World Footy News

The opening round of Norway’s Kenguru Cup for 2013 was played last night in Olso. According to Adam Pearce, president of AFL Norway, "[we had] three good and close Kenguru Cup games tonight. Each team won one game so it’s looking like it might be an exciting league this year."

As mentioned in a previous article on Norwegian footy, the 9-a-side format last year worked well with the Oslo team separated into East and West, and the Ås university team making for a three team competition. This format was again used for this year’s tournament.

Results saw all three teams sharing the spoils, proving that the formula is a success and providing an even spread of talent, and a belief amongst all players that they can achieve success. Significantly, the Olso West team, who came in third place last year, took the honours this year, highlighting the success of their recruiting and retention program. This was foretold by Adam last year when he suggested that, "Oslo West also has the potential to win as well if they can hold the same regular players."

The scores for the night were:

Game 1: Ås 4.4 (28) d Oslo East 2.5 (17)
Game 2: Oslo West 2.7 (19) d Ås 1.4 (10)
Game 3: Oslo East 4.0 (24) d Oslo West 3.2 (20)

The final standings on the night saw:

This tournament represents the chance for players to strive to be part of the Norwegian national team for this year’s Euro Cup. The success of this competition in 2013 may also be a valuable shot in the arm and confidence boost to other teams looking to develop in Bergen, Trondheim and possibly others. Success breeds success.

The second round of the Kenguru Cup will be played in Ås on the 27th June.