Flying Boomerangs

Last updated

Flying Boomerangs
Names
Full nameFlying Boomerangs
Club details
Founded1973
Colours  Black   Red   Yellow The Aboriginal colors.
Other information
Official website

The Flying Boomerangs are the underage Indigenous Australian Australian rules football team for men (the underage women's team is known as the Woomeras and the senior team is the Indigenous All-Stars).

Contents

From 2008 to 2017 the team toured overseas playing tests against junior teams from Papua New Guinea, South Africa, New Zealand and developing pacific nations. The team was hosted by the AFL NT and based in Darwin, Northern Territory.

In 2018 the AFL Commission restructured it to become part of the AFL's diversity program and it now participate in an annual match in Melbourne against a World Team consisting of underage players with a parent born outside Australia.

Identity

The team is named after the aboriginal hunting tool, the boomerang. The team wears the colours of the Aboriginal flag - A black guernsey featuring a yellow upside down boomerang below which are red stripes.

History

In 2013, the Flying Boomerangs toured to play the South African national Australian rules football team [1] in both Australia and South Africa. They toured Papua New Guinea, the first international team to defeat them in Australian rules football [2] and also New Zealand winning both matches. [3]

Apart from representing Australia in international Australian Rules Football, the Flying Boomerangs team members have gone on to play in the Australian Football League.

Other tours include Papua New Guinea (2009), Tonga (2010) and Fiji (2011) to compete against the underage Oceania and Pacific Islands teams. Andrew Mcleod (head coach) and Chris Johnson (assistant coach) were also part of the team in 2010. In 2017 Barry Lawrence was named head coach and Harry Miller as assistant coach.

The Flying Boomerangs have been featured nationally in a documentary on ABC TV during their tour to South Africa.

Notable matches and tours

Matches
YearDateOpponentResultStadiumCaptain (vice-captain)CoachBestCrowdNotes/References
2017DecemberNew Zealand AcademyFlying Boomerangs 26.9 (165) def New Zealand Academy 3.2 (20)Outer Oval, North Harbour Stadium Frank Szekely [4]
2017DecemberSouth Pacific All Stars Albert Park (Suva) Fiji Barry Lawrence
2013December Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand (U16)Flying Boomerangs 16.23 (119) def New Zealand 2.3 (15)Hutt Park Wellington, New Zealand [5]
2013FebruarySouth Pacific NationsFlying Boomerangs 13.5 (83) def South Pacific 10.9 (69) Blacktown International Sportspark [6]
2013January Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa Flying Boomerangs 17.15 (117) def South Africa 4.8 (32) Durban [7]
2011Fiji Andrew Mcleod
2010Tonga
2010South Africa (Coastal Squad)Flying Boomerangs 17.10 (112) def. South Africa (Coastal Squad)Nyanga Cricket Ground, Cape Town
2010South Africa (Inland Squad)Flying Boomerangs 9.13 (67) def. South Africa (Inland Squad) 8.9 (57) Mohadin Cricket Ground, Potchefstroom
2009Central Highlands (Papua New Guinea)Flying Boomerangs 7.10 (52) def. Central Highlands 2.2 (14) University of Papua New Guinea Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea 8,000
2009 Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg Papua New Guinea (U18)Flying Boomerangs 9.11 (65) def. by Papua New Guinea (U18) 9.12 (66) Lae, Papua New Guinea [8] 2,500
2008 Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa Flying Boomerangs 11.10 (76) def. South Africa 8.9 (57)
2008 Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa Flying Boomerangs 19.9 (123) def. South Africa 2.11 (23)

Sponsors

Alumni

See also

References

  1. Flying Boomerangs tour in South Africa from SBS
  2. Boomerangs take game to PNG
  3. Flying Boomerangs star in New Zealand 17 December 2013
  4. NZ Academy diary: Day 7 by Ronald Fuschtei for Port Adelaide FC 4 December 2017
  5. "AFL Flying Boomerangs take first tour match". 12 December 2013.
  6. "AFL Community: Flying Boomerangs defeat South Pacific". aflcommunityclub.com.au. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017.
  7. "AFL Community: Lions no match for Boomerangs". aflcommunity.com.au. Archived from the original on 27 April 2013.
  8. "Boomerangs PNG tour wrap up and photos – World Footy News". worldfootynews.com.