Annie’s flying start with the Dragons

October 12, 2025

By Chris McAsey When the Hong Kong Dragons women’s team powered undefeated through Division 2 at the 2025 AFL Asian Championships, one of their newest recruits was also one of their brightest sparks — despite never having played AFL before. For Annie Buntine, a rugby union player from Australia’s Mornington Peninsula now living in Hong […]

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Lito lights it up with clutch goals in Chon Buri

October 10, 2025

By Chris McAsey One of the matches of the tournament at the 2025 Asian Championships in Chon Buri was the men’s Division 2 clash between the China Reds and Philippine Eagles. China looked more skilled across the board, but the Eagles brought intensity and threw everything at the contest. In a physical encounter with lots […]

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Raine rules the midfield in Year of the Dragon

October 10, 2025

By Chris McAsey The 2025 Asian Champs saw the formation of a second women’s division for the first time, highlighting the rapid growth of women’s footy in Asia. And the new division produced one of the standout team performances of the Champs, with the Hong Kong Dragons powering through an unbroken run of five wins […]

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Sherrins in Jakarta : Celebrating 30 years of an unlikely footy club

September 25, 2025

This week, past and present players will gather at an inner-city Jakarta ballroom to mark the 30 year anniversary of the city’s local AFL footy club.  It’s an unlikely occasion for a club that began randomly, evolved consistently, declined covidly and rebooted recently in the humid urban jungle of the city known affectionately as the […]

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Asia footy’s Field of Dreams in Chon Buri

September 4, 2025

By Chris McAsey Disclaimer: Last weekend’s Asian Championship in Chon Buri was my first, so I don’t have any benchmarks. But wow! The evening before at Siam Country Club for Sundowners, I’d chatted to some clearly exhausted volunteers who had spent the day setting up. Arriving at Thai Polo Escape early the next morning, I […]

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Dragons’ hot streak to Div 2 women’s title

September 3, 2025

By Chris McAsey The Hong Kong Dragons powered through an unbroken run of five wins to take out the Div 2 Women’s Asian Championship in Chon Buri. Incredibly, the Dragons were only scored against in one match, a 5.5.35 to 1.1.7 win over the Thailand Tigers. The Dragons combined a hard running and skilled midfield […]

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All-conquering Warriors take Div 2 men’s title

September 3, 2025

By Chris McAsey The Malaysian Warriors have taken out the Men’s Division 2 title at the Asian Championships after an undefeated run through the competition. The Warriors were too strong for Japan in the Grand Final, running out comfortable winners 5.3.33 to 1.2.8. Despite Malaysia’s dominance of the draw, there was hot competition for the […]

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Who will fill post-PNG power vacuum?

September 2, 2025

By Chris McAsey There was always going to be a new team crowned Division 1 Asian Champion in 2025, with a new regional structure meaning PNG would not be joining the competition. But which team would emerge as the new powerhouse? Before PNG’s run of four consecutive wins (2019 and 2022 – 24, with two […]

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Even top tier shows how far women’s footy has come

September 2, 2025

By Chris McAsey A narrow victory to Singapore over Malaysia in an absorbing Grand Final showed just how far women’s footy has come in Asia after six years of international competition. And while the Singapore Wombettes have now won three of those Championship titles, a host of nations are snapping at their heels thanks to […]

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