The New Zealand Hawks will take on a squad from the AFL AIS Academy in Wellington at Westpac Stadium on January 25th with a very strong squad that is believed to be every chance of beating the Australians after the 2013 game ended with a 43 point loss to the New Zealand side.
The New Zealand squad will feature eleven players from the Auckland provincial championship side and much of the rest of the squad will come from Australia, with a mix of youth and experience.
The squad includes two AFL international scholarship holders, Siope Ngata (Hawthorn) and Joe Baker-Thomas (St Kilda). Khan Haretuku (Frankston, VFL) will also line up for the Hawks, as will four members of the Northern Territory Thunder including the Thunder captain, Cameron Illet, and Lachlan Argus, Matthew Argus and Brendon Clark. Andrew Howison (Collegians, VAFA) and Andy Christenson round out the Australian based contingent.
With a strong squad, sprinkled with experience, the New Zealand side are more confident than ever that the gap between the AIS and NZ sides is getting smaller and smaller.
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The New Zealand National Combine will be held on January 23rd at the ASB Indoor Stadium in Wellington. Participants in the combine will come from the elite of the New Zealand high performance program.
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The SANH (AFL Croatia) is conducting a fundraiser via Sportfunder to construct their own Australian football facility in Zagreb. Currently they train on a dirt field, but have recently been offered the opportunity to properly construct an australian football field, however they lack the ability to fund it themselves. For more information please visit: http://www.sanh.hr
