With just one game in the CNFA French Australian Rules football competition this weekend, the finals teams have been decided. The Toulouse Hawks will again be there, along with both Paris teams, the Cockerels and the Cockatoos.

But the clash between the Cergy-Pontoise Coyotes and the Perpignan Tigers was the fight for fourth place. Sadly for the Perpignan Tigers they will not be in their maiden finals series after going down to the Coyotes.

The final score saw: Cergy-Pontoise Coyotes 16 13 109 d Perpignan Tigers 3 10 28

Croatian International Josip Habljak's stats for his fourth game for Sturt SANFL club reserves, in a top versus bottom clash against Norwood were understandably not as impressive as last week where he was named amongst Sturt's best, no doubt because of his lone hand job in the ruck (31 hit-outs).

Sturt again lost this match 17-11 (113) to 6-4 (40). Josip's Champion Data stats has him recording two kicks, five handballs - three effective, one uncontested and one contested for a total disposal count of seven. He took one uncontested mark and recorded four handball receives. He was second ruck this game for 15 hit-outs for five clearances. He laid two tackles and had one each free kick for and against.

The Wandsworth Demons didn’t waste any time sending messages to the rest of the AFL London competition about their intentions for the 2016 season. With Round One being played last weekend, the Demons kicked of their year with a rousing 17 point win over league powerhouse, the West London Wildcats. One round is not a season, but the Wildcats have been making a habit of grabbing any silverware not nailed down. Their Champions League victory coupled with their pre-season cup win had them pencilled in again as early favourites for another title by many.

The first day at the AFL's US combine in Los Angeles has been completed. All the guys here are big. That's what AFL clubs have told the AFL they want them to find.

Well they found one especially big one. But he is not American. Stanislas Heili is a 7ft 1in, 240 lb Frenchman. His hometown is Strabourg France. Heili went to top university INSA Lyon in France and played basketball in Lyon-Villeurbanne in the Ligue Nationale de Basket League before heading to the US.

In the US the 22 year-old has been playing basketball for Lindenwood Univerity which is located in St Charles, Missouri.

Only a few weeks ago the Moscow based Lazy Koalas travelled to Amsterdam to represent Russia at the 2nd Annual AFL Europe Champions League. It was a huge step for the club, and footy in Russia, but the greater benefit might have been seen last weekend at the opening match of the 2016 AFL Russia season.

The opening match saw the Lazy Koalas host the St Petersburg Cats in a rivalry that is gaining more and more support each year. The final result was a little one-sided, with the mighty Lazy Koalas downing the Cats 144 to 24. But the result further proved how far the Koalas have come so quickly. Despite their moniker, these Koalas are a long way from lazy. They have become the current Australian Rules football powerhouse in Russia.

 

As the world pauses to commemorate the 101st ANZAC Day, and also the recognition of the 98th anniversary of the battle of Villers-Bretonneaux – a village on the battlefields of The Somme where Australian and allied troops held back the advancing German forces during World War One – the 8th annual AFL Europe ANZAC Cup will be played on the fields where so many gave their lives in battle.

 

The following article comes from the website off French Australian Rules football team, the Paris Cockerels. Writer, Francois Daniels, has given his own account of why this particular football match is so special to him as well as all others involved. He tells a great tale of the emotional connection to a simple game and the courage of the soldiers that fought for freedom.

 

 

Croatian international, Josip Habljak playing at Sturt SANFL dominated the ruck against West Adelaide reserves with a 31 hit-outs perfomance in a side that lost 18-8 (116) to 10-19 (79).

Champion Data stats for the game records 17 clearances from his hit-outs and his opposite number recording 12 clearances from 21 hit-outs.

The "Pain Train" also had 3 Kicks, 7 handballs, for 10 disposals, 1 contested mark and 1 uncontested mark. He had 9 contested possessions and 2 uncontested possessions and he managed to kick one behind and record two score assists. 

The games are done and dusted at the 2016 AFL London Pre-Season Cup, and the warning bells would already be ringing for AFL London teams as the powerhouse West London Wildcats won the Men’s title. The GB Swans took the honours on the day in the Women’s draw and the Wandsworth Demons were triumphant in the Supers (Over 35’s) competition.

One of the very interesting features of the event was the appearance of the Northern Storm representative team from the AFLCNE (Central & Northern England). Whilst the team went down to the Putney Magpies, London Swans and Wimbledon Hawks in their three pool games, the squad did their league proud playing in what is often regarded the strongest competition for Australian Rules football outside of Australia and being very competitive.

With the completion of Round 7 in the CNFA competition in France, results have effectively seen a separation between the top four teams and the bottom four. Barring something quite miraculous in the remaining two rounds, the Toulouse Hawks, Paris Cockerels, Paris Cockatoos and Cergy-Pontoise Coyotes appear destined to fight out the finals series in June.

Results so far in Round 7, split across last weekend and this weekend, have seen:

Cergy-Pontoise Coyotes 105 d Bordeaux Bombers 62
Paris Cockatoos 158 d ALFA Lions 47
Toulouse Hawks 176 d Perpignan Tigers 13
Paris Cockerels 154 d Strasbourg Kangourous 31

There has been plenty happening of late across England and Scotland as local competitions gradually build towards the start of their respective 2016 seasons.

 

The Haggis Cup was played last weekend at the CSE Peffermill Playing Fields in Edinburgh, Scotland. After a hotly contested event which featured Scottish teams – Greater Glasgow Giants, Glasgow Sharks, Falkirk Silverbacks, Kingdom Kangaroos and the Edinburgh Bloods – AFL London club the Wimbledon Hawks, ARFLI’s own Leeside Lions, the Netherland’s Amsterdam Devils and a combined Huddersfield Rams/Tyne Tees Tigers team (AFLCNE), it was the Wimbledon Hawks victorious.

 

 

In the men’s final the Hawks downed the Greater Glasgow Giants to take the 2016 Haggis Cup. In the women’s competition it was the Saltires defeating the Wolves.