2002 Australian Football International Cup


The 2002 Australian Football International Cup was the inaugural international Australian rules football tournament held in Melbourne, Australia in 2002.
11 nations participated from around the world and the tournament was officiated by the International Australian Football Council.
Ireland won the tournament, finishing undefeated and victorious over Papua New Guinea in the Grand Final on 23 August at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Group Stage

Round 1

Round 2

  • PNG 9.15 d. Denmark 3.5
  • Great Britain 9.11 d. Nauru 8.11 – Elsternwick Park, Elsternwick
  • Canada 4.11 d. South Africa 1.5
  • Ireland 5.6 d. Samoa 4.5
  • New Zealand 11.12 d. USA 4.1

Round 3

  • Great Britain 7.3 d. Japan 4.6 – Whitten Oval, Footscray
  • Denmark 5.10 d. Nauru 3.9
  • Samoa 12.15 d. South Africa 1.4
  • New Zealand 10.8 d. Canada 2.6
  • Ireland 7.7 d. USA 6.3

Round 4

  • Denmark 12.9 d. Great Britain 4.2
  • PNG 23.9 d. Japan 0.0
  • Ireland 15.8 d. South Africa 3.3
  • USA 8.4 d. Canada 1.1
  • New Zealand 10.10 d. Samoa 5.8

Round 5

  • Denmark 10.6 d. Japan 4.7
  • PNG 13.13 d. Nauru 6.8
  • USA 20.12 d. South Africa 0.4
  • Samoa 9.15 d. Canada 0.5
  • Ireland 4.10 d. New Zealand 3.2

Playoffs

Minor Placing deciders

  • New Zealand 3.7 d. Denmark 2.4
  • Samoa 5.7 d. Nauru 2.8
  • Canada 6.5 d. Japan 5.2
  • USA 13.15 d. Great Britain 2.3 – Junction Oval, St Kilda

Grand final

Friday 23 August 2002
Grand Final was played as a curtain raiser to the round 21 AFL match between Hawthorn vs North Melbourne, so this figure is the total crowd for the match, although not all spectators were inside the stadium at the start or conclusion of the curtain raiser event.
Ireland SquadCoachManager
Michael Johnson, Neil McFlynn, Donal Boylan, Dualtach Johnson, Barry Denham, Ryan McFlynn, Michael Currane, Fergal Bradshaw, Joe Cunnane, Aaron Flood, Derek Mulligan, Alan Kelly, Denis Reidy, Fergal Killoury, Diarmuid Griffin, Gary Lane, Liam O'Connor, Brian Currane, Declan O'Sullivan, Paul Kiely, John Lack O'Sullivan, Alan Coomey, Emmet Humphries, Declan Cotter, Brian Shortall, Sean McPhillips, Brian Boyle, David Stynes, Damien Burns.Darren FitzpatrickDamien Cassidy

Final standings

  1. Ireland
  2. Papua New Guinea
  3. New Zealand
  4. Denmark
  5. USA
  6. Great Britain
  7. Samoa
  8. Nauru
  9. Canada
  10. Japan
  11. South Africa

All-International Team

A 22 player All-International squad was named, however names were unplaced and not allocated to any specific field position.
PlayerNationClub
Stefan Leyhane