CSB - Chris Mundell - 2024 AFL Pacific Cup

New Zealand's Australian Rules Football sides head off for the 2024 AFL Pacific Cup this weekend, with players excited to be part of international action. For the men's Falcons side, it will be their first international games in five years, and for the women's Kahu team it will be their first ever.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
From the cricket field to the cow shed. It's the
Country Sport Breakfast with Brian Kelly on gold Sport. Well.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
New Zealand's Australian rules football sides are heading off across
the Tasman today, the home of the AFL really to
compete in the AFL Pacific Cup this weekend. For the
men's team it's the Falcon side. It'll be their first
international games in five years. They were there for the
first time in twenty seventeen. And for the women's team,
the Kahu they are known, it will be the first

(00:28):
time ever. Joining US coach of the Falcons the men's team,
Chris Mandel.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
Morning, Chris morning, how are you very very well? Thank you.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
It's a sport we don't sort of think very much
of here in New Zealand. Ozzie's the home home of AFIL, really.

Speaker 3 (00:43):
Isn't it.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
Yeah, you know it is Australia's sport. But it has
been played here in New Zealand for a long time,
in varying levels. A degree, it's been in New Zealand
foremost as long as it had been in Australia, certainly
not to the same extent or scale, but we have
been bubbling away.

Speaker 3 (00:58):
How big is it in New Zealand?

Speaker 1 (00:59):
Then oh, look at it's still a minority sport. But
we are you know, we have three leagues across the country, Auckland,
Wellington and christ Church. We have players who come from
all parts from the corrimandal to demean to the need
them to funk at a who come and join those
club leagues. We grow. As you know, we've got a
strong Kiwi Kick program which is as live into schools
and gets young kids having a crack at it. So

(01:20):
we're on our way.

Speaker 3 (01:21):
And is there regular competitions as well?

Speaker 1 (01:25):
Yeah, so all of those leagues play a regular yearly
club competition which in Auckland and Wellington usually runs from
sort of September through December. We then have above that
some regional premiership level competition where we flyer players in
from around the country to play sort of the sort
of franchise Super rugby type model. And then above that
we have our national sites.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
So it's interesting you're the coach of the Falcons and
they've got a bit of unfinished business, I believe because
at their last international tournament, and that was back in
twenty seventeen, they were pipped at the post by Papua
New Guinea.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
Yeah, no one still sting. So that was the twenty
seventeen International Cup. To lose by a point on the
MCG was a tough day out, but a lot of
those boys have hung on and have continued to develop
and ready go back and try and get some revenge.
Papa New Guinea continue to be our nemesis in this area.

Speaker 3 (02:15):
I would have thought Australia would have been very very strong.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
Indeed are they Yeah, And obviously Australia are the best.
And yet these international carnivals Australia don't necessarily put in
the team. They have occasionally put in a youth grade
team or a country team or sometimes in interdigitous sides,
but the Australian national team would be a little outweighed
for us, so they seemed to staying from this compition.

Speaker 3 (02:41):
So how many other teams are competing in the tournament?

Speaker 1 (02:45):
In the open men's grade which we're involved in. There
are five to our five teams ourselves, Naharu, Fiji, Tonga,
Papua New Guinea make up the sides and so each
team will play four games. It was coming to an
end and on mix survey and for.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
The women's team that the car Who, it'll be their
first ever tournament, so that obviously that side of the
game is growing.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
Yeah, it's really exciting for the car Who girls. We
have afamilies Inland have tried to get a female team
across We'd lined up the twenty twenty competition to be
our first effort, but with COVID that put a kibosh
on that, and so our women's program has been bubbling
and developing away here across the country ready for this
sort of inaugural event and it's really exciting for the
girls to get out there and represent New Zealand.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Do you get many converts, say, from other sport like
perhaps rugby, sevens or football, whatever it might be coming
over to AFL, Yes, totally.

Speaker 1 (03:36):
We've got a lot of players who have played other sports.
Obviously rugby and football are our two main draw cards,
but we also seend players other way. Both Sam Dixon,
recently retired New Zealand sevens player, and William Warbrick who
plays for the Melbourne Storm and just played for the Kiwis,
have both played AFL in New Zealand throughout the years.
So yeah, it's a great sport for multi skilled development

(03:57):
and to enhance skills that you might use in other sports.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
And the women's captain I believe as a rugby convict
Live Waldron exactly.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
So you know, the women's team has got a really
strong connection back into other sports and it creates opportunities
for those girls to both develop skills for their main
sport but also entice them to come and have a
crack at maybe making the flaw And so.

Speaker 3 (04:16):
What are the caho's chances of making the final? Then?

Speaker 1 (04:20):
I look, you know the woman's space is a bit
unknown for us. We're there for our first time. We
want to put our best foot forward and know the
girls have been working really hard. They'll ensure that no
stones left unturned and they'll give it the best crack.

Speaker 3 (04:32):
Where are they playing all the games out of for
the specific Cup?

Speaker 1 (04:36):
So we're based at marchard Or which is in the
Sunshine Coast and the entire carnival has played the year
as well.

Speaker 3 (04:42):
That's all it all kicks off. I think what next week?

Speaker 1 (04:45):
Yes, we fly over Sunday, first games of Monday and
then we wrap up the following Saturday with the last game.

Speaker 3 (04:50):
Well, we wish you the very very best of luck
in the in the Pacific Cup. AFL mate, thank you
so much, all right, I appreciate your time.

Speaker 2 (04:58):
Chris Mondel joining us, who is the coach of the
Falcons the men's team. Papp to the post as he
mentioned by Papua New Guinea last time around in twenty seventeen.
And good luck to the Cahu the women's team their
first ever Pacific Cup tournament. We wish them the very
best of luck as well. Most to be sort of
talking a slightly different sport.