the next few decades. The only way an international team could take on an Australian representative side in the 21st century is if for all of them are elite pros. The current Australian all star team would be on salaries between 400k and 1million dollars.
When we have 22 foreign players capable of fielding a team that can play every position on the field and earning close to that sort of money then I guess a World Team could take on an Australian representative AFL team.
Only, if I was an AFL globalisation optimist would I give it 20 – 30 years for it to possibly happen.
The day a single country can take on Australia’s best in a meaningful competitive AFL match is still a very, very long way off.
February 2nd 2010 @ 8:17pm
Michael C said | February 2nd 2010 @ 8:17pm | Report comment
Mostly agreed.
However – you just never know. Because, at the end of the day – if you can get your best side on the paddock – it really doesn’t matter then on the day how many 2nd tier alternates you might or might not have for each position.
and the old adage – a champion team will beat a team of champions.
February 2nd 2010 @ 10:45pm
Marcel said | February 2nd 2010 @ 10:45pm | Report comment
“15,000 registered players in South Africa”….gotta giggle when you start hearing this sort of stuff from the AFL.
Does anyone seriously expect us to believe there are 750 active teams playing in RSA.
February 6th 2010 @ 4:51am
Gatto Nero said | February 6th 2010 @ 4:51am | Report comment
I’d say there easily would be. Most schools I visited in the NWP fielded several junior sides for boys at each age level – U12, U14, U16. Each school could realistically field 10 teams of boys alone (some girls are playing at younger age groups, but AFL South Africa targets them to become umpires), and there are a lot more than 75 schools that have regular footy programs running.
That’s not counting senior clubs, of which I visited 4 over three days, and that was in 2005. The playing base is definitely there, though in a country of 45 million, it obviously isn’t making headlines every week.
February 2nd 2010 @ 3:23pm
bever fever said | February 2nd 2010 @ 3:23pm | Report comment
10 years ago this was just a pipedream amongst a handful of enthusiasts who were spreading the footy message through starting Australian football clubs O/S, there is no doubt in my mind that the internet has fuelled this expansion but the biggest impetus has been the need to find more depth for the current clubs as the new clubs are going to get the cream of the draft for the next few years.
These international rookies are exempted from the draft.
Now that GWS has grabbed a South African stand by for The Dockers which has invested far more into South Africa to rookie list a couple.
Whilst a great fan of developing Australian football O/S i also would not want to see a aussie kid lose out a spot on a list to a international kid because of financial concerns but its possible this may happen.
The benifit of course is that Australians may as has happened in the tennis world for many years be in demand for coaching etc O/S.
There is far more upside than downside IMO.
February 2nd 2010 @ 3:32pm
Lazza said | February 2nd 2010 @ 3:32pm | Report comment
Who’s going to be demanding Australian AFL coaches and have the money to pay for them? The O/S leagues will be tiny, amateur competitions with a few enthusiasts who want to play an exotic foreign sport.
You may get a few players because the AFL only has a tiny pool of talent to choose from (i.e. 3 States), so the competition isn’t that great. The other ‘advantage’ the AFL has is that it’s not a highly skillfull or technical sport. We’ve seen mature age athletes from other sports take up the game at a late age so it should be possible for these foreigners to break into the sport.
February 2nd 2010 @ 3:42pm
bever fever said | February 2nd 2010 @ 3:42pm | Report comment
Well Lazza who knows what is going to happen in the future, 2 or 3 years ago no-one could have predicted that there would be 22 players from outside Australia on AFL club rookie/senior ists.
Its only going to increase and with the player flow backwards and forwards i can imagine Australian football coaches being in demand, and payment for such increasing.
To be frank you are quite negative and your POV is becoming increasingly irrelevant.
February 2nd 2010 @ 4:16pm
Lazza said | February 2nd 2010 @ 4:16pm | Report comment
I’m a realist and I actually follow AFL and the Adelaide Crows. You guys are just delusional so someone has to point it out.
Yes anything MIGHT happen in the future but I’m pretty sure we won’t be seeing any international AFL. Let’s concentrate on NSW and QLD. How about converting our own country first?
February 2nd 2010 @ 4:38pm
bever fever said | February 2nd 2010 @ 4:38pm | Report comment
Lazza said:
“I actually follow AFL and the Adelaide Crows”.
Why would you bother, according to you the game has no skill or technical attributes, the competition is not great and its easy for O/S athletes to break into the game.
FYI i follow the A league but its a crap league and the players fall over all the time, technically its really deficient and mostly the crowds are awful but i really like it ……………… please Lazza give us all a break. (sarcasm, irony etc )
February 2nd 2010 @ 3:58pm
Simmo said | February 2nd 2010 @ 3:58pm | Report comment
Lazza, let the baby have its bottle.
February 2nd 2010 @ 4:09pm
bever fever said | February 2nd 2010 @ 4:09pm | Report comment
You need it more than me, only a couple of people having a sook here, can share it with your buddy lazza.
February 2nd 2010 @ 4:04pm
Michael C said | February 2nd 2010 @ 4:04pm | Report comment
actually even back in the mid 90s, I know of former AFL players coaching in London on 30,000……just not sure if that was quid or AUD!!! (player in question was Darren Ogier – ex Carl/NthM – source was his father – and the offer was for him to return for a 2nd year after coaching whichever club it was the previous year).
a lot who play the game come from back grounds of multiple sports as kids – and find that Aust Footy is a neat way to package all (many of) their soccer/rugby/basketball/volleyball skills into a single game. Others just prefer the greater freedom of a game without off-sides and that is more about attacking and scoring. If that qualifies as ‘exotic’ then perhaps.
re the not highly skillful……yeah, whatever,
not overly technical is more the point ….i.e. via the rule book (although it’s technical enough). However, the lack of observable formation play doesn’t necessarily make it any easier to get a kick. And obviously there’s ‘loose’ formation play such as the zones and stoppages whereby players need to be more adaptive – as, the number they wear on their back does not narrowly define their role.
February 6th 2010 @ 4:57am
Rocky Mountain Man said | February 6th 2010 @ 4:57am | Report comment
Depends on what level you’re talking about. You start small and grow. My local women’s footy club in Canada formed in 2007 with three expat girls keen for a kick. We have 100+ playing now – 90% are Canadian – and we’re generating about $30,000 in revenue annually, which we spend on junior programs and to travel to tournaments. We just signed an All-Australian women’s footballer from the ACT league to join us for the coming summer, and pay the head coach, whom we require to be properly accredited and committed.
So in three years a girl’s footy team in Canada has grown to be a pretty serious club business, in that sense. We’re still nowhere near on par with Aussie clubs, but the potential is certainly there.
February 2nd 2010 @ 4:11pm
bever fever said | February 2nd 2010 @ 4:11pm | Report comment
Its called the hscoss ……………… huge soccer chip on shoulder syndrome.
February 2nd 2010 @ 4:24pm
Lazza said | February 2nd 2010 @ 4:24pm | Report comment
You guys keep saying that ‘Soccer’ is not going anywhere in Australia.
A) 1.2 million participants.
B) A Professional League with a healthy TV contract.
C) A very popular national team as you will all see again in a few months at the WC.
In comparison the AFL has a few overseas enthusiasts playing in an amateur competition with NO interest and suddenly AFL is going to take off? Try and be consistent at least. By your own standards and benchmark as applied to Soccer then you have to conclude that AFL is going nowhere and the best you can hope for is one or two recruits from overseas.
February 2nd 2010 @ 4:32pm
bever fever said | February 2nd 2010 @ 4:32pm | Report comment
“You guys keep saying that ‘Soccer’ is not going anywhere in Australia”
No-one said anything like that on this thread, as usual the usual round ball suspects have stuck their noses in and had a few digs.
The name of this thread was NOT “The AFL World Team is finally taking shape and soccer is going nowhere”.
February 2nd 2010 @ 4:37pm
Tifosi said | February 2nd 2010 @ 4:37pm | Report comment
Seeing that the AFL has already used the publicity stunt tactic for its Gold Coast and West Sydney franchises I hope this south african kid isnt being used for the same sort of deal. Lets hope he does well though.
As for the expansion overseas etc. The reality is what makes sport great is what it means to the people who watch it.
Australian football in all likelihood will never have that. Not that it matters though.
February 3rd 2010 @ 7:39am
Redb said | February 3rd 2010 @ 7:39am | Report comment
A publicility stunt, what like signing Robbie Fowler who cant kick a goal?
February 2nd 2010 @ 4:45pm
bever fever said | February 2nd 2010 @ 4:45pm | Report comment
Tifosi , the thought has crossed my mind and in all liklehood this South African will not make it but he will pave the way for quite a few more.
I recently read a article by Tadgh Kennealy regarding setting up a group looking at looking after Gaelic players who after not making it in the AFL or retiring ( Martin Clarke)found themselves back in Ireland looking for work or coming down from a high in OZ, i would imagine this guy was chosen not only because of his athletic potential but mental attributes as well.
February 2nd 2010 @ 4:50pm
Travis said | February 2nd 2010 @ 4:50pm | Report comment
I thought Sheedy’s team GWS was going to save the youth of western Sydney, not the western Transvaal.
February 2nd 2010 @ 5:58pm
ItsCalledFootball said | February 2nd 2010 @ 5:58pm | Report comment
Same thing to Sheedy.