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WESTERN CAPE DEFEND NATIONAL TITLE


24th September, 2010

“We will select an SA Lions National team from this year’s event to play the touring Australian Amateur U23’s on Sunday Oct 3 which will be a terrific test for the group as they prepare for next year’s AFL International Cup in Australia,” said Stewart Edge, AFL Talent expert.

 

The Western Cape Magpies will defend their National footyWILD Championship title in Cape Town this week at City of Cape Town oval, the Khayelitsha Cricket Ground.

Whilst it a long way from the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) where the Australian Football League (AFL) Grand Final is played in front of 100,000 screaming fans every September, AFL South Africa’s flagship event at a township cricket ground, shows that the emergence of South Africa’s newest football code, is ever so slowly starting to mirror the game’s humble beginnings in Australia over 150 years ago.
 
Aussie cricketers invented Australian Football in 1858 as a sport they could play during the winter to keep fit. They used cricket ovals to play this new game and since its emergence in suburban Melbourne all those years ago, Australian Football has enjoyed a close-knit relationship with cricket. 
 
“Major grounds such as the MCG and the Sydney Cricket Ground are kept alive during the winter months through regular use by AFL, before returning to cricket each summer.” said AFLSA Operations Manager Joel Kelly. “The ability for codes to share costs and benefits makes practical and economic sense and it is one area we are working on in South Africa, though we know it will take some time to become widely accepted as it a new concept”.
 
This will be third National Championships since 2008 when the North West Dockers took out the inaugural award against newcomers Western Cape Magpies at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom, another South African cricket ground enjoying the benefits of multi-code use.   
 
Last year’s Championships, played at South Africa’s very own MCG, the Mohadin Cricket Ground in Potchefstroom, were won by the Western Cape with the Magpies clearly demonstrating the benefits of a well-structured BlueScope Steel Extreme Competition in Cape Town.
 
Last year’s Championships featured a revised format with each Province required to field at least 8 players of High School age, as a viable way of identifying potential young talent in a pressure environment.
 
“The younger men will be playing against bigger, stronger bodies so any potential young talent will shine through,” said AFL Talent expert Stewart Edge. “If they can genuinely play at a younger age, this event will bring that skill to the fore”.
 
Melbourne-based Edge is a regular to South Africa having spent valuable time in the South African Lions camp mentoring SA’s emerging coaches and players on the last 2 AIS / AFL Academy tours, this year’s Flying Boomerangs tour and now the upcoming National Championships.
 
“We will select an SA Lions National team from this year’s event to play the touring Australian Amateur U23’s on Sunday Oct 3 which will be a terrific test for the group as they prepare for next year’s AFL International Cup in Australia,” said Edge.
 
 
 
 

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