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Eastern Hawks triumph in 2013 AFL Japan Cup

  • Tuesday, October 15 2013 @ 12:23 am ACDT
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Asia

On Saturday, October 5th, Japan's largest footy tournament was held at Seimei-no-mori Resort in Chiba.

Despite the unfortunate rainy weather, the tournament was carried out as initially planned receiving the attendance of 3 local Japanese teams (Eastern Hawks, Komazawa Magpies, Senshu Powers), 1 Expat team (Tokyo Goannas), 1 mixed team (Tokyo Bay Suns), and a visiting team from Box Hill North.

The games were played with 9 players each on the ground, structure of 10 minute halves for preliminary rounds and semi-finals, and 15 minute halves for the Grand Final.

Eastern Hawks finished on top after a seesaw game against the Tokyo Bay Suns in the Grand Final.

This report courtesy of Hiroyuki Toyama from the AFL Japan.

There were many highlights to the one-day tournament but the two that stood out were the cheerleading squad and the Auskick recreation game for kids and fans.

It was AFL Japan's first challenge to have a cheerleading unit perform a dance show during ceremonies and halftimes at the Japan Cup, and it resulted in great success lightening up the crowd.

The Auskick recreation game during lunch time was attended by more than 20 kids and fans promising the development of Aussie Rules in Japan.

After the tournament which finished before sundown, a dinner reception was held at same venue attended by more than 100 footy freaks. At the reception, Awards of Tournament Trophy, Best on Ground of Grand Final, Leading Goal Kicker, Player of the Tournament were presented. Also, the selected 9 players of AFL Japan Cup 2013 Dream Team were given a memorial guernsey.

Most players and staff members were accommodated at the resort along with the visiting Box Hill North squad. It was a long entertaining night for AFL Japan and Box Hill North Football Club strengthening their bilateral ties and promising the ongoing cooperative relationship.

The next AFL Japan Cup will be a memorable 10th. AFL Japan hopes to receive the attendance of local teams from central and western Japan as well as more international competition.