Euro Cup 2017 – Team Previews
EURO CUP 2017 – TEAM PREVIEWS
The Euro Cup, co-hosted by the CNFA and Bordeaux Bombers, is fast-approaching. In the lead up we’ll be taking a quick look at the teams who’ll be competing for the title of Euro Cup champions. The one-day tournament is being held at Stadium Robert Monseau, 5 rue Charles Capsec, 33 160 Saint Médard en Jalles with full event details able to be found at on the official event Facebook page (http://bit.ly/2xqKAhd).
First up in our previews from the men’s side of the draw we have the Swedish Elks, German Eagles, and the Scottish Clansmen, and from the women’s competition we have the Swedish Ravens and the England Vixens.
Swedish Elks
How have preparations for the Euro Cup in Bordeaux been tracking?
Preparations have been going well, with the Elks squad being announced at the beginning of August. There is a lot of new blood in this Elks line-up, with captain and national team stalwart, Andreas Svensson, the only player from the IC14 Division Two Championship winning team travelling to the Euro Cup this time round. The majority of the boys have played alongside or against each other, and in a friendly match against the Gothenburg Berserkers in mid-August they got to learn a lot from each other and coach, Brett Petersen. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any regular national team training, though all of the players have been going through their regular training sessions once or twice per week with their respective local clubs.
Who is your team’s player to watch?
Newly named Elks vice-captain Nicklas Andersson is a player to keep an eye on, both at the Euro Cup and in future tournaments. It’s only his second season playing Aussie Rules and last year he picked up the Best First Year Player Award with his local club, the Norrtälje Dockers. With every game, he’s becoming more a bull running out of the midfield and he’s damaging on the scoreboard when he moves to half forward. His passion for the game and fearlessness around the contest is going to make him an integral part of the Elks playing group for many years to come.
What is your team’s best Euro Cup moment?
It’s been a few years since the Elks have been to the Euro’s and we’re usually very competitive. One the best Euro Cup moments for AFL Sweden will be coming up this year in Bordeaux where the Swedish Ravens women’s team and the Elks represent Sweden together for the first time.
Coach’s/Team Managers thoughts on Euro Cup 2017?
We’re hoping for the first time Elks players to take a lot away from this tournament. We’ve got one of Sweden’s greatest ever players in Andy Svensson as captain and the younger guys will be drawing a lot from his experience and wisdom. This is a newer generation team of Swedish Elks coming through now and we’re really looking forward to seeing how they play as a group and where they can go in the next few years. We really want the guys to be proud of themselves, be proud of their game and be proud of representing their country, and most importantly to just have a good time.
German Eagles
How have preparations for the Euro Cup in Bordeaux been tracking?
Our squad was named a few weeks ago with a few minor changes to the list, but we should have 15 fit and fighting players attending. We haven’t trained together as a team but the players have had plenty of training at their respective clubs. Coming off the first trip to Melbourne for the International Cup, where some success was had, the team feels that there have been many learning experiences and a drive to continue to improve.
Who is your team’s player to watch?
The Klusemann brothers, Matthias and Markus are the ones to watch. Matthias (Tizza) has been out of the squad through injury in the past two years since the Euro Cup in Croatia, and his brother has moved back after a stint in Australia. The brothers play forward and midfield and are fired up at the chance to play alongside each other in their first Euro Cup together.
What is your team’s best Euro Cup moment?
Last year’s Euro Cup in Portugal – with many injuries we still made it to 4th place and pushed off some of the best teams in Europe which was a big achievement. We are striving to improve on this achievement even more at this year’s Euro Cup.
Coach’s/Team Managers thoughts on Euro Cup 2017?
After the IC we are missing a few of our countries best players, including our Captain and IC Team of the Tournament player, either through injury or availability. However we bring in some very good players to replace them, and arguably bring our most competitive team in the past three years.
The Klusemann brothers along with Tim Horenburg bring experience, height and agility to the team, whilst Momme Volquardsen brings some grunt to the backline. We want to better our performance from last year, but will actually be aiming each game just to stick to the team rules and the underlying process, that will put us in good stead this year and into the future.
Swedish Ravens
How have preparations for the Euro Cup in Bordeaux been tracking?
The squad has been named but we wont be going public with it like we did last year. We have 4 new players since last year. We have been training consistently and have managed to get a few matches in September.
Who is your team’s player to watch?
Player to watch this year is halfback Isabelle Karlsson. She first played for the Helsingborg Wolverines and now plays for Port Malmö Lynx and this will be her 3rd Euro Cup.
What is your team’s best Euro Cup moment?
Euro Cup highlight was making it through the group stage to the bronze match last year in Lisbon.
Coach’s/Team Managers thoughts on Euro Cup 2017?
We are looking forward to whoever we play. We have a great rivalry with France, Croatia and Denmark but have yet to play Scotland. I’m very interested to guage our improvement against the stronger teams in England and Ireland if we come up against them. It will be interesting to see what effect the IC has had on the players that participated.
Re expectations, I think there’s a lot of teams that would love to knock off either England or Ireland but it’s a tough ask. There are a bunch of teams though that can realistically take the bronze so i expect that to be something to watch.
Scottish Clansmen
How have preparations for the Euro Cup in Bordeaux been tracking?
The squad was announced in August with a good balance of experienced and new players looking to make an impact.
Our last training session took place at Stirling University in September. It was great opportunity to get the squad together and establish our focus for the Euro’s.
Who is your team’s player to watch?
One of our key players to watch is Matt Goodman, Midfielder for the Glasgow Sharks and GB Bulldogs. Matt’s played in three previous tournaments and was named in the Team of the Tournament in Umag in 2015.
What is your team’s best Euro Cup moment?
The competition at the Euro’s is fierce so any win at is a fantastic effort, beating Italy in Milan was a highlight in 2010.
We also came back from 21 points down at halftime to Denmark in Belfast to win with a goal seconds before the siren in an exciting group game.
Coach’s/Team Managers thoughts on Euro Cup 2017?
Head Coach Stephen Connor says “Having played on the International stage since 2009 Scotland have had the pleasure to play against nearly every European team at some point, we obviously enjoy playing against England and have a good rivalry and respect for them . The first group game against Portugal in the 2016 Euro Cup last year was nice to be a part of as it was their first game as hosts of the Euro’s.”
Our key players this year will be Back Paul McGavin, Midfield Matt Goodman, Midfield Scott O’Hara and Forward Dan Connor.
We do expect to do well again this year and hopefully improve our ranking as we have done the last three years. We know on our day we can match it with the best.
We always enjoy getting away as a group, catching up with players from the other countries. From a team point of view we are looking forward to seeing how well the players gel and how the new players perform and add to what is a great squad.
England Vixens
How have preparations for the Euro Cup in Bordeaux been tracking?
The Euro Cup preparations have been in full swing since our trials weekend in June! Many of our girls spent August over in Melbourne playing in IC17 as part of the GB Swans team so whilst our squad training sessions were initially limited we certainly haven’t missed out on growing our game experience. Since then we entered September with all eyes on Bordeaux, training in Nottingham and again in London. Our focus has been on refining our hand-eye skills with a variety of new drills designed to increase our accuracy and up our game. Fitness and speed has always been our strength but following last years close defeat we’ve been analyzing every aspect of our game in order to improve.
Who is your team’s player to watch?
The Saulter sisters and the Turner-Ramadan’s are known superstars on the pitch and often display great link up play on the pitch, but we’ve definitely got some incredible new players this year. Former England youth football international Beth Bailey is making her England (Aussie Rules) debut after making the world team at IC17 so she will undoubtedly be making an impact in the backline as she enters the Euro Cup scene. Alex Peill is another underdog to watch, despite being relatively new to the game she’s got the strength to make a big difference on the field.
What is your team’s best Euro Cup moment?
Winning EC15 felt absolutely incredible and a definite highlight of the team’s experiences, complete with the acapella rendition of ‘We don’t Have To Take Our Clothes off” – Jermaine Stewart at the end! Knowing what that felt like and to also have experienced coming second to Ireland last year is a big driver for us when training. We also have some fantastic moments off the pitch too! One of the best parts of being a Vixen is the team camaraderie and it’s often the thing that sets us apart from other squads; we know each other inside out from knowing how to build each other up for games to what song will get them dancing on the table at the after party!
Coach’s/Team Managers thoughts on Euro Cup 2017?
After being runners up to Ireland last year, we are definitely hungry to go one better this year. We’ve had some good preparation for the tournament, with a high proportion of our players playing in the London league over the summer and several gaining lots of extra game time and experience over at the IC. Overall we are really looking forward to what we can achieve this year!
Obviously Ireland is a team that we’re very keen to test ourselves against after losing to them in the final in Lisbon, but we will be sure to not underestimate any opponent given the fact that Scotland are looking like they will be taking a strong, experienced side and it will be interesting to see what Croatia can bring to the table.
Expectations wise our aim is to make another Euro Cup final and maybe even go one better than last year and bring home the title – we’ll just have to see what happens!
