The 2005 Australian Football International Cup was the second time that the Australian Football International Cup tournament, an international Australian rules football competition was held.
| 2005 AFL International Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Australia |
| Dates | 3 August – 13 August 2005 |
| Teams | 10 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  New Zealand (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Papua New Guinea |
| Third place |  United States |
| Fourth place |  Ireland |
The event was hosted by both Melbourne and Wangaratta, Australia, in 2005.
10 nations participated following the late withdrawal of both Nauru and Denmark and the introduction of Spain.
All sides were scheduled to play 4 games, after which the top 4 sides played off in semi-finals for a berth in the Grand Final decider. The Grand Final was between Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. Both sides went through the tournament undefeated. It was played as a curtain raiser to an official Australian Football League premiership season match and was replayed on Fox Sports (Australia) and the Fox Footy Channel.
New Zealand were crowned international champions for the first time.
Tournament results edit
Round 1 edit
(Wednesday 3 August 2005)
 Japan |
88–17 |  Spain |
Stadium: Murphy Reserve, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 13 10 |
Goals Behinds |
2 5 |
 Ireland |
31–23 |  Canada |
Stadium: Murphy Reserve, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 4 7 |
Goals Behinds |
3 5 |
 United States |
62–34 |  South Africa |
Stadium: Murphy Reserve, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 9 8 |
Goals Behinds |
4 10 |
 New Zealand |
56–22 |  Great Britain |
Stadium: Murphy Reserve, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 8 8 |
Goals Behinds |
3 4 |
 Papua New Guinea |
59–42 |  Samoa |
Stadium: Murphy Reserve, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 8 11 |
Goals Behinds |
6 6 |
Round 2 edit
(Friday 5 August 2005)
| New Zealand |
105–3 | Spain |
Stadium: Murphy Reserve, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 15 15 |
Goals Behinds |
0 3 |
| Papua New Guinea |
41–27 | Canada |
Stadium: Murphy Reserve, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 5 11 |
Goals Behinds |
4 3 |
| USA |
17–13 | Ireland |
Stadium: Murphy Reserve, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 2 5 |
Goals Behinds |
1 7 |
| South Africa |
30–28 | Japan |
Stadium: Murphy Reserve, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 4 6 |
Goals Behinds |
4 4 |
| Samoa |
78–8 | Great Britain |
Stadium: Murphy Reserve, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 12 6 |
Goals Behinds |
1 2 |
Round 3 edit
(Sunday 7 August 2005)
| Ireland |
69–10 | South Africa |
Stadium: TEAC Oval, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 10 9 |
Goals Behinds |
1 4 |
| USA |
41–12 | Spain |
Stadium: TEAC Oval, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 5 11 |
Goals Behinds |
2 0 |
| Samoa |
46–42 | Canada |
Stadium: Optus Oval, Carlton, Victoria |
| 7 4 |
Goals Behinds |
6 6 |
| New Zealand |
79–6 | Japan |
Stadium: TEAC Oval, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 11 13 |
Goals Behinds |
1 0 |
| Papua New Guinea |
59–14 | Great Britain |
Stadium: Optus Oval, Carlton, Victoria |
| 8 11 |
Goals Behinds |
2 2 |
Round 4 edit
(Tuesday 9 August 2005)
| Ireland |
53–6 | Japan |
Stadium: City Oval, Wangaratta, Victoria |
| 7 11 |
Goals Behinds |
1 0 |
| Great Britain |
25–23 | Canada |
Stadium: Wangaratta Showgrounds, Wangaratta, Victoria |
| 3 7 |
Goals Behinds |
3 5 |
| Papua New Guinea |
47–46 | USA |
Stadium: City Oval, Wangaratta, Victoria |
| 7 5 |
Goals Behinds |
7 4 |
| South Africa |
84–13 | Spain |
Stadium: City Oval, Wangaratta, Victoria |
| 12 12 |
Goals Behinds |
2 1 |
| New Zealand |
98–27 | Samoa |
Stadium: Wangaratta Showgrounds, Wangaratta, Victoria |
| 16 2 |
Goals Behinds |
4 3 |
Ladder after four rounds edit
| TEAM | W | L | PF | PA | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Zealand |
4 | 0 | 338 | 58 | 582.76 |
| 2 | Papua New Guinea |
4 | 0 | 206 | 129 | 159.69 |
| 3 | Ireland |
3 | 1 | 166 | 56 | 296.42 |
| 4 | United States |
3 | 1 | 166 | 106 | 156.60 |
| 5 | Samoa |
2 | 2 | 193 | 207 | 93.24 |
| 6 | South Africa |
2 | 2 | 158 | 172 | 91.86 |
| 7 | Japan |
1 | 3 | 128 | 179 | 71.51 |
| 8 | Great Britain |
1 | 3 | 69 | 216 | 31.94 |
| 9 | Canada |
0 | 4 | 115 | 143 | 80.42 |
| 10 | Spain |
0 | 4 | 45 | 318 | 14.15 |
| Key: W = Won, L = Lost, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, % = Goal average | ||||||
Semifinals edit
(Thursday 11 August 2005)
| New Zealand |
64–46 | USA |
Stadium: Murphy Reserve, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 10 4 |
Goals Behinds |
7 4 |
| Papua New Guinea |
34–25 | Ireland |
Stadium: Murphy Reserve, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 5 4 |
Goals Behinds |
3 7 |
Qualifying finals round edit
(Thursday 11 August 2005)
| Canada |
Canada won by forfeit | Spain |
Stadium: Murphy Reserve, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| Great Britain |
63–23 | Japan |
Stadium: Murphy Reserve, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 9 9 |
Goals Behinds |
3 5 |
| Samoa |
50–21 | South Africa |
Stadium: Murphy Reserve, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 7 8 |
Goals Behinds |
3 3 |
Minor placing finals edit
(Saturday 13 August 2005)
| Seventh place | |||
| Canada |
29–18 | South Africa |
Stadium: Optus Oval, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 4 5 |
Goals Behinds |
2 6 |
| Fifth place | |||
| Samoa |
27–15 | Great Britain |
Stadium: TEAC Oval, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 3 9 |
Goals Behinds |
2 3 |
| Ninth place | |||
| Japan |
73–13 | Spain |
Stadium: Optus Oval, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 11 7 |
Goals Behinds |
2 1 |
| Third place | |||
| USA |
65–30 | Ireland |
Stadium: TEAC Oval, Port Melbourne, Victoria |
| 10 5 |
Goals Behinds |
4 6 |
Grand final edit
(Saturday 13 August 2005)
| New Zealand |
50–32 | Papua New Guinea |
Stadium: Melbourne Cricket Ground Attendance: 48,287 |
| 7 8 |
Goals Behinds |
5 2 |
The grand final was replayed on Fox Sports (Australia) and the Fox Footy Channel.
The best and fairest medal was awarded to New Zealand's James Bowden.
Note: the grand final was played as a curtain-raiser to the round 20 AFL match between Collingwood vs Carlton, 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.
Final standings edit
New Zealand
Papua New Guinea
USA
Ireland
Samoa
Great Britain
Canada
South Africa
Japan
Spain
2005 Australian Football International Cup All Stars Team edit
Like the All-Australian Team in the Australian Football League, a team selected from the best players in the International Cup was selected. Team members were unplaced and not allocated to any specific field position.
| Player | Nation | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Navu Maha | Papua New Guinea |
Centrals |
| David Gavara-Nanu | Papua New Guinea |
New Ireland |
| Stanley Tapend | Papua New Guinea |
Enga |
| Alister Sioni | Papua New Guinea |
West New Britain |
| Richard Bradley | New Zealand |
Eastern Blues |
| Craig Ashton | New Zealand |
Takapuna Eagles |
| James Bowden | New Zealand |
Eastern Blues |
| Andrew Congalton | New Zealand |
Takapuna Eagles |
| Todd Danks | New Zealand |
North Shore Tigers |
| James Brunmeier | United States |
Milwaukee Bombers |
| Donnie Lucero | United States |
Orange County Bombers |
| Michito Sakaki |  Japan |
Waseda University |
| Mtutuzeli Hlomela |  South Africa |
Eldorado Park |
| Steven Malinga | South Africa |
Itoseng |
| Clifford Richardson | Ireland |
Edinburgh Old Town Bloods |
| Mike Finn | Ireland |
|
| Rob Burgess |  Great Britain |
Wandsworth Demons |
| Jose Francisco Lorente |  Spain |
Madrid Bears |
| Fia Tootoo |  Samoa |
Moorabbin Kangaroos / Fasitoo-Uta Tigers |
| Mateta Kirisome | Samoa |
Fasitoo-Uta Tigers |
| Rob McEwan |  Canada |
Windsor Mariners |
| Paul Loghanne | Canada |
Mississauga Demons |
Tournament Best & Fairest winners edit
| Player | Nation | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Navu Maha | Papua New Guinea |
Centrals |
| Fia Tootoo | Samoa |
Moorabbin Kangaroos / Fasitoo-Uta Tigers |