Play Aussie Sherrin Footballs

write for usfootynews

AFL AFLW Footy Tipping Contests 2021

Written by
Published in Editorial
Thursday, 04 March 2021 19:10

What is “Footy Tipping”?

Footy Tipping is the term for office pools where players nominate which teams will win that week.

While betting on the AFL is not uncommon in Australia and around the world these days, this tipping competition is NOT betting, this is a FREE contest, for FUN, with WEEKLY PRIZES in the AFL Men's Contest.

This is your typical Footy Tipping Competition:

Put in your tips at any point up until the beginning of each game. (be aware, East Coast of Australia is 16 hrs ahead of EST USA)

Enter what you think will be the margin for the first game of the round.

Updated results table/leaderboard available after the completion of each round

If you forget to tip you will receive 0 points for each game missed & will be awarded the margin difference of the first game of the round.

If you forget to tip you will automatically be allocated the Away Teams for your tips with a maximum of 4 correct tips awarded.


 The FREE CONTESTS this year are below

Sponsored by and from PlayAussie.com (Prize eligibilty is ony open to USA residents)

AFL - pro MENS league (March thru Sept)
https://www.footytips.com.au/competitions/?competitionId=594588

AFLW - pro WOMENS league (Jan thru April)
https://www.footytips.com.au/competitions/?competitionId=637418

Note: If going to www.footytips.com.au and you can't find our contests, search for 'Friends of US Footy' and our two contests will show

Great news from a tough year for Aussie Rules Football in the USA is the formation of the first ever team in Alabama. The Birmingham Bushrangers are about to join the growing South East USA footy world and ready to start and play games in 2021 when the sport gets back on it's feet. The Bushrangers are the work and passion of Aussie expat Joel Dixon a former University of Alabama at Birmingham punter, who came to the USA as part of the Pro Kick organization that helps Aussie players development the skills to make it in the College Football programs and then maybe onto the NFL itself.

Dixon is no stranger to footy either having played in Wodonga, Victoria & Melbourne as well as Brisbane where he got his first taste of footy as a youngster for the Morningside juniors, before coming over to the USA several years ago and completing his studies at UAB. Now settled into life in Birmingham, Dixon has been slowly gathering interest in the Birmingham area for Aussie Rules footy and already has 10-12 players practicing consistently, even in these challenging times. With teams just to the east in Georgia like the Atlanta Kookaburras and the Rome Redbacks and the Nashville Kangaroos just to the north in Tennessee, there is a likely a good chance that combined with the Savannah Hurricane also in Georgia and the Jacksonville Saints in Florida, a resurfacing of the SEAFL is on the cards in the future.

The Bushrangers name was not unfamiliar obviously to Dixon having been in the North Central Victoria area where the Murray Bushrangers based in Wangaratta have been part of the NAB league in Australia since 1993 (then TAC Cup), where the best 18 year olds and younger are groomed for careers in the AFL.

The challenges in front of the Bushrangers according to Dixon are many he related to USFootyNews. "We want to establish ourselves as a great alternative sport in Birmingham firstly by securing a permanent home ground and then facilitating the growth of the sport in the region with women's, youth and kids programs and teams for the community to enjoy. Getting involved in the local business community is also important to us and giving back to the community an equally important aspect of that relationship". Dixon offered.

The Bushrangers will make four new teams in the South East in the last few years, Jacksonville, Rome, Savannah & now Birmingham. If you add Tampa that came about after the USAFL delisted the St Pete Swans FL a few years back, it makes five. Where is there other similar growth in the USA? We dont know, but it has been long over due and there is possiby another two teams forming as part of the www.Footy5000.com project in the South East, so keep an eye out for that and be sure South East Aussie Rules is going to be getting some notice.

Denver women's footy looking for a great 2020

Written by
Published in Denver
Wednesday, 11 March 2020 23:20

On a recent Outside 50 podcast we chatted to Tara Cilke of the Denver Lady Bulldogs. Tara has spent 5 years playing with the Bulldogs and has played in a Div 1 womens National Championship team.

The Denver Bulldogs led the way for many years in women's footy racking a bunch of National titles and now are focusing on bringing more women to the sport in the Denver area.

Sara talks about all things women's footy at the Bulldogs and her enthusiasm for the upcoming 2020 season and women's footy in general shines through.

Visit and like the Denver Bulldogs on Facebook or see them on your Social Media of preference by just searching for Denver Bulldogs. They also have a very nice website at www.denverbulldogs.com

RVA Lions forging ahead on growth plan

Written by
Published in Richmond
Sunday, 08 March 2020 22:02

On a recent Outside 50 podcast we chatted with Richmond Virginia Lions club founder Darren Green and new player Ian McCormick. Darren who has been a long time follower of footy was eager to get a team going in his chosen new home of Richmond VA, however, Ian found the sport whilst teaching in Geelong Victoria.

The RVA Lions have and are taking a very different path towards future success by building relationships through many community projects.

Having a limited expat community in the Richmond VA area, the approach is certainly worthy of a listen to anyone involved in growing Aussie Rules in the USA. With new and unique local initiatives and the support of other USAFL clubs to their north and south in the Washington DC Eagles and NC Togers respectively, they could be on the road to forging a new path for Aussie Rules football to be enjoyed along the east coast of the USA.

Visit and like the RVA Lions on Facebook or see them on your Social Media of preference by just searching for RVA Lions.

In September 1997 an end of year footy tournament was held one Saturday in Cincinnati Ohio with five teams from around the USA, Los Angeles, Nashville, St Louis, a combined team from Kansas City/Louisville, the hosts Cincinnati of course and one team from Toronto, the Broadview Hawks. Prior to that day in ‘97 there had been over a dozen games of Aussie Rules Footy played across the USA, even some in 1996. These games mostly were held in the Midwest, but teams of interested players had started to spring up across the country. The Cincinnati Dockers team went on to win that day on their home turf, what was later in the night when you read on, decided to be the inaugural USA Australian Rules Football National Championship.

As has become a great tradition in the present era of the USAFL National Championships, a social event was always in order after playing all day or all weekend. In 1997 players and supporters had to drive a 40+ mile trip across the state line into Indiana to attend, what was unknown at the time, to become a historic night in the annuals of Australian Rules Football.

Held in a far away country barn with dead animals on the walls and a horse shoe throwing pit out front and a bonfire, a meeting of footy mates was held. Though it was late in the evening, out the back of the barn from the rowdy crowd, players and organizers of footy clubs participating that day held the infamous, "The Meeting Behind the Barn".

That meeting lit by one overhead light and with a group of about ten to twelve footy lovers from around the country, became the birth of the USAFL as we know it today. On the recent ‘Outside 50’ podcast ‘The Meeting Behind the Barn’ (published on this page), we hear the stories of three attendees of that very meeting nearly 24 years ago. Paul 'Plugger' O'Keefe, Rich Mann and Mike Powers were there, not so fresh maybe from a long Saturday of footy, but energetic enough to gather a group together to talk about the future of footy in the USA. On the podcast they recount some of the events leading up to that weekend and night, and much of the history they made soon after, helping grow the game of Aussie Rules Football across the USA to what it has become today.

The founding member teams of the USAFA as it was formed that night in Indiana according to what we have been able to discover were, Washington D.C., Indianapolis, Nashville, Louisville, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, St Louis and Kansas City.

From just over those dozen games in 1997, the games total grew to over a hundred in just a few years, thanks mostly to these three footy lovers, these eight clubs and many other club founders around the USA. And the event held at the end of the year, named on that 1997 night and won by that Cincinnati Dockers team, was from that day on called the USA Aussie Rules National Championships. The USAFL Nationals as it is known now, has now possibly grown to become the biggest Australian Rules Football event in the world, with close to 2000 men and women players playing on six fields from 9am on Saturday to 6.00pm on Sunday, normally held over the second weekend of October.

Paul, Rich and Mikey, chatted to us about the characters they remember and the lifelong friendships they have made from footy throughout the years. The leaders that have moved on, retired and unfortunately passed away. These three legends that helped make the USAFL what it is today with their early day champions of the game, we are pleased to say are still going strong and still playing amazingly. Well, at least at the National Championships each year they are anyway. ;)

From the vision of Paul O'Keefe and the support of Rich Mann and Mike Powers plus the others at that meeting and the many club leaders that followed soon after, we should applaud them all often, pay respect and due acknowledgment, as without them many of us would not be enjoying footy as we know it in the USA today.

'The Meeting Behind the Barn' is a historic story of Australian Rules Football growth, passion and the pure love of the game, and we hope this tale of ‘The Meeting Behind the Barn’ will live for as long as the game is played.

 

Ref: The Story of USfooty: Lexington, Mass: Lexington Press, c2003 - John Doc Cheffers with Greg Narleski

North Star Blue Ox women ready for 4th year

Written by
Published in North Star (Blue Ox)
Sunday, 16 February 2020 20:41

This will be the 4th season the North Star Blue Ox have been in existence after a several Minnesota Freeze women players decided to start their own team in the Minneapolis/St Paul area in 2017.

Recently when we wrote and article and spoke to newest standalone women's team the Centennial Tigers & Sara Rohner, we realized we hadn't finished an article last year about the North Star Blue Ox, the very first single women’s team in the USAFL. So we reached out again to get an update and chatted briefly again with North Star Blue Ox's, Helen Phillips, to bring us up to speed.

The North Star Blue Ox got their name as Minnesota is known as the North Star state, with "L'Etoile du Nord" being the state motto. Blue Ox comes from Paul Bunyan the lumberjack folklore. Minnesota lays claim to being his birthplace, and he was accompanied in his exploits by Babe, the Blue Ox.

In the previous 6 years women’s footy had grown significantly in the area with the Minnesota Freeze women taking full teams and some, to the USAFL Nationals and many players making the USA Freedom and Liberty teams in the previous 5 years.

The growth of the Minnesota Women's team opened up the opportunity to grow the game further, by being able to play more official USAFL games.

The excitement of a new team, The North Star Blue Ox however those years back, allowed a renewed focus for the love of the game and the building of friendships. The first President of the team Marie LaVictorie, had been a USA Freedom representative as far back as the late 2000s. Other Freedom representatives since have been Emily Smuder and Brianne Theisen, the latter is now the Blue Ox's coach. It's also worth noting that one of the 2019 Rookies, Hannah Alexander was awarded the Cooper's Medal at the 2019 Nationals.

The club remains small and last year at the Sarasota FL Nationals only 4 players attended. Playing with the Columbus Cats & Nashville Kangaroos combined team however in Div 2, they finished with a win on Sunday for their efforts. In 2018 6 players played in the Racine Wisconsin USAFL National Championships.

However, the focus of the team is often more about fun, playing with new people and making new friends than achieving lofty goals. And also it is worth mentioning many teams assess their success or failure, wrongly we believe at times, by how well they attend and perform at the USAFL National Championships each October.

For any new club in the US there are many challenges and we are sure for a standalone women’s team this would be even more exaggerated. The Blue Ox started with zero, no funding, no structure to build on, but plenty of ambition. You hear teams are built on passion right? Well this might be the perfect example.

In 2019 the Blue Ox were able to play relatively close to their home base in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St Paul, playing with the Chicago Swans team and playing against their cross town rivals the Freeze. So the 2019 year was the most successful year in terms of playing local games and having fun playing.

The Blue Ox were able to secure a sponsor in their first year but have had little luck finding partners since. This puts some financial strain on the club, with small memberships and limited support externally, growth can only be slow. But that is ok for this team Helen Phillips told USFootyNews. "We are having fun."

Helen, who has been with the club all 4 years, "temporarily retired" from playing with the Freeze, but was lured back by the Blue Ox. Chatting with USFootyNews, Helen let us know, "Since the split with the Minnesota Freeze a friendly relationship has developed and there are opportunities for Blue Ox players to play with both teams more often."

"The team practices are out in the Golden Valley area, just west of Minneapolis, and the goal in 2020 is as in any year for the Blue Ox, it is have a good time, get our rookies exposed to Nationals and other Championships events and get them hooked on a great sport for women." "Also to find some younger players to join the sport would be nice". Helen added.

Younger players in fact is the challenge for all teams across the USA where the average age of an American recruit to the game is often in the late 20s or even higher.

So the first standalone women's only team The North Star Blue Ox, is alive in well, well maybe a bit chilly right now. But come the full spring and summer, they will be back at it, playing women's Aussie Rules footy in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

 

 

 

Tom Ellis Revolution Head Coach ready for 2020 IC

Written by
Published in Revolution News
Thursday, 13 February 2020 20:38

On the recent 'Outside 50' podcast with Tom Ellis the USA Revolution Head Coach, we learnt things are changing up in a big way for the USA Revolution and the International Cup in Queensland Australia beginning in late July. With the increased opportunities for US players to play in Australia, Tom and his fellow coaches have quite the dilemma on their hands trying to select the best team for the 2020 IC.

"It is a great thing to have happen really for the team" Tom said. With nearly a dozen USA players now playing in Australia, mostly in the Melbourne suburban leagues, its making the selection process to make the USA Revolution team more complicated but more exciting at the same time.

Tom first played with the Denver Bulldogs in 1999 and has been a part of the Bulldogs legendary eight Div 1 championship wins, the last being in 2011. Tom has also been a player himself in two International Cups and this year will be his second time visiting Australia as Head Coach of the USA Revolution.

With a Revolution camp coming up in late February in Houston Texas and a separate tour planned to Croatia this year, headed up by Kyle Strenski, the USA men's team development is certainly going ahead full steam. There are still player spots up for grabs too with the final team of 28 and 2 emergencies to be named after the late February camp in Houston. From then on it is fundraising and ensuring players are prepared physically and mentally for the two week tour on the Sunshine Coast of southern Queensland. A stark contrast from every previous IC which have been held in Melbourne and notably under wintry conditions.

There is no opportunity to play on the MCG this year, but the final of the International Cup will be curtain raisers and curtain closer at a Brisbane Lions v North Melbourne Kangaroos game at the GABBA on August 8th

You can follow along with the Revolution team in the lead up to the IC on their Facebook page here.

Christina Licata, a remarkable unfinished Footy story

Written by
Published in Freedom News
Sunday, 09 February 2020 15:49

As the 2020 International Cup in Queensland, Australia looms on the horizon in late July, this year the women's USA Freedom team Head Coach, Christina Licata's unfinished story is remarkable already. From the humble beginnings of finding the sport whilst attending her last year of College at Arizona State University, to establishing the first women's team in New York, to being the only Level 2 AFL coach in the USA, to now leading the USA team herself into battle at the 2020 IC. It is a story of hard work, perseverance and passion for Aussie Rules Football.

Christina originally played with one of the only three women's teams at the time in the USA the Arizona Hawks and attended the first National Championships for women in the USA, which was played in Milwaukee Wisconsin in 2005. Though the Hawks were not successful that weekend that taste of competitive contact sport was enough to fuel a passion for Aussie Rules Football that is still as evident today as it was 16 years ago. Unfortunately Christina suffered from two ACL knee injuries, the second in 2013 after moving to New York in 2008. Christina hung up her playing boots after the second one, but that did not stop her from continuing on in the sport she now loves, helping establish and later becoming the Head Coach of the New York Magpies women's team. With the help of her best friend to this day she met in college in Arizona, Andrea Murphillas (Casillas), they have been pioneers of women's footy in New York and across the USA.

With a drive beyond all in the USA so far, Christina became the only USA Level 2 AFL coach in the country, either men's or women's. It was inevitable perhaps or destiny maybe that she would be appointed in 2018 as the USA Freedom Head Coach and lead the team to Australia on tour. It is not a place unfamiliar to Christina being a part of the very first tour to Australia in 2009, at a time well before International women's AFL football was a thing.

For our soon to be released episode of Outside 50 podcast show, Christina mentions some of the people that have helped and guided her along the way. New York men's coach Rob Oliver especially and another notable was Chyloe Kurdas who made a significant contribution to the organization and therefore success of the 2009 Freedom tour but also to women's sport in general when working for AFL Victoria. Chyloe was also an attendee at USAFL National Championships and ran clinics in New York and other places around the USA, as a true leader of international women's footy development she remains a great friend of Christina's and many USA women players around the country, to this day.

Also in our interview, Christina elaborated on the plans this year for the final Freedom camp weekend to be held in Sacramento, taking place from May 28th to the 31st. There the 28 selected players and 6 emergencies will undergo testing, advanced coaching seminars and certainly full scale match practice sessions, prepping them all for not only the 2020 IC tour, but the future of the sport in the USA.

As Head Coach of USA, Christina was clear that the goal at the 2020 International Cup was, "Win it all", but still pleased to say like maybe a typical well educated coach, "we will take it one game at a time, when the time comes."

There is no doubt regardless of the results on the Sunshine Coast later this year, women's USA footy at the highest level is in good hands, through Christina Licata's, vision, drive and passion for the sport there is no looking back, only forward.

We are proud to know her and to have seen part of her unfinished story.

Centennial Tigers arrive quietly but mean business

Written by
Published in Centennial (Tigers)
Tuesday, 28 January 2020 01:16

Pretty much under the radar a new Women's team has emerged just outside of Denver in Colorado, the Centennial Tigers. They have been established largely on the growth of their now neighbors the women's team in the Denver Bulldogs, and are looking to establish themselves as a competitive outfit very quickly in women's footy in the USA. The team formed way back in October 2019, lead by Denver player and board member Sara Rohner. They are the 46th member club of the USAFL.

To give you a roadmap perspective maybe, Centennial is about a 20-30 minute drive south of Denver, so not that far, and home to about 100,000 people. The Denver area has a population of around 2.8 million, which makes it the 28th most populous city in the USA. (Only 28th? I can hear some Aussie saying ;)

Recently they announced their first Head Coach, Destry Gillette. Destry played all of his footy career with the Denver Bulldogs up the road, debuting in 2000, and was a member of the Bulldogs when they strung together several Div 1 Premiership wins in the early 2000s. The appointment as Head Coach however will herald his first active return to the sport after a several knee surgeries.

This week Sara Rohner told USFootNews though the decision to break away from the Denver Bulldogs wasn't easy, the time and effort to continue with the club when you have to drive multiple hours in peak hour traffic just to practice, had some to do with it. Sara also reminded us this isn't the first time a club has split off to start a team and in fact in the early 2000s there was a split off from the Denver Bulldog men’s team in Colorado Springs, called the Rocky Mountain Saints. That split didn't last long but others have followed in recent years, the Minnesota Freeze women's team split off to form the North Star Blue Ox, also a standalone women's team, and on the men's teams two more recent splits were the Arizona Hawks to Arizona Outlaws and the DC Eagles amicable split to form the Baltimore Dockers to become their own team.

From their website, the Centennial Tigers have a clear message to their purpose.

The Centennial Tigers were established on a foundation of core values: Tenacity, Integrity, Grit, Empowerment, Respect and Sportsmanship (TIGERS). While winning is always fun, our main desire is to empower women of all ages through sport. We’ve witnessed transformations in countless women by helping improve fitness, building self confidence, and encouraging each woman to be herself.

Just recently the Centennial Tigers were recognized at the Colorado Women’s Sports Fund Association (CWSFA) grant banquet in Fort Collins. The Tigers received a $500 grant from the organization for their "dedication to growing women’s participation in Colorado sports".

Already numbering a solid group of players up to 30 in all Sara Rohner told us, from the areas of Centennial, Greenwood Village, Englewood, Littleton, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Parker, Castle Rock and Elizabeth cities/towns, the Tigers look to stamp their mark on the USAFL's women's footy soon. There is a chance many will see them in action first at the Central Regionals in Dallas and then most definitely at the USAFL Western Regionals, which is across town virtually in the opposite direction from Denver, in Westminster CO.

You can read more about the Tigers and follow them on social media by visiting their website at https://centennialtigers.com

Kids Saturday Morning Footy Still Going Strong

Written by
Published in Washington D.C.
Monday, 27 January 2020 20:55

Kids Saturday Morning Footy in DC ready for its 16th year

A junior kids football program in Washington DC is gearing up for its 16th consecutive year of teaching 6-9 year olds in the DC area about Aussie Rules Football. The program that is run each year by Chris Adams who has lived in the area since 2002, is very similar to the Auskick program run by the AFL in all parts of Australia.

Chris first got involved in USA footy in Wisconsin in 1999 then later moved to DC with his family. An avid Carlton Blues fan it has been a passion of his to grow the Australian game he loves. Chris told USFootyNews this past week, “probably over 1000 kids have gone through the 6 week program ran in the USA summer so far.”  Whats is fantastic Chris’ son CJ who started in the program when he was six, has gone on to play men’s team football for the Minnesota Freeze, helping that team win a Div 2 USAFL National title in 2018. CJ also played in Australia in 2019 whilst studying at the University of Sydney and both he and his Dad Chris, helped umpire at the International Cup in 2017.

In the early days Chris was mentored by DC Eagles stalwart and later USAFL President Denis Ryan on how to run the program and with the help of another former USAFL President now back in Australia Mark Wheeler. “Wheels had a role with AFL Victoria when he went home to Australia, and with his guidance it helped the Saturday Morning Footy Program become established and be a stable program since.” Chris also related. Matt and Amy Bishop who were also strong contributors to the DC Eagles and had rolls in the USA National teams at that time, (Matt was USA Revolution coach) also helped Chris run the programs on Saturday mornings.

Interestingly enough the program is free for kids to participate and with the support of some local sponsors and give-ways from AFL teams such as the Adelaide Crows and Freemantle Dockers over the years it continues to be a next to no cost way kids can learn the fundamentals and culture of Aussie Rules Football. “It’s a program that is unique mostly to DC with no other consistent kids programs in the USA that we know of for the 5-9 year old age group.

Our hats are off to Chris Adams, a founder of USFootyNews, to sticking with this program, long after his son CJ had grown, as well as all the volunteering he has completed over the years for USA footy.

You can find out more about the Saturday Morning Football program in Washington DC by visiting the website https://satmorningfooty.com or listen into to an upcoming episode of "Outside 50' podcast.

Page 1 of 2

Connect With Us

fb2ig.fwtw.fw

Contact Us

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.