The International Cup - dubbed Australian Football's World Cup - is currently underway, and for the first time is being held in Sydney and co-hosted in Melbourne.
It is also the first time the Women's Division will be held, with six women's teams competing alongside the 27 men’s teams.
While 2008 winners PNG are favourites to take out the Cup, New Zealand are hot on their tails, sitting pretty at the top of the team rankings after the initial ‘seeding round’ with a week of round-robin style matches ahead of them.
As part of Hawthorn Football Club’s community alliance, the NZ Hawks wear a specially designed PUMA guernsey featuring the Hawks logo in New Zealand’s national colours of black and silver.
The NZ Hawks are looking to continue their trend of mixing younger players with veterans in a bid to take out the title, with old-stagers Mike Tagg (30) and Richard Bradley (29) listed in the team along with Hawthorn Football Club International Scholarship holder Rhys Panui-Leth, who will make his debut as the youngest squad member turning 17 shortly before the tournament commences.
The NZ Hawks have players from Auckland, Wellington, Waikato and Canterbury participating, as well as three players currently based in Australia.
The culmination of the International Cup will take place at the MCG with the Grand Final taking stage as the curtain-raiser to the Round 23 Hawthorn v Western Bulldogs clash on Saturday 27 August.
To show their support, Hawthorn Football Club will don the NZ Hawks guernsey during the warm-up for the Round 23 clash against the Bulldogs.
Find out more about the 2011 AFL International Cup Learn more about Hawthorn’s relationship with New Zealand Purchase the NZ Hawks guernsey from HawksNest Online
