World Footy News

The Finland Icebreakers, outclassed by Sweden six weeks ago, looked a different side as they cruised to a 33 point victory against the Stockholm Dynamite at Salo on Saturday.

The 8.12.60 to 3.9.27 win was spearheaded by Lasse Punttilla, whose best on ground performance was remarkable for the fact it was his first time ever playing a game of Australian Rules football.

"Lassie", who has previously played American Football, troubled the Swedish defenders in the first half, before stamping his mark on the midfield when he was moved to the centre at the start of the third term.

His accuracy in delivering to his teammates and hardness at the ball impressed Finland Coach James Meek.

"It was fantastic to see him out on the ground, getting kick after kick and always being in the right place," Meek said.

"He only came down to training a few weeks ago, and although I could see he had some natural sporting ability, I had no idea he was going to play like he did from the first bounce. Usually it takes a few matches, or even a few years to be able to do what he was doing in the first quarter."

Fellow midfielders Jani Saarinen, Mika Kupila, and Freddi Romar worked well together and will go to Australia with a lot of confidence, especially with Finland’s ruckman Jalu Wilma recovering from injury and learning more every time he plays.

At 196 centimeters he will prove tough for any opponent, and with him understanding more about positioning every game, he will be pivotal if Finland is to challenge the other teams in their group during the International Cup (IC) in Melbourne.

Stockholm showed patches of exciting football, and with Mark McManus getting plenty of the ball, especially in the third quarter, the momentum could have easily swung the Swedes' way.

However Stockholm was hindered by the early injury to Ryan Kingsley, who sprained his ankle in the first quarter. He recovered enough to move to the midfield in the final term and his run and natural footballing talent put Finland under pressure.

In the end, the determination of players like Lasse and Geoff Whitehead up forward was enough to ensure the Icebreakers came out with the win.

After being beaten so convincingly in Sweden a little more than a month ago, Meek said he was very happy with the way the team played and how they bounced back. "I’m not really sure what the main difference was between this game and in Sweden. I think we just went out and had a lot more fun, which I think showed in the way we played."

"I knew we didn’t play anywhere near to our potential against Sweden. We discussed that as a club and how it should be a good wake up call to some of the players."

"I think the boys had something to prove in this game and show we are a much harder and skilful side than we showed last time we played the Swedes."

Finland has been drawn in the same group as Sweden in the IC08 and is keen for a re-match against their greatest rivals. They will have to continue to improve and bring some of their recent form into the game if they are going to match it with a side that beat them so convincingly the last time they played, but judging on Saturday’s performance, they might just surprise a few spectators.