World Footy News

The Bournemouth Demons have defeated Sussex in Aussie Rules UK's first Southern Division grand final. The nine-a-side competition featured six teams competing over 10 rounds, with Sussex knocking over Southampton in the preliminary final to advance through to the decider where the Demons were too good, winning by a convincing 53 points.

The league minor round finished with Bournemouth on top, just percentage clear of Southampton, followed by Sussex, Brighton and Thanet. Sussex and Brighton are affiliated with the Swans club which spans both the BARFL and ARUK, but fielding two teams in the southern league obviously dented their chances of the 2007 premiership - something the club realised but was prepared to absorb to help develop more numbers. Thanet might be slightly disappointed to finish bottom having moved from the BARFL Regional League where they struggled, but it must be remembered that the club, at least in 2006, featured no Aussies and very little Australian Football experience. Their results suggest that they were at least more competitive this year, giving them a solid base to grow from. Overall the league's season appears to have been a success, with just the one forfeit listed, a strong return for a first up season.

The ARUK media release reported that the grand final was played at the Brighton Rugby Club in Brighton, with the match details as follows.

Final Scores

Bournemouth 4.4 8.10 10.15 12.19 (91)
Sussex 0.3 1.6 2.7 5.8 (38)

Goalkickers

Bournemouth: Luke Holcombe 4, Luke Brailey 3, Lachlan Kerr 2, Martin Barker 1, Ryan Neist 1, Jonathan Spencer 1.
Sussex: Eddie Hemus 2, Stu Head 1, David Martin 1, Robert Tobler 1.

Best Players

Bournemouth: Luke Holcombe, Terry Kane, Brett Warren, Luke Brailey, Lachlan Kerr.
Sussex: Eddie Hemus, Stu Head, Mike Jacks, Robert Tobler, Mark Pratt.

Youtube footage of the victory song can be found here and an interview with the winning captain here.

Bournemouth celebrate their win