After a dominant year, the Belfast Redbacks finished the job when they defeated the Galway Magpies to win the 2018 AFL Ireland premiership. Having gone through the home and away season undefeated, the Redbacks were expected by most to win the title. But the biggest job of all is producing when it matters on grand final day, and the Redbacks did that.

However, the Magpies made sure the Redbacks earned the premiership. The final margin was 39 points, set up by a brilliant first half by the Belfast team. At the main break, the Redbacks lead by 38 points at the Mallusk Paying Fields in Belfast.

According to AFL Ireland, “[The first half was a] tough physical battle with both teams giving their all across the ground. [There were] nine scores to six but the Redbacks [were] more clinical with their shooting so far and take a lead into the main change over. Very wet conditions to start but the rain has now stopped.”

 

The following article was written by Christian Saggese for the Zuriost website in Switzerland. It looks at the efforts of the Winterthur Lions club to grow the game in the nation and potentially develop beyond the levels of lone Swiss clubs. This article is an imperfect translation from the original story written in German. To view the original article, go to: https://zueriost.ch/sport/2018-08-21/wir-wollen-in-der-schweiz-eine-liga-gruenden 

Australian football player from Winterthur

“We want to start a league in Switzerland” 

Does Switzerland soon have its own Australian Football Leagueω Winterthur are well on their way to putting this dream into reality.

Switzerland is soon to be richer by one sport. That is the wish of Stefan Burgener and Till Roost. The two Winterthurs founded the first Australian Football Club in Switzerland a few months ago under the name "Winterthur Lions".

The return to competition after a short recess for the SAFF (Stockholm Australian Football Federation) has seen the Norrtälje Dockers record a stirring 10-point victory to boost their premiership credentials significantly.

The catch-up game against the Blues has seen the Dockers inch ahead of the field into first place, just ahead of the Blues and Axemen. They can consolidate that position should they defeat the Axemen in their Round 7 clash this weekend. A loss, however, could prove costly, falling behind the Axeman and potentially the Blues as well if the Södermalm crew can defeat the last-placed Årsta Swans.

The September finals are now on the horizon and every match from here is of critical importance to the teams finishing in the top three. The minor premiership winner will go straight into the grand final, whilst second will meet third to decide the other premiership contender.

The following article from www.aflengland.org details the latest initiative to grow the game with a new league and competition to kick off later this year. The original article can be found at: http://www.aflengland.org/afl-england-launches-national-university-league/

Oxford, Cambridge and Birmingham Named as Inaugural Participants

League Runs November 2018 – March 2019 

AFL England are committed to growing the game of Australian rules football up and down the country; from grass-roots and junior projects, to major regional London, CNE and Southern leagues.  

That is why we’re delighted to announce the launch of the National University League (NUL) featuring teams from Oxford, Cambridge and Birmingham University, with a view to expanding to include sides from Cardiff University, Cardiff Metropolitan and the University of South Wales.

The new CNFA fixture for the 2018/19 Australian Football season has been released. With the Coupe de France kicking off in Bordeaux next month, the first round will commence on 20th October. The new season sees more changes, with a nine-team competition welcoming the Bayonne Toreadors to the CNFA.

Another significant change is the dropping of the Blagnac Aviators brand in favour of two Toulouse-based teams – currently under the monikers of Toulouse 1 and 2. The format will see nine rounds across the period October to May and a grand final in June. Again, there will be a mid-season break from mid-December to early March. The Coupe du Nord (North Cup) and Coupe du Sud (South Cup) will be played in February. The season gets under way a week after the Euro Cup in Cork, Ireland.

The most interesting addition is the Bayonne Toreadors. Bayonne is a small city located in the far south-west of France, in the Basque region. It sits some 30 kilometres from the Spanish border in an area with a long history of bull-fighting, hence the nickname “Toreadors”. The club has been developing in the background of the CNFA’s past seasons and they are ready to step up into the “big league” of French clubs.

In one of the biggest upsets of the season, and in a game described by some as one of the greatest grand finals in SARFL history, the Edinburgh Bloods have won the 2018 AFL Scotland premiership. In a dramatic match, the Bloods have come from behind to grab the title by just five points from the Glasgow Sharks.

Going into the game, many outside of Edinburgh believed that it would be the Sharks’ year. They lost just once for the season and defeated the Bloods earlier in the season. However, as has been proved many times before, grand finals are different beasts and nothing is guaranteed. The best team on the day will always beat the best reputation.

The day began with the women’s curtain-raiser match between the “Bloodenas” and the “Giant SheEagles”. The Bloodenas grabbed the early lead and kept that ball rolling with a 51-point victory. The final scores saw the “Bloodenas” 9 8 62 defeat the “SheEagles” 1 5 11.

  James Madden is fast, agile and the Lions hope he will bring the luck of the Irish, after they signed the Dubliner as a Category B Rookie for the 2019 and 2020 AFL seasons.

 

The Irishman broke the all-time AFL Draft Combine 20 metre sprint record at the European Combine last year, running at 2.69 seconds. He also travelled to Florida, USA to train with the AFL Academy.

Image left: www.lions.com.au

As the home and away season in Germany came to a close on the weekend, the top three teams – Hamburg Dockers, Munich Kangaroos and Berlin Crocodiles – used their respective games to prepare for what lies ahead as well as proving to all and sundry that they have the talent required to go all the way in 2018.

The Dockers and Kangaroos, the two best performed teams across the season, finished with big wins in excess of 100 points. The Berlin Croodiles also won, but were given a torrid time by the Dresden Wolves.

The Hamburg Dockers hosted the Rheinland Lions and turned on a superb defensive performance. Whilst they were able to score at will across the afternoon, their efforts in keeping the fourth-placed Lions to just two behinds for the day should be a warning to all other finalists – to beat us you will have to outscore us, and good luck with that. The Dockers took command early and kept their foot on the Lion throats for a 113-point win.

It was veteran Channel 7 commentator Anthony Hudson who uttered the famous words “who would have thought the sequel would be just as good as the original” when the West Coast Eagles defeated the Sydney Swans by one point for the AFL flag in 2006. This was in response to the Swans winning by less than a goal in 2005.

Fast forward to London in 2018 and the Wandsworth Demons pulled off a similar miraculous premiership win against the West London Wildcats to be AFL London premiers. The result capped off an amazing finals campaign for the club, winning four of the five premierships on offer.

For variety, the Shepherds Bush Raiders defeated the Clapham Demons in the Men’s Conference division Grand Final.

When the teams met in the semi-final two weeks ago, scores were tied after the regular time played. It took extra time to be played for the Wildcats to sneak ahead and win by just three points. Nothing could top that – or so we all thought. The original was an amazing match and it would have to take something better (a sequel) to be better. It did and it was.

Both the Belfast Redbacks and the Galway Magpies face a huge week ahead of next weekend’s AFL Ireland Grand Final. Having both won through to the biggest day of the premiership season, both will be entertaining thoughts – dreaming – of what might be next Saturday.

For the Redbacks, a third premiership sits on the horizon. After having been the best team of the season, undefeated and seemingly well ahead of the rest, the Belfast crew must be quivering with anticipation and self-belief. However, they still have to produce the goods on the one day of the year that really matters. It is one thing to get excited, expectant, confident – it is another to believe the game is already won.

For the Galway Magpies it is a different feeling. They last trod this hallowed ground in 2014, only to be beaten at the final hurdle. Now they have another chance to win their first title. The feeling of excitement will be palpable, not just within the club, but by others becoming aware of the deeds of the local team across Galway. The have been a bridesmaid before – now they want to be the bride.