Posts

Around the Grounds

/in /by

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.

munich

hamburg

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.

ceafl3

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

oslo

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.

blues

 

AFL Europe Match of the Round

/in /by

CEAFL Tournament 4/6/16

This week’s ‘Match of the Round’ is changing it up a little. Due to a fixture change for the CEAFL tournament which was initially meant to be held this weekend we’re going to do a review of their first tournament from the 4th of June that was held in Croatia.

The CEAFL or Central European AFL is a series of tournaments amongst countries in that region to supplement their domestic competitions.

The first tournament was held in Croatia on the 4th of June and included the teams: Zagreb Hawks, Zagreb Dockers, Zaprude Giants, Ploče Eagles, Sesvete Double Blues, Styrian Downunderdogs and the Velika Gorica Bombers.

The Zagreb Hawks won this league in both 2014 and 2015, however, this year sees a new set of favourites with the Zagreb Dockers and Zaprude Giants pushing for early favouritism.

This tournament saw teams were split into two groups.

Group 1:

  • Zagreb Hawks
  • Zaprude Giants
  • Ploče Eagles
  • Velika Gorica Bombers

Group 2:

  • Sesvete Double Blues
  • Styrian Downunderdogs
  • Zagreb Dockers

Games Review

Group 1 saw the Hawks topple the Bombers in a tight affair before giving the Ploče Eagles a tough game, winning that one by a bigger margin. The Giants won all their games and stamped their authority on the competition by letting everyone know who the favourites were in the group. Ploče edged out the Bombers for another year and locked in third place.

Final Standings:

  1. Zaprude Giant
  2. Zagreb Hawks
  3. Ploče Eagles
  4. Velika Gorica Bombers

Best on Ground:

Lenić (Giants), Galez (Giants), Mamić (Giants), Diklić (Hawks), Prtenjača (Hawks), Nedić (Bombers), Kežić (Eagles).

 

Group 2 saw the Dockers and Double Blues head to head in an absolute thriller. The Dockers kicked 2 goals in 2 minutes to edge past the Blues and claim victory. The Dockers cruised through their game with the DownUnderdogs, as did the Double Blues.

Final Standings:

  1. Zagreb Dockers
  2. Sesvete Double Blues
  3. Styrian Downunderdogs

Best on Ground:

Cvetko (Dockers), Ivoš (Dockers), Motik (Blues), Pavković (Blues), Jud (Downunderdogs), Schittegg (Downuderdogs)

Following the group stages the final series was played out. The Zaprude Giants dominated the Zagreb Dockers in the Final and proved they’ll be tough to beat in the remaining tournaments.

 

Best on Ground:

Ignacije Valečić

 

Team Reviews

Zagreb Hawks

After winning back-to-back Croatian leagues and CEAFL the Hawks lost some of their key players. Josip Habljak went to play in Sturt FC and that story is well known, Tomislav Cvetko, Croatian Knights Captain and one of the best players of the league went to play for Dockers. In this CEAFL they played without captain and best player, Jan Doležal.

Josip Kravar started to play at full forward and some rookies emerged to the team. The

Hawks were not focusing on winning the CEAFL or Croatian league, but to rebuild team with rookies in order to bring back the flag one day with young forces.
Maybe not the strongest team, but for sure most dedicated workers.

 

Zagreb Cvjetno Dockers

After the arrival of Tomislav Cvetko, the Dockers team won the Croatian league in 2015. Despite Cvetko, the Dockers have Croatian Knights in forward line that cause headaches for all team’s. Lovre Čudina, Ivan Ivoš and Tomislav Cvetko are making a difference and combined with strong midfielders (Ivan Molnar, Luka Čudina and Zvonimir Marinovic). Their strong and determined defence is what holds this team together.

Hot favourites for the CEAFL and Croatian league.

 

Zapruđe Giants

Maybe the only rivals to Dockers this year. The Giants have best midfield in this league (Murković, Lazanin, Mamić) and probably best defence led by Lenić and Galez.

They have lost Nedić as a skilful HF but compensate that with Benčić (last year’s rookie and Knights player).

Giants are strong team that can win against any other team if they play to their ability.

 

Sesvete Double Blues
After last year debut in Croatian league and CEAFL, the Blues grew into team that can play side by side with stronger teams. They lost to the Giants and Dockers in Croatian league this year due to inexperience and some rookie mistakes, but they have potential to hurt top teams.

They have a strong midfield group lead by Motik and Pavković and reliable defence with Djuran, Pecikoza and Karamatić junior. As well as this, Karamatić senior is forever dangerous in the forward line.

 

Velika Gorica Bombers

Founded by young Giant, Tomislav Nedić and Hawk, Filip Martincevic, who have given their best to start up a completely new team. Josip Josipović joined in their back line as an experienced player and gave them some confidence.

Bombers in their first year are still learning but showing a promising future with young players that work hard on and off the field.

 

Ploče Eagles

Ploče also started to play in the Croatian League and CEAFL in 2016. Found by Johnny Ante Rončević who has given his life to this club.  Youngest team in competition where midfield is led by 15-year-old players like Hrvoje Kežić, who in his first year is picked to play for Croatian Knights which proves his talent and potential.

Their strength is their unity and ability to play as a team and that is what matters. They proved to be better than Bombers in the last game and we are looking forward to watching their next game.

 

Styrian DownUnderdogs

Apart from some experienced players such as, Michi Jud and Lukas Holzegger, they’re predominantly rookies that are keen to introduce themselves into this league. They will continue to develop with the increased exposure and will hopefully stick together despite a few tough games ahead.

They haven’t won a game in Croatia for a long time and they are hoping to change this.

 

Looking Forward

The next CEAFL Cup is on the 9th of July in Graz followed by another tournament in Prague on the 10th of September.

A special thanks to Josip Kravar for provding AFL Europe with such a thorough breakdown of the first CEAFL tournament. We look forward to hearing all things footy in the future.