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Champions League Team Previews

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In the lead-up to the 3rd annual AFL Europe Champions League, hosted by AFL Netherlands in Amsterdam on Saturday 1st April, we’ll be taking a quick look at the teams who’ve qualified for the premier club tournament held in Europe.

Next up we have the Oslo Crows, Port Malmo Maulers, French Cup Champions, the Bordeaux Bombers, AFL Italia’s, North West Eagles, and the Women’s Mixed Team.

Oslo Crows

How did you qualify for the 2017 Champions League? Quick recap of your 2016 season…

The league is Norway is very small. The Oslo Crows club is split into two teams, Oslo West and Oslo East. Ås University field the final third team in the league. In previous years, Oslo West and Ås have dominated the league. For the 2016 season, thanks to a strong recruiting push, Oslo East pulled ahead early in the season and stayed there before winning the Grand Final against Oslo West.

How has the preparation for the 2017 Champions League been going?

During the winter the Oslo Crows train indoors as our home pitch is covered in snow and ice. This year we were only able to get access to a school sports hall approximately the size of a basketball court. In other words, our short game has become fantastic! Watch out for short, sharp kicks and hand passes and plenty of sprinting!

What are your teams expectations for the 2017 Champions League?

We are highly ambitious and now with the team to back those ambitions, anything is possible! We’re going to play hard, fast footy and make Norway proud. Particularly against teams representing the countries our national team lost to in the Euro Cup!

Player to watch?

Watch out for our two flying Vs, new recruits Victor Scherman, who previously played for the Paris Cockatoos, and Vemund Solberg Rustad, who played for PINTS football club in Darwin. Both are strong in the ruck and hard to pin down.  The form a strong part of the core team strategy of keeping the ball constantly in motion.

Port Malmo Maulers

How did you qualify for the 2017 Champions League? Quick recap of your 2016 season…

We won the Swedish Cup in Norrtälje and knocked off a hard fought Södermalm in the finals.

How has the preparation for the 2017 Champions League been going?

We have been training indoors during winter mainly focusing on skills and fitness.

What are your teams expectations for the 2017 Champions League?

We enter the Champions league as a dark horse. If we are playing good and have a bit of luck go our way we could defiantly be contenders, though in saying that making the finals will be a good goal for us.

Player to watch?

Two time best and fairest winner and captain Chris Mårtensson. He is a versatile player that can have a big impact anywhere on the field. He is big, strong and fast with great leadership qualities and he will lead the Maulers to victory.

Another one too look out for is DAFL’s leading goal scorer Ben Polmear. The goal scoring veteran will be will be a handful for defenders and he will be looking to kick a bag at this year’s tournament.

Bordeaux Bombers

How did you qualify for the 2017 Champions League? Quick recap of your 2016 season…

We qualified for the Champions League by winning the French Cup. The beginning of our 2016 season was difficult because many of our players were new and they lacked experience. By early September, our team was playing well – we are always in a race for the final half of the championship.

How has the preparation for the 2017 Champions League been going?

Our organisation for the trip to Amsterdam hasn’t seemed too difficult, and our players are motivated and excited to participate in the Champions League.

What are your team’s expectations for the 2017 Champions League?

Our goal is to enjoy being on the field and win as many of our matches as possible.

North West Eagles

How did you qualify for the 2017 Champions League? Quick recap of your 2016 season…

We won the only official game in Italy last year, in Pisa we defeated The ROMA Blues, and it was a sort of challenge round.

How has the preparation for the 2017 Champions League been going?

We’ve been training since late January on regular basis, so everything is going well at the moment.

What are your team’s expectations for the 2017 Champions League?

We are newcomers so we only hope to add to our experience some important matches and give all we’ve got to give and have fun.

Player to watch?

Niccolò De Giorgi and Filippo Alloisio have both played games in European Selections taking on the Australian Academy Side in London and Copenhagen, but Filippo had a bad injury that forced him on the sidelines for the whole 2016 season.

Women’s Mixed Team

How did you qualify for the 2017 Champions League? Quick recap of your 2016 season…

Due to the invited SARFL Representative team being unable to field a full squad, the team spot has been transitioned to a Rogue Women’s team with an open invitation to players across the continent. The team has therefore been formed with girls of 5 different nationalities with many hoping to get in as much game time as they can in their run up to the International Cup in August.

What are your team’s expectations for the 2017 Champions League?

Due to the team’s inability to qualify for the final, our aim will be to provide some strong competition for the other teams in the tournament through leadership from GB Swans Caroline Sellar.

Player to watch?

A player to watch will be newcomer to the sport, Alex Peill, who has was selected for the GB Swans after only playing 2 games so she will be keen to put her training in to practice. Though we are a team built from a variety of players with a mix of experience, we will still be looking to put out a strong contest, displaying some good footy!

 

Champions League Team Previews

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In the lead-up to the 3rd annual AFL Europe Champions League, hosted by AFL Netherlands in Amsterdam on Saturday 1st April, we’ll be taking a quick look at the teams who’ve qualified for the premier club tournament held in Europe.

Next up we have the Port Malmo Lynx, CEAFL Champions, the Zaprudje Dockers, AFL Scotland’s, Glasgow Sharks, the Norrtalje Dockers and Welsh powerhouse, the Cardiff Panthers.

Port Malmo Lynx

How did you qualify for the 2017 Champions League? Quick recap of your 2016 season…

The Port Malmö Lynx had a reasonably quiet 2016 match wise but trained hard and qualified for Champions League by winning the AFL Sweden 9 a side cup.

How has the preparation for the 2017 Champions League been going?

Training has been going well leading up to CL 2017. There’s always a lack of matches for us at this time of year but there will be a pre-season hit out this weekend against the Lund Giants. In general, I’m happy with our preparations so far.

What are your team’s expectations for the 2017 Champions League? 

Questions about expectations are always hard to answer but as a coach I expect to see big improvements in areas that we have been lacking in. The players are always keen to go one step better at each tournament so I expect them to lay everything on the line for this one.

Player to watch?

Hmm player to watch, always keep an eye on My Almkvist, she got player of the tournament at Euro cup 2016 but we have a few more that will be keen to impress so keep your eyes open.

Zaprudje Giants

How did you qualify for the 2017 Champions League? Quick recap of your 2016 season…

KAN Zaprudje Giants qualified for Champion League by winning the Central European Australian Football League (CEAFL). The league had three tournaments in Zagreb, Graz and Prague, and we won all three.

How has the preparation for the 2017 Champions League been going?

The preparation for Champion League are going pretty well so far.

What are your team’s expectations for the 2017 Champions League?

Team expectation is to end in Top 6.

Player to watch?

Players to watch are surely Zvonimir Murkovic, one of the best players in Croatia through last five years and three-time European Legion player, and Igor Galez, strong full-back who was selected for tournament squad in Euro Cup in Lisbon.

Glasgow Sharks

How did you qualify for the 2017 Champions League? Quick recap of your 2016 season…

We qualified for the tournament by becoming the SARFL 2016 Premiers. We had a great season, winning the national league for the first time in the clubs history. We beat our close rivals and then current premiers the Edinburgh Bloods in a tough semi final which bolstered the club with the belief to go on and win in the Grand Final.

How has the preparation for the 2017 Champions League been going?

The playing group have been hitting training hard and even getting together out with normal training sessions for extra running and fitness work. The club as a whole have been very excited for this chance and no one is going to let this chance skip by them

What are your teams expectations for the 2017 Champions League?

Our aim is always to walk away from any competition as champions. We are relishing the chance to play against quality side from all over Europe and measure where we sit in the footy landscape.

Player to watch?

Club captain Adam Jack missed playing in the clubs first Grand Final win and is looking hit 2017 with few bags of goals.

Norrtalje Dockers

How did you qualify for the 2017 Champions League? Quick recap of your 2016 season…

The Norrtälje Dockers won the Stockholm Australian Football Federation Premiership on the back of a club record year. Winning 7 of 8 games during the regular season and then qualifying to the finals series for the first time in the clubs short 5 year history. A solid 5 goal Semi Final win led the Dockers to the big dance where 2015 premiers Södermalm Blues were beaten by 6 goals. The Dockers capped a stellar year by taking out all 3 major awards at the league presentation night. Matthew Schulte winning best Australian whilst also taking out the goalkickers trophy with 31 goals and Buster Sund claiming the prize for best Swede.

How has the preparation for the 2017 Champions League been going?

Pre-season training kicked off indoors two weeks before christmas and has continued once a week through the start of 2017. The Dockers hailing from Sweden have to contend with blistering cold and snow in pre season outdoor training but we feel it is what makes us stronger!

What are your teams expectations for the 2017 Champions League?

We will be looking to notch up a few wins over the day and test our skills and structure against teams from around Europe. The biggest and most exciting part for us is getting away as a team and meeting other footy teams from the continent!

Player to watch?

Fredrik Lenard will be making his Australian football debut at Champions league so the team will be right behind him on game day. Keep also a close eye on Goldilocks running from the back!

Cardiff Panthers

How did you qualify for the 2017 Champions League? Quick recap of your 2016 season…

We tussled through the WARFL league with some close results against Bristol Dockers, Chippenham Redbacks and Swansea Magpies however we came through the league champions giving us the advantage of home turf for the Grannie.  The Grannie was played in Cardiff and the conditions were great for a running game which suits our style.  We had the legs on the Redbacks in the last quarter and managed to come through victors.

How has the preparation for the 2017 Champions League been going?

Our coach, Joshua Davey, rounded up the boys in January to do some indoor late night training sessions.  So far the prep has gone just as planned with some skill work and the all dreaded fitness!  However we are all prepped for the the tournament.

What are your teams expectations for the 2017 Champions League?

We spoke with the Dutch team during the Euro’s in Lisbon and they persuaded us that the event had a great vibe and expressed what was great about AFL in Europe so no pressure!  It sounds like a fun and enjoyable tournament and we will go to compete but have a good time while doing it.  Other than that we’ll take each game as it comes.

Player to watch?

Mike Palmer: as he may kick the ball in your face…by accident…honest!

Around the Grounds

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Fast-finishing Roos hold off first-timers, the West Lothian Eagles

Match report by Mikey Allan of the West Lothian Eagles:

Saturday 3rd December saw the West Lothian Eagles play their first match versus the Kingdom Kangaroos at South Queensferry Sports and Community Hub. The weather was good but a wet pitch made the ball very slippery. Coach Allan called for a hard at the ball game and both team certainly delivered.

The Eagles started the game well scoring three goals in a row with Vice-Captain, Nathan Stewart, scoring his first superb goal which was an overhead kick! By half time the score was 61 to 51 in favour of the Eagles but the Roos came back and scored a whopping six goals in the third quarter and the Eagles trailed by 15-points going into last term. The Roos scored another whopping six goals in the last quarter with Roos dinosaur, Sandy Bell, scoring two with the left peg proving to any doubters why he was recently the AFL Europe ‘Player of the Week’. A great day was had by all with the final score being 107 Eagles to 144 Roos.

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Mark Flanagan was presented with the man of the match award (bottle of whiskey). Nathan Stewart was voted as best Eagle and was awarded the Eagles plate.

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After the match, free catering was provided to all involved by Queensferry Sports and Community Hub where we raised £125 for Ashley Palmer who is currently recovering from a serious car accident. Special thanks to the Greater Glasgow Giants and Edinburgh Bloods for their support.

I personally would like to thank the West Coast Eagles – for their kind donation of the strips.
Allan Carson – the manager at Queensferry Sports and Community Hub for accommodating us and for providing free catering. The Kingdom Kangaroos – for giving us a contest. Julie Cruickshank photography – for the match and team photos. Jamie Gorman – who unfortunately couldn’t play due to injury for keeping the scores.

Many thanks to everyone at AFL Europe for the coverage of our first game.

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AFL London women’s club join forces for winter session

London All-Stars coach, Mitch Skelly, put players from the South-East London Giants, Wimbledon Hawks and Wandsworth Demons through their paces at Clapham Common on Sunday afternoon in a pre-Christmas training session and scratch match.

It was great to see AFL London rivals work together in their off-season to keep their skills and fitness in check during the cold winter months. Hopefully we’ll see more sessions like this going into 2017 and beyond.

allstars

Bombers prove too strong for Hawks in CNFA

The Bordeaux Bombers were clinical in their weekend fixture against the Toulouse Hawks at their home ground. The Bombers lead from start to finish and didn’t give the Hawks a chance to work into the game. The outcome of this match was pivotal for both sides with the winner staying in touch with the finals contenders.

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The Bombers refused to take their foot off the pedal and ran out 130 to 49 point winners in front of a vocal home crowd. Luckily for the Hawks they’ll have the chance to redeem themselves before going into the new year with a Toulouse derby match against the Blagnac Aviators.

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Scottish Clansmen announce new team manager

Mikey Allan features twice in this weeks Around the Grounds. The West Lothian founder has been busy on the national team scene as well in 2016 and will be doing even more in years to come as AFL Scotland announce Mikey as the Clansmen’s Team Manager.

Mikey was part of the Scottish team which travelled to Lisbon earlier this year and he’ll no doubt be pivotal in rise of Scottish football in the years to come. Congratulations on the appointment Mikey.

Aussie Rules lights up Zagreb Christmas fair

Great work by the Croatian Knights and Queens who presented Aussie Rules as a part of the Christmas Fair in Zagreb, Croatia. The recent Euro Cup Champions and 3rd Place winners presented our great game as part of a presentation on the different traditions from around the world.

croatia

Amazing work getting the Sherrin up on the main stage and showing everyone the greatest game on earth.

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Match of the Round

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West Lothian Eagles vs Kingdom Kangaroos

The newly formed West Lothian Eagles will be taking to the field in their first ever competitive hit-out at the weekend against the Kingdom Kangaroos at South Queensferry Rugby Club.

The Eagles were founded in mid-2016 by Mikey Allan who’s worked tirelessly to grow the club from the ground up. With hard work and dedication, Allan and the rest of the Eagles flock will don their newly acquired kits which were kindly donated by AFL club, the West Coast Eagles, in a momentous day for the club.

As well as being the founder, Allan, will also have the added responsibility of being the head coach. He’ll be hoping the past 5 months of hard training will have his chargers doing the fundamentals well.

When asked about their inaugural fixture Allan said, “we’ll be hoping for a hard at the ball contest, the Eagles have trained very hard over the past 5 months and their skills have certainly come on well. Our team spirit is high.”

Allan went on to say, “we will be watching Roos sharp shooter, Jamie Gorman in the forward line and Mark Flanagan in the midfield. We can’t discount the influence of Roos dinosaur and Scottish international full-back, Sandy Bell.”

It’ll be a tough first match-up for the Eagles who come up against AFL Scotland regulars the Kingdom Kangaroos. The Roos had a tough year in the AFL Scotland league only winning 1 out of 6 matches to finish the season in 4th place. They’ll be looking to stamp their authority on newcomers, the Eagles, as they won’t want to be shown up by a team in their first game.

The match will bounce at 2pm with all involved hoping good weather greets the two sides in this historic day for the Eagles. Special mention must go to the Queensferry Community and Sports Hub for hosting the day and putting on some post-match food for the players.

Best of luck to both teams in this December match-up and congratulations in advance to Mikey Allan and the rest of the Eagles for coming so far in such a short period. Well done.

The inaugural West Lothian Eagles side:

Mikey Allan

Nathan Stewart

David Smith

Scott Brown

Dan Fairhurst

Jordan Stewart

Campbell Lewis

Kier Wotherspoon

Owen Lyster

Dario Smith

Jake Pointer

Ewan Witherspoon

Around the Grounds

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Lions cruising in CNFA

They’ve knocked off the reigning premiers and now the ALFA Lions are sitting pretty at the top of the CNFA ladder after an impressive 3 from 3 start to season 2016/17. The Lions knocked off the champs in style on their home turf in the capital which further provides weight to their claim as potential finalists in the championship. They cruised to victory with a comfortable 86 to 40 score line.

Their remaining 4 matches are all very winnable as they take on the Blagnac Aviators, ASP Tigers, Bordeaux Bombers and a home match against the Cergy-Pointoise Coyotes. Could it be the year of the Lion?

In the other match at the weekend, it was the Tigers going head-to-head with the Paris Cockerels. The Tigers nearly came away with a huge victory away from home, but it was the Cockerels who held on for a much needed 7-point victory. The final scores reading 94 to 87.

Two matches remain before Christmas break and it’s the Toulouse Hawks in match-ups versus the Bordeaux Bombers and Blagnac Aviators.

Haggis Cup early bird entry fees open

Get on board the Haggis Cup early bird prices for AFL Scotland’s annual tournament in 2017. The Haggis Cup is locked in for the 8th of April and is being played at the West of Scotland Rugby Club, Glasgow. To enter your team, contact kirsty@aflscotland.org.

haggis

Vixens recruiting Team Manager

The England Vixens are on the lookout for a new team manager. Have a look at the full list of responsibilities for the role below. If you’re interested in getting involved or you’d like to know a little more about the role, then get in contact with englandvixens@gmail.com

vixens

Wildcats throwback

Have a look at this old print piece on the West London Wildcats. A few days back the Wildcats reminisced on 20 years since becoming the third Aussie Rules club to launch a website. They narrowly missed out on being pioneers on the world-wide-web by the Essendon Bombers and Collingwood Magpies.

wildcats

Odense hit 1000 fans!

The Odense Australian Football Club celebrated hitting 1000 likes Facebook last week. Great achievement by the Lions and Lionesses. See you at the 2000 mark soon.

odense

Irish Warriors name their Ireland-based IC17 extended squad

The Irish Warriors management team have announced their extended Ireland-based training squad for the 2017 AFL International Cup. More players will be added in the coming weeks depending on performances in the winter championships as well as arrangements being made for UK and Australian-based players to train and have trials in the coming weeks. The final squad of 30 will be announced in the spring.

The management team has been confirmed with Mick Finn joining Brian Currane and Ciaran O’Hara on the senior coaching staff. The team will be managed by Michael Currane and Paul Ryan will once again serve as tour manager.

Congratulations to those selected, check out the full squad from the ARFLI press release.

IC17 Training Squad Announced

Player of the Week

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Each week AFL Europe is profiling a European player and finding out how they got into the great game of Aussie Rules and a bit about themselves. If you’d like a profile or know of someone who would, then email ben.durance@afleurope.org to receive a question sheet.

This week’s Player of the Week is the evergreen, Sandy Bell, from the Kingdom Kangaroos and Scottish Clansmen. The British Champion in kayaking took to the game of Aussie Rules 3 years ago and has made a name for himself as a tough and uncompromising defender. Have a look at the rest of Sandy’s profile below:

Name:

Sandy Bell

Club:

Kingdom Kangaroos

Nationality:

Scottish

What position do you play?

Fullback

AFL team you support:

North Melbourne

Favourite AFL player:

Dustin Fletcher

How did you find out about AFL?

I first discovered AFL in the early 80s on TV but didn’t realise the sport existed in Scotland until 4 years ago. A fellow kayaker dragged me along to Roo’s training and I loved every minute of it. I have now been playing for 3 great years

How long have you been playing for?

3 years

What is your memory of your first Aussie Rules game?

The coach played me up front in my first outing but that wasn’t for me. Luckily we lost a few backs during the game and I was shifted to defence…. absolutely loved it.

Best AFL moment?

The highlight of my Aussie Rules experience has to be playing in the Euro Cup finals in Lisbon for the Scottish Clansmen. Playing the Netherlands in Amsterdam was a great warm-up. Unfortunately, I may not be able to continue playing much longer. But I’ll try.

Any other interesting information, quirky stories or interesting things about yourself?

It may be time for me to concentrate on kayaking again as it’s a lot kinder on the body. It is 2 years since I became British Champion in the 6.5km event in Worcester. I hope to see you all in Toulouse next year for the Euro Cup.sb1

 

Tuesday Around the Grounds

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Hawks make history and raise funds for St Barnabas House

The Wimbledon Hawks made history at the weekend at their annual Ladies Day. The Hawks took on the North London Lions across all three grades which saw their Premiership and Women’s sides getting the victory and their Social men’s drawing. These results confirmed all three sides making the finals for the first time ever at the same time.

Massive congratulations to the Hawks who also raised an astonishing £800 for St Barnabas House as part of the Ladies Day. A great achievement both on and off the field for the Wimbledon club.

Wimbledon Hawks

Berlin Crocs prove too strong for the traveling Lions

The first round of the AFLG Premiership saw the Berlin Crocs dominate the Rheinland Lions finishing 109 point victors in the Capital. A seven goal to zero opening term all but put the game on ice for the Crocs with forward Luke Edwards finishing up with 8 goals to his name. The final scorecard reading 18.12. 120 to 1.5. 11.

The AFLG Championships also kicked off at the weekend with a huge win by the Hamburg Dockers over the Dresden Wolves, as well as the Frankfurt Redbacks flexing their muscles against SpVgg Freiberg Taipans/Stuttgart Emus.

Crocs v Lions

New Scottish sports star on the horizon

She may have moved from Scotland at the age of 9 but we’ll claim her here at AFL Europe. Jemma Abbott is an up-and-coming AFL Queensland Youth Academy member who has her eyes firmly placed on a spot in one of the AFL Women’s league sides when the national league kicks off next year.

Having represented the Queensland Youth Girls Academy at the National titles in Melbourne earlier this year Jemma could light up the Gabba in the years to come.

Read her full article here:

http://www.aflq.com.au/from-scotland-to-the-gabba/

Jemma Abbott

Bloods share the top with Giants in SARFL

It’s heating up in the Scottish Australian Rules Football League (SARFL) with the Edinburgh Bloods knocking off top placed Greater Glasgow Giants by 80 points at the weekend. This result puts the Bloods level on 16 points with the Giants, with only percent separating the two.

It’s going to be an interesting last couple of weeks in the SARFL with the final makeup of the top four yet to be determined.

Check out the ladder below (as of 9/7/16):

SARFL Table

AFL Europe Umpires Course comes to Sweden

On the 23rd of July AFL Sweden in conjunction with AFL Europe are putting on an Umpiring Course to aid those aspiring to become accredited umpires. Shane Hill will be making the journey from London to run the day which comprises both theoretical and practical elements.

This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in developing their knowledge of the game and is not to be missed. For further details, jump over to the official Facebook event linked below.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1621615481500922/

 

 

AFL Europe Match of the Round

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Edinburgh Bloods v Glasgow Sharks

Leith Academy Park plays host to the oldest and fiercest rivalry in the Scottish Australian Rules Football League (SARFL) when the Edinburgh Bloods and Glasgow Sharks lock horns on Saturday.

History favours the Bloods between these two foundation clubs but Season 2016 has these old foes even on 8 competition points with 2 wins and 1 loss. Both sides chalked up victories against the Falkirk Silverbacks and Kingdom Kangaroos although going down to current competition leaders, the Greater Glasgow Giants.

The well-drilled, rigid game plan of the Sharks will need to hold firm if they’re to get the win on Saturday. Having a settled squad with consistent key players holds the Sharks in a good position to execute this game plan and stick to their structures. On the other hand, the Bloods traditionally like to take the game on and play a freer flowing style. A regular at the top of the ladder of the SARFL, the Bloods are a popular destination for expat Australian talent and mixing that with their regular home-grown stalwarts means they are always going to be tough to beat, especially while playing at home.

Despite being even on points the Sharks will go into this match as favorites with some good recruiting in the off-season providing them with the upper hand. James Hancock and Paul McGavin are notable inclusions for Season 2016 but its Sharks Captain, Andy Butler, who is having a stellar year with his strong presence and run out of the back-line.

Players and fans alike pencil in the date for this game each year with the anticipation of the hard-fought game of footy that it always brings. Saturday will be no different and come 1:30pm you can bet both sides with be doing everything they can to come away with the 4 competition points.

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What the Coach says – Alan ‘Snow’ McSparron, Edinburgh Bloods

“It is always a tough game no matter how both teams are going. We will have to be on our game with the Sharks travelling well this season.”

What the Coach says – Stephen C, Glasgow Sharks

“Of course there is the rivalry aspect to this game but we need to be sure we don’t take our eyes off the ball! We are traveling to Edinburgh to continue our recent good form and come away with the 4 points. These games are always close and I am hoping that our overlap run will provide the catalyst for us to play a strong 4 quarters. “4

Match Details

Leith Academy,

Academy Park, Leith, EH6 8JQ

Ball up 1:30pm BST

What do the Axemen, Bloods, Devils, Hawks and Lions have in common?

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 The Solna Axemen, Edinburgh Bloods, Toulouse Hawks and Rhienland Lions will land in Amsterdam this coming Saturday to join us, and co-hosts Amsterdam Devils, for the Inaugural AFL Europe Champions League. With the tournament looming and the need to take home the cup becoming stronger, AFL Europe headquarters caught up for a chat with five of the ten teams hitting the turf this Saturday.

 

Alan “Sparro” McSparron and the Bloods are making their way from Edinburgh to Amsterdam to test the standards of football around Europe. With great excitement and a constantly growing Scottish League, the Bloods are looking forward to measuring themselves against these top European Teams.

 

Along with the Bloods come the Rhienland Lions heading west from Germany to show Europe why they won AFLG Championship. Being named after the region of Rhienland due to rivalry between the cities of Cologne and Düsseldorf, the team boasts players from both these cities. With friendly game experience against teams from the UK, Netherlands, France and Denmark the Lions are raring to show they’re a force to reckon with.

 

It was an easy decision for the Solna Axemen to head to Amsterdam for the first ever AFL Europe Champions League. The excitement has been building since receiving the invitation. The Stockholm Australian Rules Football Federation (SAFF) began in 2007 and the Solna Axemen have cemented their invite after winning 6 from 8 premierships, including back to back in 2013 and 2014. Not only are the Axemen excited to play against new teams and test their skills, they’re ready to meet other players from around Europe and a few, hopefully celebratory, beers after the Tournament.

 

Being founded in 2008 by only 5 French players, the Toulouse Hawks quickly moved up the French Championship ladder and managed to snag a few key players from the French National Team. Winning the French Championship and being undefeated in the both the 2013 and 2014 seasons, the Toulouse Hawks are definitely one of the teams to watch in the Champions League. They are excited to participate in the Inaugural Champions League and looking forward to some international exposure all the while hoping to take home the cup!

 

The host of the first inaugural Champions League, the Amsterdam Devils were founded in 2010 and proudly took out the Dutch league in their first year and every year since! With a combination of Dutch and Australian at the heart and soul of the Devils, and strong British and South African legs the home team is ready to put up a good fight to keep the Cup on home soil. New star recruit, Nick Moran and the team and ready to compete with the best teams from Europe.

Follow the Tournament at @AFL_Europe, #AFL_Europe and #ChampionsLeague

 

Sarah Ongarello

Excitement brews a week out from Amsterdam

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Here at AFL Europe headquarters we had a chat to three of the ten qualifying teams participating in the Champions League in Amsterdam next Saturday 21st March.

On behalf of the West London Wildcats, Nathan Costley, was able to shed some light on the excitement down at the club. The Wildcats are bringing probably the most diverse team of the bunch, with nationalities ranging from Welsh, Irish, Kiwi and Australian. This variety could mean some fierce competition en route to Amsterdam next week!

With similar excitement Zagreb Hawks President, Josip Kraver, enlightens us that the Hawks are coming off a turnover of players due to the unique and specialised draft/trade system in Croatia and is ready to showcase some fresh legs and talent. A special mention to young gun and Croatian National, Tomislav Cvetko, who has returned to his local club the Zagreb Cvjetno Dockers. The Champions League is giving this Croatian team a good opportunity to show their skills and head back to Croatia to continue their domination of the SANH.

Finally, William English and The Malmö Red Eyes are excited to be joining us in Amsterdam after having dominated The SAFL for the past 6 years. Forming in 2006, the Red Eyes won 5 straight SAFL premierships then their 6th in 2014. The Red Eyes will be the first team from Skåne to participate in the AFL Europe Champions League!

Count down is on! One week to go!

 

Sarah Ongarello