Australian rules football in Tonga
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| Australian rules football in Tonga | |||
| Governing body | Tonga Australian Football Association | ||
| National team | Tonga | ||
| First played | 1985, Haʻutu-Fāhefa, Tongatapu | ||
| Registered players | 150 (total) 50 (adult) 100(junior) |
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| Competitions | |||
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| National | |||
| - Tonga Australian Football Association | |||
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Australian rules football in Tonga has been played on an organised basis since 2003, when the Tonga Australian Football Association was founded. Previous to this, the sport had also been played in schools through the assistance of Australia physical education teachers in the 1980s and 1990s.
A schools competition has been played yearly since then, including a tour to Samoa. Development officers from Australia have visited to islands to assist in creating development programs. There are now over 150 Tongan players.[1]
There is a TAFA PTH junior Scholarship which in 2006 saw promising youngster Alex Fungavaka placed at Norwood Morialta High School in Adelaide.[2]
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[edit] International Competition
The senior men's representative team is known as the Black Marlins and hosted Australian amateur team the Fitzroy Reds in late 2006. A team representing the Melbourne Tongan community also competed at the 2004 Australian Football Multicultural Cup.
The Black Marlins are expected to participate in the 2008 Australian Football International Cup.
[edit] Notable Tongan Players
Fatui Ataata managed 35 games in the Collingwood Football Club reserves between 1983-8.[3]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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