World Footy News

With a round left in the AFLCNE season most of the recent action has occurred at the top and bottom of the ladder. The Manchester Mozzies have held firm after being challenged by Sheffield Thunder for bragging rights and will now finish the home and away season on top of the ladder and take out the 2015 minor premiership. At the other end of the scale, the Tyne Tees Tigers relentless finish to the season will see them likely to avoid the wooden spoon with more powerful performances.

Round 12 saw the Birmingham Bears keep their finals hopes in good stead when they won their game against Sheffield Thunder by a forfeit. The Nottingham Scorpions also stayed in the hunt with a 13 point win over the Wolverhampton Wolverines. But it was the Tyne Tees Tigers that caused the upset of the round when they thumped the third placed Huddersfield Rams by 72 points, pulling of their second win against a likely finalist in three weeks.
Last weekend in Round 13 the Manchester Mosquitoes, returning to action after their bye, inflicted another heavy defeat on the Huddersfield Rams. Whilst it made a certainty of finishing in top spot after the home and away matches for the Mozzies, it also condemned the Rams to a level of uncertainly. Two big losses in a row has seen them drop to fourth place. They have the bye in the final round so can do little to impact results. However, they should hold fourth place as their percentage gap is too great for the Scorpions to bridge in the final round.

The Scorpions went down to the Birmingham Bears by just fourteen points, all but ending their finals chances. At the same time, the win locks the Bears into third place ready for the finals regardless of the final round results.

The biggest result of the round saw the revitalised Tigers make it 50 goals in two matches when they hammered the hapless Wolverines by 109 points. In a quirk of football nature, the Tigers’ late charge has been so impressive that a win against Birmingham in the final round could see them miss the finals by just a game – a remarkable turnaround after losing their first seven matches. It’s a long shot, but then few would have predicted they would beat Sheffield, Huddersfield and Wolverhampton in the space of four weeks. To achieve this they only need to win and Wolverines lose, but as only less than 11% separates them on the ladder, if both teams lose the team who suffers the heaviest defeat may win the wooden spoon.

The matches for the final round will see the Mozzies take on the Wolverines, the Thunder up against the Scorpions and the Tigers versus the Bears. Huddersfield Rams will watch with much curiosity from a distance.

Scores: Round 12

Birmingham Bears d Sheffield Thunder (forfeit)
Nottingham Scorpions 12 21 93 d Wolverhampton Wolverines 12 8 80
Tyne Tees Tigers 21 23 149 d Huddersfield Rams 10 17 77
Manchester Mosquitoes (Bye)

Scores: Round 13

Manchester Mosquitoes 19 23 137 d Huddersfield Rams 11 18 84
Birmingham Bears 19 20 134 d Nottingham Scorpions 18 12 120
Tyne Tees Tigers 29 15 189 d Wolverhampton Wolverines 11 14 80
Sheffield Thunder (Bye)

Next Round:

Manchester Mosquitoes v Wolverhampton Wolverines (Manchester)
Birmingham Bears v Tyne Tees Tigers (Manchester)
Sheffield Thunder v Nottingham Scorpions (Sheffield)
Huddersfield Rams (Bye)

Ladder: (After Round 13 – subject to AFLCNE verification)

1. Manchester 40
2. Sheffield 32
3. Birmingham 24
4. Huddersfield 20
5. Nottingham 16
6. Wolverhampton 12
7. Tyne Tees 12