It is just possible that Australian Rules footy in Iceland saw our game in the most dramatically beautiful country on earth. With its amazing mix of sub-Arctic, volcanic, coastal, mountain and beautifully rural scenery combined with charming cities and people, our game was given an incredible backdrop.

But, sadly, beauty isn’t enough to sustain sport, especially a sport with a lower profile than others, and the game in Iceland is in a state of decline after having made significant steps in recent years. The reality of life is that people need to work to live and this fact impacts on all teams at some point. In a country like Iceland where the game was very fragile due to the “newness” of the game and relatively low numbers, a few personnel moves can mean the difference between maintaining the code or seeing it fall away.

In chatting recently to Sölvi Sigmarsson, General manager of AFL Iceland and one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Akureyri in the north of the country, near the Arctic Circle (see story – Footy Beneath the Arctic Circle – Akureyri, Iceland) he is honest in his appraisal of the game in Iceland.

The footy season is nearly at an end, or in some cases finished, for most of the competitions across Scandinavian countries. Whilst the Norway final of the Kenguru Cup was completed earlier this month, the season in Finland finished on the weekend and the codes in Stockholm, Sweden and in Denmark come to an end in the next week or two.

NORWAY
As previously reported by World Footy News, the Norwegian season came to a close with the completion of the 2015 Kenguru Cup Ås Battlers Take Norway’s Kenguru Cup Crown. The Ås Battlers defeated the Oslo West team by just just three points to take their second flag in three years. The Battlers had to overcome the fact that the Oslo West team had dominated the competitive rounds of the Kenguru Cup, but come finals time it was the better team on the day. It was a true changing of the guard for the Norwegian teams with Oslo East, the most dominant club in recent seasons, missing the grand final and allowing the Oslo West team their first ever grand final appearance.

Last month saw the “Battle Of Three Armies”, to borrow from Peter Jackson, when teams from Austria and Germany met in Prague, Czech Republic, for a tournament. It is the first such event between the three teams and marks another innovative approach to footy competition across European clubs.

The AFL Europe website stated that, “the 8th of August saw an Inaugural 3 Cities Tournament hosted by the Czech Lions in Prague. Taking part were the Dresden Wolves, from Dresden, Germany and the Styrian DownUnder Dogs from Graz, Austria. The three game round robin tournament saw the Lions take out the top prize, the DownUnder Dogs come in second and the Wolves third.”

AFL Europe will be represented at the AFL's National Draft Combine in Melbourne in October by Darragh Joyce (left) and Colin O'Riordan. After testing well at the AFL's Combine in Ireland late last year ran by Tadhg Kennelly these two selected GAA athletes will travel to Australia in hopes of being drafted as International Rookies by one of the AFL clubs.

Given that media speculation is that the Draft talent pool is relatively week and clubs are becoming more open all the time to code crossers, there has probably never a better time to be an Irish kid auditioning for a spot on an AFL list.

The recent trend of European premierships being won by teams going into Grand Finals as underdogs has continued in Norway as the Ås Battlers defeated the Oslo West team by just three points in the Kenguru Cup Grand Final.

Norway’s premier Australian Rules football league had been dominated this season by the Oslo West team this year, with the team finishing the final round of the home and away season in top spot for the first time. It was history making for the Oslo team, but despite finishing well clear on top of the ladder the real job was yet to start.

The Ås Battlers finished in second place, well behind West in terms of win/loss ratio and for/against. But come Grand Final day this counted for little as the Battlers held on in a thriller to win their second flag in three years and make a claim for the best team in Norway in recent years.

The South Dublin Swans have continued their rise of recent weeks to peak at just the right time and take out the 2015 ARFLI premiership, downing the raging hot favourites in the process. The Belfast Redbacks had been the dominant Irish team throughout most of the season, but on the day that mattered most it was the Swans that triumphed.

By half time the Swans had already stated their intentions, pulling out to an 11 point lead, 3 7 25 to 2 2 14. The Redbacks knew they had a challenge on their hands and came back hard in the second half, but the stoic Swans held out for a thrilling two point victory, winning 6 9 45 to 6 7 43.

The Swans had already dented the Redback’s armour in their final round clash where the result saw the Swans pull away to an eventual 25 point win. It would be Belfast’s only loss for the home and away season, but looking back the result was profound.

The final round of the Norwegian Australian Rules football competition, the Kenguru Cup, was completed last week with results going heavily in favour of the Oslo West team which secured their historic first Grand Final berth. After two years in last place, Oslo West won both games in the final round to take top spot – in the process recording the highest amount of wins in the competition’s history with eight from ten games.

They will take on the second placed Ås Battlers which won its final match against Oslo East by a big margin after earlier going down to Oslo West by just one point.

This sets up a fascinating Grand Final, to be played at the Voldsløkka Rugby Field in Oslo on Thursday, September 3rd (Norway time) against the 2013 winners, the Ås Battlers, and the newcomers to the big day Oslo West.

Essendon football club today announced that Irish code crosser Conor McKenna is upgraded from the rookie list to the senior list and will debut in the AFL this Saturday night at the MCG.

McKenna originally from Tyrone in Northern Ireland was drafted as an International Rookie last year after he was spotted by Essendon, who were one of two AFL clubs that attended the AFL's talent combine in Ireland in December 2013.  He also was invited to the National Combine in Melbourne last year.

Just when everything in the ARFLI competition was going to script – all teams try hard but the undefeated Belfast Redbacks would cruise to premiership glory – the South Dublin Swans have come along and changed the landscape in two afternoons.

Not having bothered to read the script, the Swans got out to an early advantage against the Redbacks and held their nerve to pull away and set up a home final and a legitimate share of premiership favouritism. They followed this with a comprehensive semi-final win against the Galway Magpies

According to the ARFLI website, “Saturday last saw the Belfast Redbacks host the South Dublin Swans at the Cherryvale Sports Grounds adjacent to the Ulster rugby venue Ravenhill. The Redbacks have led the league all season and went into the final home and away game undefeated. In contrast the Swans have dropped points including losing at home to the Redbacks.”

In the tenth anniversary year of the Scottish Australian Rules Football League (SARFL) the Grand Final saw reigning champions Edinburgh Bloods take on minor premiers Glasgow Sharks on the afternoon of 31st August. Each side had won on the other’s home ground during the regular season so this game at Linlithgow Rugby Club promised to provide a fitting climax.

Edinburgh began the game in impressive style, their experienced midfield dominating the first quarter as they quickly moved into a strong lead, kicking eight goals to lead 53-1 at the opening break. Glasgow came out much more strongly after the break, tightening up in the back line and midfield to take the second quarter by four goals to three and promise that a comeback could be on its way. Half time score: Edinburgh 11.7.73 Glasgow 4.3.27.