World Footy News

All of the preliminaries are now done for Léo Lagrange CNFA Premiership season. Now, in Toulouse on May 26th, the grand-final will go ahead with the Paris Cockerels to clash with the Cergy-Pontoise Coyotes. Whilst the Cockerels go into the big match as possible slight favourites, the Coyotes are super keen for a maiden title.

The Coyotes already had plenty of incentive to win their first premiership. Twice bundled out of the finals by the Paris teams, and losing their only other grand final appearance to the Cockatoos in 2015/16, the Coyotes want retribution. Now they have even more opportunity for revenge, with the opportunity to bring down the Cockerels in a second grand-final.

It doesn’t happen often, but the Bogota Bombers have set a few AFL Colombia records last weekend as they kept themselves firmly in the premiership race. Apart from being the highest score recorded in the very new South American competition, they also scored it being the bottom team. Add to that, the Bogota Bombers recorded a 213-point turnaround from the last time they met the Bogota Bullants. Certainly, the match has changed the status quo of the competition, bringing all three teams back into premiership calculations.

Paddy Smallwood, president of AFL Colombia, provided a look at the game and its ramifications on the competition.

“The game was a bloodbath. The Bullants went in very undermanned, with their captain Jamez injured and the league’s current leading goalscorer, Matt Sharaz, back home in Australia with his feet up, and many other important players out for various, some sceptical, reasons.”

After three rounds of the AFLG (Germany) competition for 2018, the Hamburg Dockers find themselves a game clear on top of the ladder with each team having completed four games. The Dockers sit undefeated to date, though the Berlin Crocodiles and Munich Kangaroos are breathing down their necks a game behind.

The weekend saw round robins played in both Hamburg and Berlin. In Hamburg, the Dockers, Frankfurt Redbacks and Dresden Wolves contested two matches each. In Berlin, it was the Crocs, Roos and Württemberg Giants locked in their own three-way battle.

The VFLW competition got under way in Melbourne this weekend, and amongst other things it featured the debut of yet another AFL London player having made the journey to the other side of the world to live a dream. The selection of Isy Currenti for the Geelong Cats and Jessica Edwards for Collingwood brings to five the amount of women to have played in the AFL London competition and made it to either AFLW or VFLW lists.

As it stands, there are only the eight AFLW teams, but there are far more in the VFLW, and many of them will receive the necessary licensing and permission to become AFL teams over to next couple of seasons. It provides a very real pipeline for talented women across the world to follow – from their home league to VFLW to AFLW.

(Picture: Jessica Edwards in action for Collingwood)

Ben Guthrie from the www.afl.co.au website reports that Collingwood’s American success story, Mason Cox, believes that there is more talent on the way from the USA provided the AFL stays the course and keeps investing in that growth. The following article looks at his claims and a look at what has already occurred with American footballers. 

THE AFL's decision to put its Draft Combine in the US on hold this year and instead prioritise Ireland in its search for international talent is a mistake, according to American Pie Mason Cox. 

Cox, the tallest player to complete athletic testing in AFL conditions at the 2014 US Combine, has been one of the success stories of the League's decision to invest time and resources into the American pathway.  

The 211cm big man will play the 26th game of his career against Brisbane at the Gabba on Sunday, a remarkable achievement given the former Oklahoma State University basketballer had not picked up a Sherrin before the testing day in Los Angeles in 2014.

The first of the CNFA semi-finals was played yesterday in Paris, with the two Paris Cocks teams – the Cockerels and Cockatoos – clashing for the right to go to the grand final in coming weeks. The result saw the Cockerels prove too strong for their sister club, ultimately taking the match by 33 points.

A tight first quarter saw the Cockerels with a narrow 2-point lead. The second quarter belonged to the Cockatoos as they restricted the Cockerels scoring whilst hitting the scoreboard frequently themselves. However, after half time, the Cockerels just shut down the Cockatoos scoring options as they continued to attack without mercy, eventually running away to a comfortable winning margin.

An historic round of football in Scotland saw two unexpected but refreshing results as both of the “new kids on the block” – the West Lothian Eagles and Tyne Tees Tigers – enjoyed tremendous debut victories in their new leagues. It sees a large broom sweep through the SARFL competition as the previous status quo of the league is under threat – in a very positive way for football.

The fact that the two new teams defeated last year’s grand finalists in their respective games cannot be underestimated.

The West Lothian Eagles are in a holding pattern for 2018. Their games this year do not count for premiership points – being development games for their entry in 2019 if all goes to plan on and off the field. Well, they have answered many questions already. To down last season’s runners-up in their opening match speaks volumes about their list of players and their off-field organisation to date. Their challenge now – with their debut win behind them – is to maintain the rage and keep performing.

The opening round of the AFL London season saw two convincing wins for the North London Lions and Wandsworth Demons. Both clubs have got away to the ideal start, and in the process sounded a warning to all other teams. Only three points separated them in last year’s grand final, with the Demons prevailing, and evidence after the opening round is that they could once again be headed to the big match in 2018.

The North London Lions hammered the London Swans, brutally racing to a 133-point win. It sees the Lions on top of the ladder with a very handy percentage boost that may come in handy later in the season. The Swans will be disappointed and have to regroup quickly for their next match.

Round 7 of the 2018 AFL Season kicks off Friday night in Geelong with the Cats hosting the GWS Giants. 

The full broadcast schedule for the round can be seen below.

In addition to the TV networks you can also subscribe to the Watch AFL service that will give you live access to all the matches and more (outside Australia only).

You can access that service by clicking on the link here or the Watch AFL promo shot on the left to register and by then paying the subscription fee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the one hand, the Wolverhampton Wolverines gave the Merseyside Saints a fearful mauling in their opening round clash. On the other, the Nottingham Scorpions played out a tough, tight slog against the Huddersfield Rams to get over the finish line. The contrasting results, however, mark the beginnings of some stories for each of the teams after just one round, hosted by the Huddersfield Rams.

Just what the Wolverines take from their 204-point victory over the Saints is problematic. Certainly, they won and won extremely well, but whether such a lopsided match prepares them for tougher upcoming assignments is yet to be determined. Players gained some goal kicking practice, the team put their training to the best possible use and played themselves into form and their percentage is off to a flyer. But, the question will stand as to whether or not their form against the Saints will be good enough for the Mozzies or Scorpions…or Rams, for that matter.

Both the Edinburgh Bloods and Glasgow Sharks got away to perfect starts to their respective home and away seasons with important wins on the weekend. Whilst much of the pre-season hype centred around t new teams in the league – the Tigers and Eagles – come match day, the real season began and the two most experienced teams in the league got down to business.

In Edinburgh, the Bloods wasted no time in giving a hearty Scottish welcome to the new kids in town, the Tyne Tees Tigers. A big six goal opening term from the Bloods set the scene for a big first half and from there the Tigers were always behind the eight ball. By game’s end the Bloods had increased that lead to a 107-point victory, establishing their own credentials for the season ahead and letting the Tigers know where they stand – at least initially. But it was a tougher battle that the score line suggests.

Harley Vague on tour in Europe gives us his observations and opinions on footy in France.

Yesterday Toulouse hosted an Australian Football double-header. The Blagnac Aviators from Toulouse played a catchup game against Les Coyotes de Cergy-Pontoise followed by the top of table clash in the Toulouse Hawks Vs The Paris Cocks.

It was a good time to reflect on Australian Football as played in France. I had driven 2.5 hours to Toulouse but that paled against the long journey of the players from the two Paris football teams who had rolled the dice with the striking SNCF railways and arrived.