Around the Grounds
It was a big weekend of grand finals around Europe with Germany, Norway and the CEAFL crowning their 2016 Premiers.
Munich reign supreme in the AFLG 16s Premiership with a convincing win over Berlin, while Hamburg prove too strong in the AFLG 9s Championship
The Munich Kangaroos dominated in the AFLG 16s Premiership at the weekend to claim the 2016 title.
The Kangaroos jumped out to a 20-point lead at quarter time and didn’t look back. They put the foot down in the second term and went into the main break with a 62-25 advantage.
It was always going to be tough to bridge that gap for the Berlin side but to their credit they didn’t throw in the towel. They couldn’t impact the scorers but their effort never dropped off.
Full credit to a smooth moving Munich who kept their opponent to a solitary point in the second half and ran out comfortable winners. Final scores reading 139-26. Well done Kangas.
The 16s Premiership wasn’t all that was on the line on Saturday with the AFLG 9s Championship decider being played between the Frankfurt Redbacks and Hamburg Dockers. It was the latter who took home the chocolates as they wrestled the advantage in their favour with a strong premiership quarter giving them a 23-point buffer. It was junk time in the fourth quarter for the Dockers as they strolled in for a 19.12. 126 to 10.11. 71 victory.
Congratulations to all teams who competed at the weekend and the AFLG committee for taking the game in Germany from strength to strength.
Giants taste even more success as Zaprude make it a clean sweep in Prague
Giants fans from all over the globe will be grinning from ear-to-ear after the weekend they just had. First he GWS seniors won through to the preliminary final in the AFL, then their reserves took out the North East AFL title, but it was the Giants from Zaprude who claimed their third tournament victory for the year and wrapped up the CEAFL title for season 2016.
In what was an amazing day of Central European football hosted by the Prague Dragons, the Zaprude Giants defeated all challengers claiming the Prague instalment of the championship by defeating a valiant Sesvete Double Blues.
In the third place final its was the home side, the Prague Dragons, taking on the Zagreb Dockers. In a tight tussle it was the Dockers who held on for a narrow victory.
The fifth place final pitted a much improved Styrian DownunderDogs against the VG Bombers. The Bombers were too good in this clash finishing off a strong first season in the competition.
The Zagreb Hawks battled hard all day but with a weakened touring squad they were unable to impact the competition.
The Prague instalment of the CEAFL was the third and final tournament of the competition. After victories in Zagreb and Gratz it was always going to be tough to catch eventual winners, Zaprude who put it beyond doubt after a dominant display on Saturday.
Massive congratulations to the Prague Dragons for hosting the tournament but also to the entire CEAFL committee and community. After experiencing first-hand your tournament, it is without doubt that AFL in Central Europe is onto a winning formula. We can’t wait to see what the CEAFL brings in 2017.
Oslo East too strong for the boys from the West in AFL Norway decider
Oslo East are Champions of Norway! Despite a relentless Oslo West, East were just too classy and dominated from start to finish.
Danny Aukema was dominant up front and impressed with 6 majors, while Aidan Dutton was unstoppable in midfield. The Norwegian national captain, Mats Danielsen was a rock in defence and was ecstatic to hold up the Kengura Cup for 2016 after his team failed to make the grand final the previous year.
Oslo West were best served by the ever-dependable Rene Damborg Jensen, Klas Alexander Harris and Ben Marks
Final scores 12.5. 77 to 1.5 11
Sodermalm finish top and straight through to SAFF grand final
Sodermalm Blues continue to be the who’s who in the SAFF as their final round match was marked down as a forfeit as the Solna Axemen were unable to field a full side.
The 120-0 forfeit puts the Blues at the top of the SAFF ladder and will see them advance to the decider on the 24th of September. Unfortunately for Solna it also marks the first time a SAFF side has gone through a season without registering a win.
The Axemen are a proud club and will be out to prove a point in season 2017. Congratulations to the Axemen who made the journey along with the Arsta Swans who combined to play a friendly 11-a-side match against the Blues.
