The Merseyside Saints have been on a very steep learning curve in 2016, their inaugural season within the AFLCNE (Australian Football League Central & Northern England). The club was expecting defeats – heavy ones – and that has played out as expected. They also had a dream that maybe, just maybe, they might get their first win also. That, too, has played out to a myriad of emotions during the Lightning Round hosted by the Saints last weekend.

Their 11 point win over the Tyne Tees Tigers – 5 15 45 to 5 4 34 – will go down in club and league history as a day when the Saints proved to all and sundry that they belong.

The Paris Cockatoos have created all kinds of history in the CNFA Grand Final in Bordeaux, France, when they defeated the Cergy-Pontoise Coyotes by 20 points – 110 to 90. Not only did they win their first ever premiership, but they did it in their very first season as a club, ostensibly having grown out of the bigger “brothers”, the Paris Cockerels, only last year.

Regardless of how the Cockatoos arrived on the French football scene, it is a remarkable achievement in any sport to reach the highest level of success in an inaugural season. Credit must go to the Cockatoos, the Paris Cockerels and the CNFA for having the foresight to develop another club in Paris, and to do it so well that the new entity was blessed with the talent and belief to go all the way.

No matches were played in the AFLCNE competition last weekend due to the selections for the England Dragonslayers national team for the upcoming Euro Cup in Lisbon, Portugal. The AFLCNE is well represented with ten players selected either in the main squad or as reserves.

 

The list as posted by AFL England on their website is: (AFLCNE players in bold type)

Matt Whiteley (captain) (Huddersfield Rams)

Ross Denton (North London Lions)

Cameron Cope (Wolverhampton Wolverines)

 

Alex Overton (Huddersfield Rams)

The Wandsworth Demons have temporarily reclaimed top spot on the AFL London ladder with a comprehensive thrashing of the Wimbledon Hawks. In the only Premiership Division game played last weekend due to the split round, the Demons flexed their muscle to down the Hawks by 136 points.

The final score saw the Wandsworth Demons 22 18 150 defeat the Wimbledon Hawks 2 2 14.

It was a timely statement by the Demons after losing top spot the previous round when they were downed by the West London Wildcats. Whilst the Wildcats will most likely claim top spot back again next weekend, the Demons needed to keep the pressure on and themselves stay in the race for the minor premiership.

Over the past couple of years the Lazy Koalas team in Moscow and the St Petersburg Cats have revolutionised the state of the game of Australian Rules football in Russia. Their combined successes have seen a genuine increase in interest in the game after a slow burn initially. This interest is set to extend all the way to the Russian national team for the 2016 Euro Cup in Lisbon, Portugal with a novel and exciting recruitment tool.

The national selection process will see a combine take place, modelled as close as practical, to the combine testing events used across the world and through the AFL’s own Draft Combine. On 2nd July, potential players from both Moscow and St Petersburg can come and try out for national team selection with two spots up for grabs in each city for athletes from any field who excel and have the desire to try out the game.

For some this will be a fast-tracking of the highest order as players could go from no experience at all to national selection in the blinking of an eye.

To borrow a phrase from Wallace & Gromit, Galway footy fans were treated to a “Grand Day Out” when the Galway Magpies hosted Rounds 5 and 6 of the 2016 ARFLI season. It was the third carnival day for ARFLI fixtures, following on from previous carnivals held in Dublin and Cork. Whilst the off field entertainment was regarded as a delight, so was the performance of the Magpies on the field with two wins from their two matches, seeing them claw their way off the bottom of the ladder.

The Leeside Lions also enjoyed their day with two strong wins from their two matches, downing both the South Dublin Demons and the Belfast Redbacks. The Swans and Redbacks had days they would rather forget, neither winning a match for the day.

The Manchester Mozzies were given their sternest test of the season so far, and passed with flying colours. Challenged by the Wolverhampton Wolverines, themselves determined to make a statement as the season gets closer to finals time, the Mozzies held firm to win by 13 points in a tough encounter. For the Mozzies, their dream of a continued dynasty is on track to come true. For the Wolverines, who have lost recent clashes to both the Mozzies and the Scorpions, the opportunity now exists to measure themselves and evaluate their chances going forward.

The Sheffield Thunder’s slow ascent up the ladder continued with a solid five goal win against the Tyne Tees Tigers. Whether this win is enough to keep the Thunder out of the cellar remains to be seen, but the win was welcome and something to build on. The task for the Tigers doesn’t get any easier, drawn to meet both the Mozzies and Wolverines in coming rounds.

The undefeated streak of the Wandsworth Demons came to an end on the weekend when the West London Wildcats clawed their way back into top spot on the AFL London ladder with a narrow but important 13 point win. After dropping their first round match to the demons, the Wildcats were determined to again assert their dominance over them, and the rest of the competition.

The Wimbledon Hawks took a big step towards securing a finals berth when they downed the Putney Magpies. Despite it being just their second win of the season (as well as a draw), the result gives the Hawks a valuable game and a half buffer over the fifth placed Magpies with just four rounds until finals.

In a remarkable weekend of semi-finals in the CNFA, the French competition will see a new first time premier as the Cergy-Pontoise Coyotes and the newcomers, the Paris Cockatoos, won their way to the big dance.

In the battle in Paris, reigning premiers the Paris Cockerels took on their prodigy, the Cockatoos. The Cockatoos were up against history on so many fronts. New to the league this season and playing against a Cockerels team that has been comfortable with success, the Cockatoos were expected by many to fall at this hurdle. But determination and belief are powerful allies and the Cockatoos outplayed their opposition to record at tremendous 18 5 113 to 13 8 86 victory. The teams finished the home and away season in second and third position on equal points.

In an historic move by AFL Europe, the 2016 Euro Cup will be played in Lisbon, Portugal. Not a nation that boasts a major European competition, the move may be something of a surprise, but not to David Valente, one of the three directors of the Portugese Australian Football Association.

As David stated, “I don't have to tell you how huge this is for us.”

“Basically, AFL Europe is giving us a great opportunity and we're planning to seize it. With no TV broadcasts of AFL games for the time being, this is the best tool that we have to further the development of the game.”

(Picture: Official AFL Europe logo for 2016 Euro Cup)