After five rounds of the AFL London season, the Men’s Premiership Division has a logjam for top two places come finals time. The North London Lions are keeping pace with the Wandsworth Demons and West London Wildcats in the battle for top spot. It is a battle that will intensify over the second half of the season as teams set themselves up for the best chance of a premiership.

Weekend results saw the Lions thump the Hawks by 108 points, whilst the Demons were equally brutal against the Swans with a 100-point demolition. The West London Wildcats watched on, aware that they have two quality opponents to deal with. Next weekend they get their turn to consolidate further when they take on the Wimbledon Hawks.

In the match of the round next weekend, the North London Lions will host the Wandsworth Demons. The winner will take a huge points and psychological advantage into the next phase of the season.

The Zagreb Cvjetno Dockers have taken the honours for the opening round of the CEAFL (Central European Australian Football League) tournament for 2018, held over the weekend in Zagreb. After an enthralling day’s action, the Dockers held off the Velika Gorica Bombers in the final to head the ladder after the first of two tournaments – the other to be played later in the year in Prague in the Czech Republic.

The Dockers topped their pool after the initial two matches per side before winning their semi-final. The Bombers had a rockier road, but still managed to win their way to the final. The Zagreb Hawks downed the Sesvete Double Blues to take third place. The Styrian DownUnderdogs from Austria defeated the Prague Dragons by a solitary point in a thrilling battle for fifth and sixth places on the day.

Billed as the match of the season to date prior to the ball being bounced, the clash between the Hamburg Dockers and the Berlin Crocs promised plenty. The clash between the reigning premiers and the undefeated Dockers delivered in spades with the Crocs holding on for a one-point victory.

It was a win against the odds in many ways for the Crocs. Travelling to Hamburg to meet the Dockers on their home soil would have been tough enough, but the fact that the Dockers sat undefeated gave them an air of not invincibility, but certainly strength.

The Crocs started well, however, and jumped early to a 33 to 16 quarter time lead. The Dockers came back at them in the second quarter to reduce the margin to just nine points by the main break, the Crocs still leading 46 to 37. The question would be whether the Crocs could capitalise on their narrow first half lead.

Finals time is still some distance away, but both the Glasgow Sharks and Edinburgh Bloods made statements this weekend that they plan to be there come grand final day and that they are a cut above the rest. Big wins for each team this round have also seen them break free of the pack with a big three game win/loss break that will be difficult for other contenders to close.

The Kingdom Kangaroos were desperate for a big performance in front of their home crowd at Beveridge Park. A win would have kept them deep in the battle for a top two place, and with scores almost locked at three-quarter time the Roos were on the way to an upset. However, the Bloods turned on the power in the final quarter to run away with a commanding 41-point win.

Riley Brettell from AFL Europe reports on their website www.afleurope.org of the announcement that London will be the host of the 2019 European Championships. 

AFL Europe is thrilled to now be able to confirm the details for 2019’s premier international 18-a-side tournament, to be held in London from the 9th-12th October. 

The three-day event will bring together international sides from around Europe for the continents feature triennial football showpiece, to be hosted by Great Britain in conjunction with the Wimbledon Hawks Football Club and AFL Europe. 

Great Britain Head Coach, Dean Thomas, says that the 2019 Championships shape to be the most keenly contested and anticipated footy event in Europe to date. 

“London is the hub of footy in Europe and a fantastic city to be entertained in, and the European Championships are a must do event for any nation that harbours ambitions of playing in and doing well at the International Cup in 2020,” Thomas said.

 

From the desk of the AFL England writers, their column “Good Week/Bad Week” looks at the updates from the weekend footy from AFL London, AFLCNE and Southern England AFL. The original story can be viewed on the AFL England website at: http://www.aflengland.org/good-week-bad-week-4th-june-2018/

After a brief hiatus, ‘Good Week/Bad Week’ is back and ready to take a look at the latest round of fixtures across England. The leagues are really starting to hot up, so let’s see who’s in contention as we approach the halfway stage of the season.

 

GOOD WEEK

The Manchester Mosquitoes once again look like the team to beat in the Central & Northern England league. After racking up 130+ points against the Huddersfield Rams and the Nottingham Scorpions, the Mozzies were restricted to just over half that against the Wolverhampton Wolverines this weekend. However, they still extended their record to 3-0 as they won 11.18.84 to 6.10.46 in tricky conditions.

It has been a huge week for the Norrtälje Dockers in Sweden. Just days after having been officially announced as the hosts of the 2019 Euro Cup, the club has taken out the 2018 Swedish Cup. It was a day where their battle with host club, the Port Malmö Maulers, saw the teams equal on the scoreboard across the day with the Dockers winning at the right time.

The day saw a three-way men’s draw with the Dockers and Maulers joined by a combined team from the Eksjö Bulldogs and Helsingborg Saints. The women’s match featured the Port Malmö Lynx up against a combined Stockholm team.

The first game (Game 1) saw the women go into battle, with the Lynx proving too strong for the Stockholm team, winning by even points.

The Tyne Tees Tigers hosted the Edinburgh Bloods in Newcastle this weekend hoping to upset another unsuspecting traveller. But the Bloods were in no mood for distractions as they raised the temperature against the Tigers on their way to a powerful 172-point victory.

The win keeps the Bloods hot on the heels of the Glasgow Sharks in what is looming as the battle for first and second place.

The loss for the Tigers offers mixed blessings. Whilst the team would have much preferred a win to stay in the finals race, it is also true that the loss is a part of their learning curve in their first season as a SARFL club. They are still in a new environment and learning the pace and structure of the Scottish game.

On a dreary afternoon, ideal for playing wet-weather football, the Manchester Mozzies took another step towards a possible fifth consecutive premiership flag. This time, the Mozzies took down a gallant Wolverhampton Wolverines team by 38 points, adjusting to the conditions better and just playing a class above.

The worrying news for the rest of the AFLCNE teams is that their form since their first round bye has seen them play their most conceivable grand final opponents with wins against the Rams (62 points), the Scorpions (67 points) and Wolverines. The only opposition they are yet to play are the Merseyside Saints and they would be a long shot at best to change the scenario. It is hard now to see any team capable of stopping the Mozzie’s runaway train.

The final score saw the Manchester Mozzies 11 18 84 defeat the Wolverhampton Wolverines 6 10 46.

Riley Brettell from AFL Europe reports that the Swedish city of Norrtälje will host the 2019 Euro Cup. The city is home to 2016 SAFF premiers, the Norrtälje Dockers. The decision will be an enormous boost for the game in Sweden, but also neighbouring Scandinavian, Baltic and northern European nations. 

AFL Europe can today confirm the date and location for one of the feature events on the 2019 European football calendar, with the 9-a-side Euro Cup to be held in the picturesque city of Norrtalje in Sweden, hosted by AFL Sweden in conjunction with AFL Europe on Saturday, June 29th. 

 

The harbour city lies one hour north of Stockholm and is known for its small-town feeling, cobblestoned streets and buildings which date back to the 1700’s and will set an idyllic scene for the annual tournament, that will see men’s and women’s national teams from around the continent competing for the crown of European Champions in the heart of the Swedish summer.