World Footy News

With the European summer well and truly behind us, WFN takes a look at who took out the silverware in the domestic leagues across Europe.

In our first installment, we'll look at the AFL London, the leagues around regional England, Scotland and Wales.

London

The AFL London premiership saw a major upset in the preliminary final, with the Putney Magpies defeating the West London Wildcats and qualifying for their first Grand Final appearance. This defeat saw the Wildcats miss a Grand Final berth for the first time since 2001, and end their hunt for a staggering seventh straight London premiership.

The Magpies couldn't complete the fairytale in the Grand Final, going down to the Wandsworth Demons 15.15 (105) to 4.7 (31). The flag was Wandsworth's seventh in their 20 year history in the BARFL and AFL London, and their first since 2003.

Wandsworth's affiliate sides were defeated by their West London counterparts in both the Conference (2nds) and Social (3rds) divisions, with the Shepherds Bush Raiders defeating the Clapham Demons in the conference, and the Ealing Emus triumphing over the South London Demons in the social division.

Southern England

The Sussex Swans dominated the Southern League in 2010, losing only one match all season and defeating the Bournemouth Demons by 11 goals in the Grand Final. The game was a tight affair until half time, when the Swans ran away with the game and posted a decisive victory.

Bournemouth, the Chippenham Redbacks and Southampton Titans all had a 4-4 record after the home and away season, with the Portsmouth Pirates having a very tough 2010 season and finishing in last place on the table with only one win for the season.

Central & North West England

The Central & North West league had a tough start to the 2010 season, with the new clubs from Hull and Peterborough not making it onto the field, and 2009 clubs the Liverpool Eagles and Birmingham Bears having to go into recess.

However, a highlight was the reemergence of the Sheffield Thunder and Wolverhampton Wolverines, who stepped up to take their place in the C&NW Premiership.

Season 2010 ultimately belonged to the Manchester Mosquitoes, who went through the season undefeated, defeating traditional rivals the Nottingham Scorpions by 17 points in the Grand Final.

Selection for the Great Britain Bulldogs side at the European Championships also reflected the growing stature of the Central & North West clubs, with the Bulldogs featuring 3 players from Wolverhampton, 2 each from Manchester and the Huddersfield Rams, and one member of the Sheffield Thunder.

North East England

After a few years of a stable 5-team league in north east England, the 2010 season turned out to be a bit of a fizzer, after the Middlesborough Hawks and Hartlepool Dockers folded at the beginning of the season.

The remaining three clubs, Durham, Newcastle and Gateshead, played a few social matches, but no premiership was conducted.

The north east clubs are currently discussing how best to move forward, with some suggestion they might combine with the Central & North West league in some form.

Scotland

The Edinburgh Bloods went back-to-back in 2010, successfully defending the premiership cup they'd won in 2009. The Bloods defeated the Glasgow Sharks 66-53 in the decider, after the Sharks had two weeks earlier defeated the Aberdeen Dingoes for the right to challenge the Bloods.

The Scottish national side this year rebranded as the "Clansmen", and completed a busy schedule, which included their first international silverware by defeating Wales in the two-match Bute Series.

Wales

The South Cardiff Panthers became the first Welsh club to win back-to-back WARFL premierships, defeating the Swansea Magpies 17.20 (122) to 8.3 (51) in the Grand Final, held in Barry on the last weekend of July.

The Panthers this year also took out the Cardiff Clwb Challenge and Caerdydd Cup tournaments, and finished runners-up in the British Club Challenge. In October, they became the first Welsh club to tour outside the UK, with a match in France against the Bordeaux Bombers.

The Welsh league this year expanded to five clubs, with the creation of the Vale Warriors in the town of Barry. 2011 sees them hoping to expand to six, with plans for the creation of the Bridgend Eagles.