World Footy News

Sunday November 27th saw the very first staging of the 'Nathan Blakey Movember Cup' which pitted Central & North Western League rivals Sheffield, Manchester & Wolverhampton against the newly formed team from Leeds.

Named in honour of a former Mozzie and staged in conjunction with the Movember Foundation, the aim of the day was to raise money and awareness for Men's health as well as showcasing the great game of Aussie Rules.

As the season has well and truly ended, the participating teams saw the tournament as a good stepping stone for next years league, with each side fielding a lot of new players, with many experiencing the game for the first time. Wolves coach Ian Mitchell summed up the pre game feeling perfectly saying his lads were "really looking forward to the cup, it's for a very good cause".

This report courtesy of Jayden Hocking.

The day's format screamed out plenty of exciting football as each team played the other over 2 halves of 10 minutes. World Footy News reporter Tobietta Rhyman was on hand to watch the action, as Leeds kicked off against a young Wolverhampton side. Racing out the blocks, Leeds hit the front and continued to dominate with their experienced players and bigger bodies getting the best of the smaller Wolves team, the new boys eventually running out 63 point winners.

Hosts Manchester kicked off next against Sheffield and after experiencing many a close encounter throughout the two clubs histories, this proved to be the case again on Sunday. Both teams battled extremely hard and it was almost impossible to split the difference with Manchester coming out winners by a single point.

The Sheffield boys were keen to put the loss behind them in the next game against Wolverhampton. After getting soundly beaten earlier, the Wolves suddenly clicked into gear, however Sheffield's midfield proved to be the difference, winning the contest by 11 points.

The next battle between Leeds and Manchester was not one for those who love straight kicking as both teams struggled to get to terms with the strong wind. Leeds dominated the 1st half however couldn't put the Mozzies away. After starting strongly in the 2nd half, the Mozzies seemed to run out of steam as Leeds sped away to a 25 point victory.

Leeds were keen to keep the momentum going in their last match, however Sheffield were quick to jump out the blocks. With a determined defence and quick movement, Sheffield sprung the days biggest surprise and overpowered Leeds, winning by 4 points. The final game of the day saw Manchester take on the ever improving team from Wolverhampton. As things stood, Manchester needed a big win to claim the cup however the Wolves put up an encouraging fight, going down by 19 points.

After a shower and food from the barbecue, the teams gathered in the club room awaiting the presentation. Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester all finished on two points, meaning it came down to percentage. Due to Leeds big opening win, it was clear that they were the deserving winners of the inaugural Movember cup. Leeds Coach Rhys Long, was extremely pleased with his teams efforts throughout the day "it was only the guys second hit out, we struggled near the end but it was a good result".

All in all it was an extremely successful day both on and off the field, with the event raising £300. The Manchester Mozzies plan on holding the event again next year, however all teams are now focused on coming back bigger and better for next year's C&NW season.