AFL seeking Chinese interest

Thank's Brett, I seem to recall that detail now you mentioned it.

there's a reference to the Sandler scene in this article on footy (NY Magpies) in, of all things, the Wall Street Journal!!!. Includes comments like : For Dan Lehane, the teenaged son of Irish immigrants, it was watching an International Rules Football series on TV, one between Aussie football players and Gaelic football players, where the Aussie players seemed to keep having their way with the fellows from his parents' country. - - - just goes to show - - the IR matches CAN actually help grow Aust Footy participation,.....or Irish in America!!! and I like this comment around the skills : "The skill of kicking a ball that's not round—probably seriously, I couldn't really kick a ball three years in," he said. "But that doesn't mean you can't play. It means you can't kick it well." there's also a recent article from Colombus (where a the Columbus Jackeroos were established only back in 2008 - - and 2 weeks back they got up over Cincinatti by 1 pt in Milwaukee). Ward was introduced to the Jackaroos (founded by Chet Ridenour in 2008) by his brother-in-law John Fisher. It is, to say the least, an eclectic squad. "We do have a large number of former soccer players; we have a couple of rugby players. Those are the sports with the easiest transition to Australian football," said Ward. While it was almost love at first sight between Ward and the sport known as "footy," his transition wasn't seamless. "The kicking was the hardest thing to figure out," Ward said. "The goal is to get a nice backspin. In America, we teach the two-hand drop. If the ball isn't dropped completely vertical, that's when you skew the ball off." It does illustrate that there ARE people out there who will and do fall in love with the game in foreign lands.

They're not chinese visitors, they're Chinese government officials from the Department of Internet Safety and Integrity of the Peoples Republic of China making sure the site has no propaganda or porn or Google ads.

hahaha That Eric Bana bit is from the movie "Funny People". That was a pretty good promo for Aussie Rules as it was one of the funniest bits in the movie too.

Didn't you know? played half forward flank for the West Coast Eagles in the mid 2000s. There's another pic of Eric Bana throwing a footy NFL style in a St Kilda shirt, go figure? Something about meta-tags and internet searches? Dont ask me, I dont speak mandarin. :-)

I wonder what message the AFL are trying to send about Australia? http://www.51afl.com/node/236

Website here: http://www.51afl.com/ Mr Rudd, any hints?

I remember the Coodabeens talking about this very subject. the first known VFL player of Chinese ancestry was Wally Koochew, played 4 games for Carlton back in 1908: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wally_Koochew

Repub, News only own the broadcast rights for SANZAR comps (Super Rugby, TNs) within Australia. That revenue certainly counts toward SANZAR (and therefore, the ARU) finances, but it certainly doesn't 'finance the game' as it does the NRL....

I wouldn't worry about AFL, it is ingrained and has deep support. Crowds = active support.

Will 'News' being exposed have any flow on effect to Union at the 'Super' level? News finances this as well does it not? If that's the case then they are bound to come under further public scrutiny surely.

12,000 visitors to the AFL China website as per Herald Sun today. Only 1,324,655,320 to go. :-)

Ian Of course it will. Many here underestimate the grip Aussie Rules has on its follower's. Having lived in WA I can tell you they are fanatical. I am yet to meet any supporter of any code that are as deeply entrenched. Its not a bad thing. Ensures there'll always be an audience. As for China. AFL will provide that gimmick factor. Something new and exotic. However, without any real Government support and investment that is all it will ever be.

Redb I'm looking forward for News and the NRL to be exposed! I agree with you the conflict of interest and public manipulation here is massive. Rugby league as a game will survive though. Question is, will the AFL once RL gets its act together?

and the Crows had listed a kid of Indian descent. Geelong has a Sri Lankan descent player on their list, and of course Peter Bell was Korean. Collingwood/Melbourne had Danny Seow who was of Chinese descent. There've been a scattering of others.

Jimbo - I feel compelled to reply to you here if just to be publicly seen as saying - - Jimbo, I agree 100%.

The Storm aren't evil but their former CEO was dodgy. You're right that News are evil. They own half the NRL and have a much bigger influence than the ARL. The NRL commission is about kicking News out of rugby league as much as anything else.

Your right...I'm just so used to scrolling down from the giant page sized NRL banner I forget it's there :)

AndyRoo, your wrong, it's the Daily NRL Telegraph. ;-)

Talking about the Daily Telegraph,for the online version they have an AFL, Tennis and Golf section but no Soccer section.