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Tuesday Around the Grounds

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Each Tuesday we put together a snapshot of what’s been happening all things AFL around Europe. If you or your club want something featured, please send through information to ben.durance@afleurope.org

AFL London Women’s Grand Final rematch goes down to the wire

After the men’s grand final rematch blowout, a couple of weeks ago, the women had their turn on a picturesque Sunday afternoon at Motspur Park. A few sore heads from a large day at the Epsom Derby on the Saturday didn’t deter the Hawks or Demons Ladies. The match was ferocious from the first bounce and the intensity never dropped.

The Hawks jumped out of the blocks in the 4th quarter and held onto a 2 goal lead, finishing 5.4. 34 to 3.4. 22. Full credit to both clubs and their coaching staff for showcasing the amazing growth and development of the women’s game here in London.

Clapham Cubs back on this Sunday 12th of June

After a two week lay-off due to the bank holiday and mid-term break the AFL Europe Juniors and Auskick program is back on again. All ages are welcome with the session running from 11am-12noon this Sunday the 12th of June at Clapham Common.

If you haven’t signed up your child or are seeking further information, please check the flyer below or follow the link to the Clapham Cubs website.

www.claphamcubs.co.uk

Cubs Poster

Massive weekend of football in Germany sees Munich Kangaroos and Berlin Crocodiles go undefeated

Two lightening rounds were held in Germany over the weekend, one in Munich and the other in Hamburg. 8 teams took part across the two tournaments with each playing 3 games.

The Munich Kangaroos proved too strong on their home turf and finished the day undefeated. Over in Hamburg the Berlin Crocs took the spoils winning all three games comfortably.

Congratulations to all teams who made the carnivals a great success and are showing the continued growth of Aussie Rules in Germany.

Mozzies put on a show on the Tyne

It was the second lightning round of the season for AFL Central North East England at the weekend hosted by the Tyne Tees Tigers ARFC.

The Manchester Mozzies continued their strong start to season 2016 following a runners-up finish at the AFL Europe Champions League. They amassed a total of 341 points across two games at the weekend and proved to again be strong favourites in the ever-growing Central North East England competition.

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Demons do their part for MND research

This weekend’s Queens Birthday clash between Collingwood v Melbourne also sees the second instalment of the Cure for MND’s ‘Big Freeze at the G’.

The Wandsworth Demons will be hosting the West London Wildcats at Clapham Common on Saturday and will be putting on a fundraiser to help out with the efforts in finding a cure for Motor Neurone Disease.

With hats and beanies for sale, raffles throughout the day and a cake sale there’ll be a great atmosphere down at the Common. Keep an eye out on AFL Europe’s and the Wandsworth Demons website and social media for more information regarding the weekend.

Girls umpire too!

A special mention has to go out to two of AFL London’s most dedicated volunteers, Lisa Wilson and Kate Grabowski, who umpired their first Premiership game together on Friday night in a match between the Hawks and the Demons.

The game was well controlled and officiated by the girls with all involved playing in the right spirit. It was a great show of development for Aussies Rules abroad and hopefully we’ll see more women take the leap into umpiring.

Congratulations Kate and Lisa.

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Ben Durance

 

 

Oxford Univesity take on Amsterdam.

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Oxford University visited Amsterdam for their end of season tour, bringing with them 15 men and 6 ladies ready for some footy and lots of Amsterdam madness!

 

The main fixture saw a 10-a-side game of 20 minute quarters take place on the Grandstand pitch at SportPark De Eendracht. With a mixed bag of weather, from bitterly cold and windy to crack open the sunscreen. It was clear that the team who made best use of the conditions would be in pole position for the win. The first quarter was an even affair, with neither team really stamping their authority on the game and the Devils, kicking against the wind, taking a slender lead into the first break. In the second quarter things really started to open up for the Devils and they made sure they took advantage of the wind, kicking 7 goals in the quarter and taking a commanding 43 points lead into the main break. From there the game was the Devils to lose. Oxford fought hard in the third term and applied some good pressure in the middle but weren’t able to reduce the deficit on the scoreboard and the Devils lead by 51 points at the three quarter time. During the fourth quarter the Devils kicked with another 7 goals, however Oxford didn’t let them have it completely their own way with some big hits still being laid in the last term. The Devils came out victorious 20.19 (139) to 7.6 (48).

 

Next up was the Mixed Game, with three of the Oxford Ladies donning Devils jerseys for the chance to face off against their team mates. The format was 9-a-side non-contact footy, with each team being joined by six men from the main fixture. This was truly a game of two halves with Oxford racing to a half time lead of 15 points with some great footy on show by the ladies and accurate goal kicking. The Devils turned things around in the second half, showing off their silky skills and took the lead with less than two minutes left on the clock. Oxford then turned on the magic to kick a great team goal and the scores were level with 42 seconds remaining. The clock seemed to slow down (well, at least to the Devils fans on the sidelines) and Oxford were applying some great pressure, the Devils defence doing everything they could to keep Oxford at bay. As the clock ticked, 3, 2, 1 – Oxford couldn’t find a clean enough possession to get a shot on goal and the final siren sounded. The first draw of the season, and what a game it was. Frantic play at the end to get a winner, but to no avail. The final score ended up Amsterdam Devils Mixed 6.6 (42) to Oxford University Mixed 6.6 (42). 

 

After the game we hosted a BBQ with mouth watering burgers, hot dogs and potato salad on offer. This was devoured before a #nofilter photo could be taken unfortunately but the food was definitely enjoyed by one and all. Followed by a presentation for the Best On Ground and Hard Nut from each side in the Men’s fixture and the two Best On Grounds in the mixed fixture (see below for the winners). A mini boat race was the prize for the award winners, with Oxford showing their boat race experience winning by one person, in a three person race. Sensational viewing!  

 

Both teams then headed to Drovers Dog (Dog 3) for a social event that consisted of more drinking games than anyone could keep track of. It was at Dog 3 where Oxford challenged the Devils to an eight person boat race. Chests were puffed out and there were death stares across the table, but none of that mattered as Oxford continued their strong form with another victory by one person. The Devils were clearly gutted but couldn’t take anything away from what was clearly an experienced boat race team! 

 

A fantastic day of footy and socialising was had by all. Look out for the return fixture next season, and the Devils making improvements in their boat race form!

 

Devils BOG: Julian Poole

Devils Hard Nut: Reinier Jacco Maarten Vriend

 

Oxford BOG: Sean Morris

Oxford Hard Nut: Wande McCunn

 

Ladies BOGs: Liz Murray (Devils) & Emma Coulson (Oxford)

 

Written by Neil Cooke for AFL Europe

Toulouse Hawks undefeated French Champions!

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By Alban Schieber

The 2014 French Championship ended on June 14th with a wonderful Grand Final held in Toulouse at the Australian Summer Party organised by the Toulouse Hawks.

Before even knowing if they would play in the Grand Final, it was already determined that the Hawks would be the hosts. After a few weeks of brainstorming, they decided to play another card to attract people to the event.

The Australian Summer Party, DJ, BBQ, drinks, games, goodies and of course footy were on the program. “The idea was to have more than traditional fans for the game! And also more ladies!” said Emilien Martinez (Toulouse Hawks President).

After turning on the music and the beer tap, the afternoon started with a women’s footy game where the ladies of France came to play together in two sides called the Toulouse Hawks and the Toulouse Cockerelles (most of the girls coming from Toulouse and Paris). A great achievement to hold the first official 7-a-side French women’s game.

Most of the early crowd was really surprised to see the level of this game as the girls were putting so much intensity and passion in the game. “Handpasses, kicks, shepherds, goals, high marks, their skills set improved a lot since the Axios Euro Cup held in Bordeaux” said Pascal Ivorra the French Women’s Coach.

This was a great first step for women’s footy development. This game also helped him to see all the ladies before the 2014 Axios Euro Cup which will take place in London in October.

During the ladies curtain raiser game, the temperature kept on rising in the grandstand when the two men’s teams entered the change rooms to begin their pre game preparations.

The Hawks were the first ones to come out in front of a 500-600 people crowd followed by the Paris Cockerels for a remake of last year’s title.

Pat Douglas from Andorra came to umpire the game and was delighted to be part of the event.

The Cockerels were the first ones to put their hands on the ball scoring three behinds in a row within the two first minutes. Unfortunately, they were unable to score goals to make a small break. After a good play of handpasses, the Toulouse Hawks scored the first goal of the game after 5 minutes! Quickly followed by a second and third one. At quarter time the Hawks held the lead at 38 to 12.

In the second quarter  the Paris Cockerels seemed to have found their sight for the footy but not the precision. The Hawks on the other hand remained accurate and kept increasing their margin. At half time Toulouse lead 62-23.

The third quarter demonstrated the ability of Toulouse to play as a team while Paris got caught out kicking long bombs and hoping for individuals performance. 101-36.

In the last quarter Toulouse managed to capitalise on the situation and control the game. However the Cockerels began a late surge scoring consecutive goals but it was too late. The Hawks came away as champions on the day with the final score of 104-62.


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French Ladies

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Paris Cockerels vs Toulouse Hawks

Tigers beat Convicts in the wet

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By Ian Baxter

On Saturday June 7th women from all over Great Britain and Ireland converged in Newcastle to play the Tyne Tees Tigers Women’s team at North Shields Rugby Club. The visiting team, the Convicts, were able to boast 2 Irish internationals, a French international, a couple of experienced Australians and no less than 4 of the always well drilled Glasgow Sharks side. It was clear that these girls would be no pushovers, especially for the Tigers side who were all playing in either their first or second game of Aussie Rules.

In a 9 –a-side game played over 4x 15 minute quarters, both teams showed skill, flair and commitment that at times belied the heavy rain and always slippery conditions. During the first quarter playing with the wind and some luck the Tigers took control of the game whilst the convicts got to grips with the conditions and their new team mates. Convicts ruck recruit Rachel ‘Killa’ Kilmartin used her height to dominate the ruck contest from the get go, but the hard running of Tigers midfielders Lucy Kavanagh, Polly Moane, and Michelle Healy coupled with the strong marking of forward Jordy Lane allowed the Tigers to take a 25 point lead into the first break.

1Q: Tyne Tees Tigers 4.2.26 Convicts 0.1.1

The second quarter saw the Convict Tia Bool work her way more into the game with her Australian experience and class on the ball evident to all, allied with the pacy running of Kirsty Gray saw Bool kick the convicts first goal of the game. But it wasn’t to be, as a stellar quarter by the Tigers midfielder Lynn Mitchell saw her kick 3 goals and attract the attention and chants of the growing crowd as the Tigers piled on 5 goals to take a 50 point lead into the half time break.

HT: Tyne Tees Tigers 9.3.57  Convicts 1.1.7

In the Third quarter again the convicts stepped it up with the run and carry of the Irish pair Carolann Cass and Fiona Roarty coming to the fore. Enabling French International Gaelle Hazimeh to double the vistors goal tally. But a comeback wasn’t to be as the Tigers defence of Grace Campbell and Tanya Scully marshalled by the majestic Lisa McHugh, were able to deal with the attack and rebound effectively allowing the hard working forwards of Jordy Lane, Karen Keane and Nicola McLaughlin to add another 5 goals to the Tiger tally.

3QT Tyne Tees Tigers 14.4.88 Convicts 2.1.13

The final quarter saw some tired legs continuing to compete over the rain sodden ground with Glasgow Sharks representatives Evelyn McGee, Kristi Jo Fawcett and Sarahmairead McLachlan standing their ground as they had all day, through the midfield and backline against a strong tigers attacking formation. The Tigers added another 2 goals to finish up the winners by 88 pts and not even the weather could dampen the spirits of the players and crowd who’d enjoyed themselves immensely that afternoon.

Final Tyne Tees Tigers 16.6.102 Convicts 2.2.14

The day was a great success and a positive step forward for the development of the game in Europe. The next planned ladies game in England will be held in London on the 21st of June as part of the Wimbledon Hawks Ladies Day. For more information contact Tia Bool tia.bool@afleurope.org

Goals

Tigers: Lane 5 Mitchell, Healy 3 Keane 2 Kavanagh, Moane, McHugh 1

Convicts:  Bool, Hazimeh 1

Teams

Tigers: Lucy Kavanagh (capt), Lisa McHugh, Jordy Lane, Lynn Mitchell, Nicola McLaughlin, Polly Moane, Michelle Healy, Tanya Scully, Karen Keane, Grace Campbell

Convicts: Tia Bool (Wimbledon Hawks), Gaelle Hazimeh (Wimbledon Hawks), Rachel Kilmartin (Wimbledon Hawks), Fiona Roarty (Belfast Kookaburras), Carolann Cass (Belfast Kookaburras), Kirsty Gray (Glasgow Sharks), Evelyn McGhee (Glasgow Sharks), Kristi Jo Fawcett (Glasgow Sharks), Sarah Mairead McLachlan (Glasgow Sharks)

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