New Zealand’s Australian Rules sides ready for international action
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.
"Really exciting. It's the first time since 2017 a New Zealand international side went and played in a tournament in Australia," said Falcons coach Chris Mundell.
"We've been building up and waiting, it's taken a long time for this day to get here."
More than 500 participants representing teams from across the Pacific region will compete at the Pacific Cup from November 14-23. New Zealand will be joined by sides from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Nauru and South Africa, with open and age grade competitions.
"It shows the growth of the game that we're able to take a women's team over," Mundell said.
"It's an evolving game here (in NZ). We have periods where we have a high participation rate…the level of football is growing, we have a baseline that helps us at the top."
