The AFLW season may be over in Australia, but the competition is just kicking off in Germany.

While other neighboring countries like France and Switzerland have long been a key part of women's footy in Europe, the Berlin Crocodiles and the Rhein-Main Redcats are leading the charge in the inaugural season for AFLW Germany.

The Redcats recently formed as a merger of Rheinland and Frankfurt women's teams; a combined ten players from the Frankfurt and Berlin sides have represented their country internationally, including at last year's AFL Euro Cup in Cork, Ireland.

 

Following is quick run around some of the European leagues and their weekend scores. These were the only results available at the time of publishing story, but more may follow. 

Germany:

Round 2️ AFLG results

(Esslingen)

Zuffenhausen Giants 1.5.11 - Berlin Crocodiles 15.9.99

Zuffenhausen Giants 2.5.17 - Hamburg Dockers Australian Football Club 17.9.111

Berlin Crocodiles 5.4.34 - Hamburg Dockers 8.5.53

(Munich)

Munich Kangaroos 8.4.52 - Frankfurt Redbacks 3.5.23

Munich Kangaroos 12.4.76 - Dresden Wolves 1.3.9

Frankfurt Redbacks 12.9.81 - Dresden Wolves 2.2.14

Round 1️ AFLGW result

(Esslingen)

Southern Tigeroos 0.0.0 - Berlin Crocodiles 12.14.86

The AFLCNE returned to kick-off the 2019 season on Sunday with the Huddersfield Rams hosting the Manchester Mosquitoes at the picturesque Lockwood Park.

The Mozzies were out of the blocks early and took a four goal to one lead at quarter time.

The second quarter was an onfield massacre and the Mozzies lead by 94 points at half time. The final score of Manchester 217 to Huddersfield 35 did not fully reflect the competitiveness of the Rams, but the Manchester team were a class above on the day.

Manchester and GB Bulldogs sharpshooter Andy Walkden broke the club's goalkicking record with 15 goals for the match.

 

The earlier game in Dublin on the weekend saw the Irish Universities Women’s team take on the Great Britain Universities. The following brief account of the match certainly shows that the women’s football scene in Ireland is set to grow further and quickly with the talent coming from the Universities team.

The Irish Banshees national team has been a women’s powerhouse, and standard-bearer, for many years and the West Clare Waves have dominated women’s team tournaments across Europe in recent times.  

However, if anything, the universities challenge has created and enhanced even more talent pathways, and the Great Britain Universities team have seen first-hand the power coming from Ireland.

The inaugural clash between the Irish Universities and the Great Britain NUL All Stars (National University League) took place in Dublin this weekend. The concept is almost the “lovechild’ of the Fitzpatrick Cup and the NUL, bringing the best of years and years of university football development to an international level.

Many years of hard work has gone into the development of the game at university level across Great Britain and Ireland, with many people involved in the journey – and the success. To see this tournament come to fruition is testament to their hard work and passion. In many ways, the teams that took their field did so as much about recognising that effort as it was about the result.

In the end, the Great Britain team outlasted the Irish by just three points in a thriller.

A new era in both university football and Irish/English rivalry commences this weekend with the inaugural Universities International Aussie Rules Test Matches in Dublin.

The tournament marks another major step in the player pathways from university to club to national levels of competition.

The following details about the event from the ARFLI Facebook page give information about the event. Details of the day will be updated on after the event.

After playing finals in 2017, the Odense Lions dropped to a wooden spoon in the DAFL last season. Since then, the Lions have done a mountain of work on and off the field to build a better future and it paid off handsomely on the weekend when they downed the reigning premiers.

Odense got off to a huge start in their clash with the Copenhagen Giants, kicking to the scoring end and opening up a four-goal quarter-time break. The Giants came back hard in the second to trail by just five points at the main break. During the third quarter, the Lions kicked ahead and had opened up a 26-point lead at the final change.

The last quarter saw the Giants, shocked out of any complacency, throwing everything at the Lions. In the end, the Lions held on by just three points to start the season as winners and have already equalled their win total of last season. Even though the Giants were missing key players, the Lions will be delighted with the win and excited about the rest of the season.

At the completion of Round 8 in France’s CNFA Leo Legrange competition, the Paris Cockerels have joined the ALFA Lions as finals certainties. Victory on the weekend for the Paris Cockatoos certainly has them into the finals again as well.

They most likely need the four points from their next scheduled match again Stade Toulousain ‘A’ to make sure, unlike the Cockerels and Lions who cannot be displaced.

The biggest battleground will be for fourth place. Currently, the Cergy-Pontoise Coyotes hold fourth place ahead of the Bordeaux Bombers on percentage. Whichever team performs best in their final match in coming rounds will possibly grab the remaining finals berth.

 

Liam McAllion reports on the AFL Europe website (www.afleurope.org ) on the major partnership with the National Australia Bank ahead of this year’s ANZAC Cup in France next week. To read the original AFL Europe article, go to: https://afleurope.org/anzac-cup-returns-to-villers-bretonneux/  

AFL Europe are pleased to announce that their partnership with National Australia Bank will extend into 2019, making it a two-year consecutive partnership to date.  

National Australia Bank is returning as the major partner for the 2019 ANZAC Cup. Held in the small town of Villers-Bretonneux in northern France, the match will showcase the Australian Spirit and the French National sides in both the men and women’s competitions, as each side attempts to claim victory in the 11th instalment of this special event.