World Footy News

1 San Diego Lions (10 #1 Votes) (6-0)
2 Denver Bulldogs (5-1)
3 BW Eagles (5-0)
4 NY Magpies (4-1) (UP from 5)
5 Golden Gate Roos (1-1) (DOWN from 4)
6 Chicago United (5-1)
7 OC Bombers (1-4)
8 Boston Demons (2-2)
9 Minnesota Freeze (3-1) (IN)
10 Seattle Grizzlies (3-0)
Also receiving votes Atlanta Kookaburras (4-2) (OUT), Milwaukee Bombers (3-7), Nashville Kangaroos (6-1).

The No. 1 San Diego Lions have cemented themselves as favorites going into the USFooty National Championship Tournament in Louisville KY on October 13 and 14. The Lions also finished top of the Unofficial USFooty ladder with 6 wins, no losses, 24 points and a percentage of 301. The Lions impressive regular season included going 2-0 in their home and home series with the Orange County Bombers, a convincing win over Golden Gate in San Diego and taking out the 2007 Western Regional Tournament by beating No. 2 Denver Bulldogs by 9 in Denver. The Lions have been led all year by former president and 2006 joint Best and Fairest, Brendan McDonald who finished top of the USFooty goal kicking list with 17 goals, an average of just under 3 goals a game. Also contributing to the cause is current President Adam Cannane, J Cameron, S Shenk and last year's joint Best and Fairest Justin Valley. Nipping the Lions' heels all season has been the Denver Bulldogs. Denver also had a very impressive season finishing with 5 wins and just one close loss to the Lions. Denver finished 3rd behind the unranked Nashville Kangaroos on the Unofficial USFooty ladder with 20 points and a percentage of 485. Denver have been led all year by former USFooty President and 2007 East vs West stand out Rich Mann.

The big mover in the 2007 was the Baltimore Washington Eagles who finished the season ranked No. 3. The Eagles had a very impressive 5-0 season with road wins over New York, Philadelphia and North Carolina. The Eagles finished 4th on the Unofficial USFooty ladder with 20 points and a percentage of 211. Their win over New York gave them the 2007 US Eastern Australian Football League Premiership. The Eagles play has been characterized by a strong running game with a forward structure that reminds you of the 1977 Carlton Premiership side. Aaron Tyndall led the Eagles with 10 goals and a number of best on grounds. Unfortunately, Tyndall will not be available for Nationals. The Eagles will be looking for Revos Chris Carroll, RJ Wheelock and Jay Lavesque to play at their best. Coach Matty Bishop has also had some success playing up forward. The Eagles east coast nemesis, the New York Magpies finished the season ranked No. 4 with 4 wins and their only loss to the Eagles in New York. The Magpies finished 8th on the Unofficial USFooty ladder with 16 points and a percentage of 147, and second in the US EAFL. The Magpies will be looking for big contributions from Shane Batty and Luke North.

No. 5 Golden Gate Roos only had two games for the season and finished 1-1 with a loss to San Diego in San Diego and a win over the Orange County Bombers at home. As usual the Roos are the dark horse going into the National Championship Tourney. No. 6 Chicago United finished the season by beating arch nemisis Milwaukee and winning the 2007 MAAFL Premiership. The win gave United an automatic bid into Division 1. Chicago finished the season 5th on the Unofficial USFooty ladder with 5 wins and the one loss to Seattle in Seattle. United will be looking for big contributions from Drew Ehlers and Rohan Ward and must be given some advantage due to their proximity to the Louisville.

Rounding out the top 8 and only bubble for Division 1 are No. 7 Orange County and No. 8 Boston Demons. Orange County finished the regular season 1-4 with the toughest schedule in USFooty. The Bombers lost to the No. 1 San Diego Lions, the No. 2 Denver Bulldogs and the No. 5 Golden Gate Roos. Probably their best game in 2007 was their close loss to the Lions in LA. The Boston Demons finished 2-2 with both losses on the road and a forfeit win over the North Carolina Tigers. Also on the bubble for Division 1 are No. 9 Minnesota Freeze and the No. 10 Seattle Grizzlies. Minnesota finished 12th on the Unofficial USFooty ladder with three wins and their only loss to No. 2 Denver in Minneapolis. The Freeze are a relatively new team in USFooty and had a break out season in 2006. It will be big step for them to compete in Division 1, but if they don't look for them to finish towards the top of Division 2. The Grizzlies are another dark horse coming out of the west. They had a perfect record with three wins, but never traveled too far from their home of Seattle.

The teams to watch out for in Division II include the Nashville Kangaroos with a 6-1 season putting then second in the Unofficial USFooty ladder with 24 points and a percentage of 165. Nashville is led by Luke Nemeth who was the leading vote getter in USFooty in 2007 and Jason King who finished 2nd in the goal kickers with 13 goals in league play. Located only a couple of hours from Louisville, Nashville is likely to bring a strong squad. Also look for the Milwaukee Bombers who had a disappointing 3-7 season and are obviously missing the Brunmeier brothers who have just finished out their season in the reserves with the West Perth Falcons. The other team to watch is the Atlanta Kookaburras who had an up and down 4-2 season with good wins at home.