The Pacific Cross Health Insurance AFL Masters Cup will see games consisting of two 12-minute halves, with 12 players per side and players aged 35 years or older.
The Singapore Sharks are returning to defend their 2023 title. Last year was a tri-series between the Singapore Sharks, Thailand Tigers and Phuket Power. Singapore took the title with a 4 goal win against Phuket Power and a 5 goal win against the Thailand Tigers.
Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia are strongholds for AFL in Asia due to their large Australian Expat communities and long running AFL programs.
Malaysia and Indonesia are both previous winners of AFL Masters tournaments in Phuket. Returning for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, they are joining forces and should provide very stiff competition for the other teams.
Local side The Phuket Power are looking for a stronger showing than past tournaments. During the past 12 months, AFL has grown exponentially in Phuket, largely due to players from other sporting codes such as rugby (the Phuket Vagabonds), netball and the Hash House Harriers applying their skills in a new domain. There were several local AFL matches played in July and August this year with a final hitout scheduled for Oct 13.
In the recent AFL Asian Championships held in Chonburi, Thailand’s men’s and women’s teams featured a total of 12 players from Phuket including 3 indigenous Thais. The Phuket players handled themselves admirably against national teams from across Asia. Billy Costoglou, Jacob King, Joshua Spoke and Shaun Kober all polled well in Thailand’s recent best and fairest vote count. Kym Gillian-Downey received ’All Asia’ honours for her performances in the Asian Championships. She was also runner-up in Thailand’s AFL Women’s vote count.
ROUGH TACKLES
AFL (Australian rules football) is a popular winter sport in Australia, with the highest spectator attendance and television viewership of all domestic sports Down Under. The AFL Grand Final, held annually at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), is the second-highest-attended club championship event in the world. On Saturday (Sept 28), the Brisbane Lions swept aside the Sydney Swans to win the 2024 Championship in front of 100,000 fans at the MCG.
AFL is an exciting contact sport due to its fast pace and physicality. Points are scored by kicking the oval shaped ball through the goals or point posts at each end of the ground. Players run, tackle, block, kick, catch and hand pass the ball in order to get it to their teams goals. Many of the game’s skills can be found in Gaelic football, rugby, American football, as well as football.
The AFL Masters use the same rules as open age AFL matches but umpires apply stricter interpretations and free kicks for rough tackles and unwarranted contact during a marking contest.
Admission to the ACG on Oct 26 is free so spectators, sports enthusiasts and families are encouraged to come along and add to the atmosphere of international sport in Phuket, with hot food and cold drinks available for purchase throughout the day.
Exact match fixtures will be released closer to the date with the first game of the morning slated for a 10am start.
Awards will be handed out after the match by tournament sponsors, including Pacific Cross Health Insurance, LadyPie, Aussie Divers Phuket, PhuketGolf.net, The Phuket News and Legends Sports Bar Patong, who will have their work cut out selecting the best players.
New players of all ages are welcome to contact the Phuket Power through their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PhuketPowerAFL. The next friendly match is scheduled for Oct 13 at the ACG.