World Footy News

The footy season is nearly at an end, or in some cases finished, for most of the competitions across Scandinavian countries. Whilst the Norway final of the Kenguru Cup was completed earlier this month, the season in Finland finished on the weekend and the codes in Stockholm, Sweden and in Denmark come to an end in the next week or two.

NORWAY
As previously reported by World Footy News, the Norwegian season came to a close with the completion of the 2015 Kenguru Cup Ås Battlers Take Norway’s Kenguru Cup Crown. The Ås Battlers defeated the Oslo West team by just just three points to take their second flag in three years. The Battlers had to overcome the fact that the Oslo West team had dominated the competitive rounds of the Kenguru Cup, but come finals time it was the better team on the day. It was a true changing of the guard for the Norwegian teams with Oslo East, the most dominant club in recent seasons, missing the grand final and allowing the Oslo West team their first ever grand final appearance.

FINLAND
In Finland it was the powerhouse Helsinki Heatseekers that again took the honours for the 2015 FAFL season when they downed the Turku Dockers to make it a huge year for the Finnish champions. All season the Heatseekers were the dominant team, with other clubs Turku Dockers, Vaasa Wombats and Salo Juggernauts finding fluctuating numbers of players impacting from time to time. The Helsinki team also excelled during the pre-season matches and won the FAFL Cup in July, making it a near perfect season. A long off-season will be used wisely by Finnish clubs as they look to solidify playing lists ahead of the 2016 season and throw up a new challenge for the Helsinki Heatseekers crew.



DENMARK
A huge match looms next on the Danish calendar as the Aalborg Kangaroos will take on the DAFL powerhouse, the Farum Cats, in the preliminary final. The winner will advance to take on the new Danish powerhouse, the Copenhagen Barracudas, assuming they get over their final against the Copenhagen Giants in the other semi-final as expected. The Barracudas topped the home and away ladder and would appear the team to beat, though the Aalborg team have performed well all season and would not be creating a huge surprise if they took the title. Like any great champion, the Farum Cats cannot be totally dismissed either. Whilst finishing third in the home and away season, they have the record behind them to suggest they could scatter the proverbial pigeons as the finals progress.

SWEDEN
The Stockholm region Australian Football Federation (SAFF) is headed into Grand-Final week with the Solna Axemen to take on the Södermalm Blues. In an absolute thriller, the Preliminary Final was decided by just three points as the Blues outlasted the Bromma Vikings and earn the right to contest for the 2015 premiership. In June the Maulers also took out the 2015 Swedish Cup. The national competition, Eliteserien (Elite Series) 2015, is also just a round away from being decided with the Port Malmö Maulers, Helsingborg Saints, Södermalm Blues and Stockhom Dynamite having completed five rounds since April. The Blues lead the way undefeated in the inaugural season of series with the Maulers just a game and a small percentage behind. However, the teams play each other in the final round and a Mauler’s win would see them take that title also.

In the lead up to the Axios Euro Cup in Umag, Croatia, World Footy News will look at bringing season reviews of all Scandinavian countries competitions for 2015 as well as an update on the Australian Rules footy season and development in Iceland. But once finals are done and dusted the national teams will come together in preparation for a huge assault on the Euro Cup before heading into the winter months and preparing for their respective 2016 seasons.