Australian Country Football Council

Here we are again; sitting down at the footy for the big show – the 2008 Landmark Australian Country Football Carnival. Eight teams from across the nation gather in Shepparton to contest the ultimate prize in country football – to be named the Australian Country Champions.

Getting everyone to this point has been like a mini army operation for each team as they work out itineries and availabilities, training schedules and airport transfers, accommodation and meal requirements.

For those of us who watch a bit of country football in our home patch we might well be surprised at just how good these boys are. They are taking the game to the next level up from the domestic competitions.

Player for player, these guys are the best in the business; chosen for their strength, leadership ability, mercurial skill, pace, presence and potential to crack a game open.

The Goulburn Murray is a heartland of Australian Rules Football. Many greats of the game have started their careers in this part of Victoria, and some of the names that still play here are writ large in country folklore. The GV League hosted the recent Victorian Country Championships at Deakin Reserve, beating the Ovens & Murray to the winning post in a tightly contested battle.

For lovers of country footy, this carnival is a mouth watering prospect.

Victoria heads to this carnival as the defending title holders in both divisions.

The dramatic final seconds of regular time in the 2006 Division One Final on the Gold Coast will not be forgotten for many years to come. The 70 metre torpedo by Joe McLaren split the big sticks, and some say the spirit of the ACT team. It was the stuff of legend.

All fans hope we are lucky enough to get the same sort of finishes here in Shepparton and Mooroopna over the three days of play in 2008. It is what we come to the footy to see.

Victoria has assembled a coaching panel that would be the envy of many AFL teams. Essendon legend Terry Daniher is at the reins, ably assisted by Dean Rice, John Barnes, Chris Naish and Nathan Bower. This coaching panel boasts nearly 1000 games of top level experience. If the Victoria boys need to dig deep, they only need to look to their coaches for the grit, determination and winning record for inspiration.

The Victoria District team looks very different to the one that emerged victorious in the 2006 Carnival. It represents the strength of district football in this state.

This is the team that bashed and crashed through the VAFA a couple of months ago to a comprehensive win. Strong bodies and aggression at the contest will be the hallmark of this team.

The ACT boys have been waiting for this Carnival for 103 weeks. No doubt, the trip home from the Gold Coast felt much longer than it should have. Word out of the Capital is that the pace on the training track has been red hot, from a team full of champions from one of the strongest competitions in the country.

The New South Wales team has been bolstered by a number of players from the border country around Albury. These players, being hardened by the bump and grind of the Ovens & Murray league, will be well on the pace in Championship footy.

There will be no surprises for the experienced coaching staff of NSW Country. Coaches Corey Lambert, Damien Sexton and Nick Carroll know all about this kind of football, having played in the region themselves and represented their states a number of times.

Western Australia will be well tuned for the Australian Country Football Carnival having just come off their own Championship rounds. The rumble coming out of the West was that this team is coming across with one goal in mind – to win the Cup. These might be fighting words, but eyes in the West say that the cattle have been assembled to do the job.

South Australia has rejoined the competition after a few years out of the Australian Country Football Carnival. They are a somewhat unknown quantity. There is no doubt that the football in South Australia is strong, with the Riverland and Peninsula producing champions year after year.

The crow-eaters are playing their cards very close to their chests. Oppositions teams will be champing at the bit to see the first ten minutes of footy from the South Australian team to try to get a mark on the style and strengths of their football in 2008.

While the Aboriginal All Stars have been battling with injuries as they have been putting their squad together, they will be a force to be reckoned with once the ball is bounced. This team were champions a few years ago, and coach Eddie Hocking is very keen to again play on the big stage. A large local support for the indigenous boys will remind them that they play for not just the team, but the hopes and pride of their people.

The All Stars might just be hoping for rain as the ideal conditions to showcase their skills, and get the best advantage from their squad.

Imagine being a selector for the Queensland team. Over 1600 kms separates Brisbane from Cairns, with footy played betwixt and between. Two training squads have been merged to make the final team travelling to Shepparton.

The steady improvement in performance by the Queensland team over the last few years has one step to go. These here are big times for Australian Rules Footy in Queensland, and the country boys hope to lead the charge by imposing themselves on Division Two, giving the traditional football states even more to talk about.

We only hope the boys from the North have brought their winter woollies with them, as they may be kicking the frost off the grass while in Victoria this week!

If you have got mates around Victoria or the nation who might be interested in the Carnival, get on the phone and tell them to log onto the internet where games are being streamed live from Deakin Reserve and Mooroopna Rec Reserve. Just go to www.acfc.com.au and follow the links.

To all the boys – enjoy yourselves and play hard.

You are out there representing the hundreds of thousands of country footballers who go out to battle in dusty paddocks and rain soaked bog holes every week of the footy season; from the mountain country to the coast; the bright lights of the regional cities to the open skies of the outback; from the kids who kick the footy around the schoolyard, to the old blokes who still tell the stories of opposition vanquished many years ago.

To the victors – the spoils.