World Footy News

The Finland Australian Football League (FAFL) Grand Final will be played this weekend when last year's champions, the Helsinki Heatseekers, take on the Turku Dockers for the 2016 title. The match, to be played at Talin-Urheilupuisto in Helsinki, will see the two best performed Finnish teams battle it out in what could be a surprise result.

The Heatseekers go into the match as short-priced favourites, largely on the back of their last meeting back in June when they downed the Dockers by 95 points in Paimio - final scores seeing the Heatseekers 134 to the Dockers 39. The game started evenly, but the Heatseekers kicked six unanswered goals in the second term and never looked back. It was a powerful performance, but doesn't tell the whole story.
Earlier in the season, the Turku Dockers had a win against the Heatseekers by 29 points, suggesting that enough new talent had filtered into the Dockers lineup to topple last year's premiers. Things have changed across the season, and the Heatseekers have certainly gained the upper hand, though their most recent match against the Vaasa Wombats didn't go to script either as the Wombats put up a fight. This is the beauty of Grand Finals - it is the best team on the day that wins, not the team with the greater reputation.

Certainly, though, the Heatseekers will be out to defend their title in style if they can, and the task will be tough for the Dockers - but not impossible.