AFL Round 6 kicks off with the blockbuster clash of Geelong vs Collingwood at the MCG in Melbourne, Friday night.

Once again viewers around the world can access matches live or delayed on a number of TV networks or stream the telecast via subscription to Watchafl.com.au. 

The broadcast schedule for this round can be seen below.

The broadcast schedule is published here in good faith from schedules provided by the AFL.  All schedules may be subject to change. ...

Alex Benjamin from USAFL Weekly Report brings us the latest news from US footy.

As we celebrate Mother’s Day here in the USA, we wish all mothers around the world a Happy Mother’s Day.
 

USAFL Revolution Training Coming To Nashville
As of yesterday evening, it was announced on the USAFL website that the USA Revolution team will have their Training Camp being held in Nashville, most likely at the home grounds of Elmington Field at Vanderbilt and Ted Rhodes Park at Metrocenter. The dates are 6 and 7 June 2015 as they prepare for the Parallel Cup in August.

This Week’s Games

This week, several USAFL teams will be playing Canadian teams.

In Montreal: Boston vs. (#18 USAFL) Quebec (Men) and New York vs. Quebec (Womens)
The Boston Demons will take on the Quebec Saints. Quebec finished 1-2 in the Nationals and will be facing their first USAFL team this year. Meanwhile, the Lady Magpies will face the Quebec team as well during the tournament. The Men’s game will count as four points, meanwhile, the New York Lady Magpies will have 3 games.

Des Moines: I-80/35 10s Rocky Mountain Tournament
Teams in the tournament: (#20 USAFL) Des Moines Roosters, Kansas City Power, Minnesota Freeze and (#23 USAFL) Tulsa Buffaloes

At Columbus: (#9 USAFL) #4 Columbus Jackaroos vs. Toronto Blues (Men) and Columbus Jillaroos vs. Toronto Blues
The Jackaroos and Jillaroos welcome Toronto. This will mark the third time in as many years that the two teams face either other, but the second time in Columbus.

This Week’s Show

This week’s show (15-17) will have our recap of Week 6 in the AFL, our look at Week 5 in the VFL with recaps from the games, our Picks for Week 7 and a look ahead to the rest of the month and the upcoming games in the USAFL next weekend. Our show will be on at its usual time: 4 pm USA Central Time via YouTube. As always, everyone, please like us on Facebook via USAFL Weekly Report, on Twitter @USAFLWR and always ask questions on Chat, Twitter and Facebook. We will answer them during our Q & A segment near the end of the show. We will see you Sunday @ 4!
  ...

AFL Asia 2015 AGM

AFL Asia has elected a new, larger, committee for 2015.

AFL Asia’s former Vice President & Treasurer, Darren Whitfield was elected to the top job at the 2015 Annual General Meeting which was conducted by club presidents on Skype.(22nd Feb 2015)

Grant Keys (President Vietnam Swans) was elected as the Vice President as was Dennis Cornwell staying on for Auskick.

The full committee is detailed below and allocation of portfolios shall be done soon, after consulting with committee members separately.

• President – Darren Whitfield (Hong Kong Dragons and SCAFL)
• Vice President – Grant Keys (Vietnam Swans President)
• Auskick – Dennis Cornwell (Singapore Sharks)
• Peter Hammon (Philippine Eagles President)
• Greg Hinchecliffe (Bali Geckos President)
• Zhang Hao (Guangzhou Scorpions)
• Andrew Cox (Thailand Tigers)
• Peter Muir (Hong Kong)
• Justin Barbaro (Hong Kong)
• Tayyab Chatta (Pakistan Football League)

Outgoing President, Phil Johns, who did not stand for re-election, congratulated Darren on his deserved promotion to the position of President citing his outstanding work as AFL Asia’s Treasurer and Vice President in the 2013/14 Committee. He said that under the stewardship of Darren and his new Committee, the future of AFL Asia looked particularly bright.

Phil also acknowledged and thanked other founding committee members Steve Morrish (former Vice President who resigned mid 2014); Dennis Cornwell (who continues with Auskick); and AFL Asia’s unsung hero and outgoing Secretary, Mark Stennet (Mark did not stand for re-election) who had made an enormous contribution to the development of AFL Asia. Phil also thanked the club presidents.

In turn, Darren thanked Phil and the members of AFL Asia’s inaugural committee for getting AFL Asia to where it is today. He added that the new committee, with the support of all member clubs, looked forward to taking AFL Asia to the next level.

  ...

Teik Kyat (Fighting Cocks) Take Home Vientiane Cup

All Laos National(s) side play “Seven’s International” match.

On February 28, the Teik Kyat met the Laos Elephants at the Lao Tobacco Sports Field, where they played three games and won three against a mixture of Laos nationals and Australian expats.

In their first matchup, the Myanmar side; only constituted in 2014 and predominantly formed of Australian expats; played a seven-a-side game against the Laos Nationals. (All Laotian Elephants played 12’s match against Thailand Tigers, Australia Day. 2014)

“To play against a side consisting of only Laotian players was a real honour,” said Fighting Cocks’ president Henry Cox after the competition. “To be able to field an equivalent side is an undoubted ambition of the Myanmar club, but for now, we are still an emerging side.”

The first game saw the Myanmar side run out comfortable victors in a 66–18 game but the contest was not without challenge for the side, particularly from Handa, whose efforts through the competition saw him named “Local Player of the Tournament”. “If he’d been playing since he was young, he’d have made the big leagues by now,” said Steve Chapman, president of the Laos Elephants.

Next up for the Cocks was a nine-a-side game against the Laos Felang, a team of Australian nationals. Though this game was tighter, the Fighting Cocks drew to a two–goal lead in the first half and fought hard to maintain the margin in the second, running out 54–34 victors and guaranteeing their place in the final.

The Laos National and Felang Elephants sides then met in an encounter that went the way of the more experienced Australian side.

The Laos National and Felang Elephants then combined to try to prevent the 2015 trophy from leaving home soil, unfortunately Conor Smith, (an American making his match debut for the Myanmar side), dominated his Laos counterparts and won man of the match for the final, inspired his team to lift the Vientiane Cup with a 65–32 win.

Game Scores
Game 1
Lao Nationals 18 def by Myanmar 66

Game 2
Lao Falang Elephants 34 def by Myanmar 54

Game 3
Falang Elephants 91 def Lao Nats 27

Final
Myanmar Fighting Cocks 65 def Lao Elephants 32

  ...

AFL Round 7 kicks off with the the clash of Essedon and North Melbourne at Docklands Stadium, Friday night.

Once again viewers around the world can access matches live or delayed on a number of TV networks or stream the telecast via subscription to Watchafl.com.au. 

The broadcast schedule for this round can be seen below.

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The broadcast schedule is published here in good faith from schedules provided by the AFL.  All schedules may be subject to change. ...

Last week, we had a number of teams playing games in three cities: Toronto, Des Moines and Seattle. The match between Columbus and Toronto was cancelled.

Montreal Women’s Tournament

The Montreal Women’s Tournament, (also included a men’s game with the Quebec Saints take on the Boston Demons).

The New York ladies took on the Quebec ladies.

Game 1: New York 1.6.12 Hamilton 0.2.2
Game 2: New York 5.13.43 Toronto 3.2.20

.
 

The men’s match was close for 3 quarters between the Saints and the Demons before the Saints pulled away in the final 20 minutes.

Final score: Quebec 15.11.101 Boston 10.9.69

I-80/35 Tournament in Des Moines

At the Des Moines Veterans Park the I-80/35 Tournament saw the Tulsa Buffaloes, Denver Bulldogs, Minnesota Freeze, Kansas City Power and the host Des Moines Roosters take to the field. This tournament was in the 9’s format, and Denver also fielded a B Team.

Game 1: Minnesota vs. Denver B
The first game of the day had Minnesota play against Denver’s B team. The game was pretty much one sided as the Freeze manhandled the B squad.
Final score: Minnesota 10.7.67 Denver B 4.1.25

Game 2: Des Moines vs. Tulsa
The second game had the Roosters take the field for the first game against Tulsa. This game was a pretty tight contest in the first half before Des Moines took over in the 2nd half.
Final score: Des Moines 11.12.78 Tulsa 4.2.26

Game 3: Minnesota vs Denver A
Minnesota took the field for game 3 against Denver’s main team. This game was a knock down battle royale as it was tight right through the game until 4 minutes left when Denver took the final kick for goal.
Final score: Denver A 8.9.57 Minnesota 7.5.47

Game 4: Denver A vs Tulsa
This game was the blowout of the entire tournament…Denver took it to the Buffaloes and stampeded them.
Final score: Denver A 19.13.127 Tulsa 0.2.2

Game 5: Denver B vs Des Moines
The penultimate game of the round robin had Des Moines retake the field against Denver B team. This game was a dogfight throughout before the Denver B Squad took the final 2 goals in the last 6 minutes.
Final score: Denver B 8.8.56 Des Moines 6.4.40

Game 6: Denver B vs Kansas City
The final game of the round robin format had the Kansas City Power take the field against Denver B. The game was a close once again before Kansas City won the game in the final minutes.
Final score: Kansas City 10.8.68 Denver B 4.4.28

Semi-Final: Tulsa vs Denver B
The semi-final game was Tulsa vs Denver B as Tulsa, after a good rest, came storming back and won the game going away against Denver B.
Final score: Tulsa 8.5.53 Denver 3.6.24

Grand Final: Denver A vs. Kansas City
This Grand Final was not much of a contest as once again the Denver A team won in another rout.
Denver A 14.14.98 Kansas City 1.2.8

Seattle vs. Vancouver Saints

The Seattle Grizzlies hosted the Vancouver Saints in their season opener. From the outset, the Grizzlies were up against it for the first 3 quarters before Vancouver took over the final quarter and won going away.
Final score: Vancouver 9.8.62 Seattle 6.4.40

USAFL Standings

With the results from the past week, there are now 20 teams in the men and 3 in the women that have played at least one game. Here are the new USAFL Weekly Report standings:

Men
 

This Week’s Games

This week is the second week of the tournaments as we gear up for two tournaments involving seven teams.

At Champions Park, Louisville: John Harrell Cup:

Expected weather: 40% of Thunderstorms and 77f (25c)
Teams Involved:
Nashville Kangaroos, Columbus Jackaroos, Indianapolis Giants and the Cincinnati Dockers .

On the hallowed grounds of Champions Park, the site of three USAFL Nationals in their history as the John Harrell Cup will be played. Here’s the schedule for the games on Saturday (All times CT):

10:30 am: Columbus vs. Indianapolis
First game will face the battle of I-70 as Columbus will take on newcomers Indianapolis. The Giants are on the rise while the Jackaroos, coming off a convincing win against Cleveland, go for 2 in a row. Columbus has never lost to Indianapolis in their series.

11:30 am: Cincinnati vs. Nashville
The two founding teams of the USAFL square off for the 20th time, but the first in nearly 3 years. Nashville is coming off a dominating win against Atlanta while Cincinnati begin their 2015 campaign. Nashville has won the last 5 meetings, including a drubbing by over 100 points in Nashville the last time they played.

1:00 pm: 3rd place game
2:00 pm: Grand Final

Thoughts: Considering that all four teams know each other in one way or another, expect tight battles. I figure Cincinnati vs. Indianapolis battle for 3rd while expect a battle royale for the title in Columbus vs. Nashville. In the 4 times that the Kangaroos have gone to the Harrell Cup, they have never left without the trophy.

At Houston: Texas Cup Round 1:
Expected Weather: Thunderstorms with a high of 79f (26c)
Teams Involved: Houston Lonestars, Austin Crows, Dallas Magpies

This round played in Houston is the first of the 3 legs in the Texas Cup.
Game times (All times CT):

Noon: Austin vs. Dallas
1 pm: Dallas vs. Houston
2 pm: Houston vs. Austin

In Atlanta: Baton Rouge vs Atlanta:
11:30 am CT: Expected weather: Cloudy with a high of 87f (31c)
The only full 4-quarter match this week will take place at Gerrard Landing Park in Marietta when the Atlanta Kookaburras take the field against the Baton Rouge Tigers. This will be the first of the home-and-home series.

This Week’s Show

This week’s edition will be starting at a later time this week due to the road trip to Louisville, 4:30 pm CT instead of the usual time of 4 pm CT. We will recap Week 7 of the USAFL and the AFL, including recaps of the Texas Cup in Houston and the John Harrell Cup in Louisville. There are no games next week in the USAFL as we will be celebrating Memorial Day weekend in the USA. We will have our Q & A session, so please, send your questions through via WFN, the blog, on Facebook or on Twitter with #USAFLWRQA. See you Sunday @ 4:30 pm!
 

Round 4 VFL action kicked off at Casey Fields where Casey were 35 point winners over Sandringham . Jason Holmes (USA) had 20 hit outs in the ruck for the Zebras along with one kick, six handballs and two tackles.
 

At Geelong the Cats were defeated by Collingwood by 9 points. Mason Cox (USA) was named in the best for Collingwood as he stepped up the lead ruck role this week with Jared Witts in the Magpies AFL side. Cox had 26 hit outs and laid six tackles for the match. Padraig Lucey (Ire) also played well kicking four goals and was named in Geelong’s best players.
 

Kurt Heatherley (NZ) was solid again in defence for the Box Hill Hawks with 8 kicks, 8 marks, 6 handballs and two tackles while Majak Daw had the fumbles but was still among Werribee’s goalkickers as they finished 4 points ahead of the Hawks.

Conor McKenna (Ire) kicked 1.1 for the Bombers as Essendon cruised to a 26 point win over Coburg.
 

Development League

Joe Baker-Thomas’ (NZ) Sandringham Zebras went down to the Casey Scorpions by 17 points at Casey Fields.
 

Shem Tatupu (NZ) was quiet for the Box Hill Hawks in their 68 point win over Werribee. Eric Wallace (USA) was named in the best for the Tigers with 25 hit-outs and 14 disposals.
 

Alex Aurrichio (USA) was again in the on ball brigade for the Northern Blues as they ran out 20 point winners over Frankston.
  ...

The AFL this week announced joint winners for the Graeme Samuel Scholarship for 2015.

The Scholarship is awarded by the AFL Commission in recognition of Graeme Samuel’s contribution to the game. Graeme Samuel was one of the original AFL Commissioners when the Commission was formed in 1984, and played he played an invaluable role in the strategic direction of the AFL competition and Australian Football generally.

The Award is $20,000 for future study or professional development.

This year, the Commission has announced two winners, Rosie King from the Geelong Football Club and Ameet Bains from the St Kilda Football Club.

Rosie King is the General Manager People and Culture at the Geelong Football Club. She joined the Cats in 2010, having held senior management roles in the commercial, not-for-profit and government sectors including Sport New Zealand.

Rosie has a Masters in Business Management and has been a member of various Boards in the education and training sector, and is currently on the Community Advisory Board of the Deakin Clinical School of Medicine.

“I’m very fortunate to work with a group of people at the Cats who have encouraged and supported my professional growth. The Graeme Samuel Scholarship will enable me to continue with my learning and I really do feel so lucky to have this opportunity and thank the AFL most sincerely for their support. It’s an exciting time to be in the AFL industry and to share this Scholarship with Ameet is all the more special,” Ms King said.

Ameet Bains is the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel at the St Kilda Football Club. Ameet has been leading substantial change at St Kilda – overseeing stronger Governance and Integrity processes, restructuring the club’s player payments and developed a new focus on international player recruitment.

Ameet serves on a number of AFL subcommittees, and was nominated by the AFL for Indian Young Business Executive of the Year award. He holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Business (Banking & Finance) from Monash University and was admitted to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 2002.

“It’s an honour to receive this Scholarship and represent the St Kilda Football Club. I’m both delighted and grateful for the opportunity to undertake further study to help progress my career in an industry I’m so passionate about,” Mr. Bains said.

AFL CEO, Mr. Gillon McLachlan said it was very pleasing to have the quality of people like Rosie King and Ameet Bains committing to the AFL industry, and joining a list of outstanding club administrators to have received the Graeme Samuel Scholarship.

Mr. McLachlan said:

“Rosie King is an outstanding Executive and a critical part of building the strong organizational culture at the Geelong Football Club. She is a very worthy winner of this award, and a true leader in our industry.

“Ameet Bains is also a great young leader and executive in our industry, and this Award is recognition of his role at his club,” Mr. McLachlan said.

“I congratulate them and wish them well with their future studies.”
  ...

With four rounds down in the AFLCNE season there are now some very clear patterns emerging as teams begin the jostling process for finals action later in the year. With almost a third of the season gone, the next few weeks will see some teams strengthening their positions of power, others fighting off challengers and some building for the future.

Round Four results saw the Mozzie powerhouse continues its reign of terror by hammering the Scorpions. Sheffield Thunder remained undefeated also by downing a gallant Rams outfit whilst the Wolverines squared their leger for the season by downing the Bears. Tyne tees Tigers had the bye.

Weekend Results:

Manchester Mozzies  21.22 (148) def Nottingham Scorpions 5.11 (41) at Manchester

Huddersfield Rams  15.17 (107) def. by Sheffield Thunder  19.16 (130) at Huddersfield

Wolverhampton Wolverines 16.21 (117) def Birmingham Bears 10.12 (72) at Wolverhampton

AFLCNE Ladder - Round Four

Next weekend:

 Nottingham Scorpions v Sheffield Thunder (Nottingham)

 Tyne Tees Tigers v Birmingham Bears (Nottingham)

Wolverhampton Wolverines v Manchester Mosquitoes (Wolverhampton).

Bye: Huddersfield Rams ...

AFL Round 8 kicks off with the the clash of Geelong and Carlton at Docklands Stadium, Friday night.

Once again viewers around the world can access matches live or delayed on a number of TV networks or stream the telecast via subscription to Watchafl.com.au. 

The broadcast schedule for this round can be seen below.

The broadcast schedule is published here in good faith from schedules provided by the AFL.  All schedules may be subject to change. ...

We look at how the International players running around in the VFL fared this past weekend.

Box Hill and Essendon went head to head at Windy Hill on Saturday. It was the Hawks who ran out 23 point winners. Kurt Heatherley (NZ) had a quiet return in terms of possessions with 5 kicks, 3 handballs, 5 marks and one tackle. For the Bombers Conor McKenna (Ire) had a wayward kicking result of 1.3.

The Bulldogs had a 62 point win over Geelong. Padraig Lucey (Ire) also had a quiet day with just 2 hit outs, 1 kick, 1 handball and 1 tackle.

Sean Hampson dominated the ruck for Richmond against Collingwood at Punt Rd. His opponent for much of the day was Mason Cox (USA) and he had just 16 hit outs but was on the winning side of a thrilling three point margin to the Magpies. Cox continued to battle all day and provided a lot to his side in the way of second efforts after the ruck taps.

Sandringham were big winners to the tune of 75 points over Frankston. Jason Holmes (USA) had a another good match in the ruck for the Zebras with 14 possessions 39 hit outs, kicking 1.1 and was named second best for his team on the day. His tap ruckwork is really a big feature of his game.

Eric Wallace (USA) rucked for Werribee against Williiamstown and kicked one goal. Williamstown won the match by 35 points.

Joe Baker-Thomas (NZ) was part of the Sandringham team that had a big 68 point win over Frankston. This week he played on the wing after previously playing down back.

Shem Tatupu (NZ) kicked one goal for Box Hill as they accounted for the Northern Blues at Preston City Oval by a margin of 42 points. Alex Aurrichio (USA) again featured for the Blues in the ruck.
  ...

Alex Aurrichio made another important step forward this evening when he was named in the Northern Blues VFL senior squad for this week. Aurrichio who played with the USAFL National Championship winning New York Magpies last season, has impressed in the first five rounds of the VFL Development League in 2015.

The Development league is mostly made up of younger players around average age of 20. Aurrichio playing mostly in the ruck is a little older at 25 and but in terms of his footy experience is a long way behind most of his team mates and opponents. So his learning curve has been steep and his application impressive. His 198cm, 105kg frame is not huge by AFL standards but in the VFL Development league is on the larger side. At VFL senior level he will be playing against more players used to handling opponents of his size.

Unlike other Americans who have played at VFL level he has made the trip to Australia without being placed on a rookie or scholarship list with an AFL club.  Over the summer he had stints with a number of VFL clubs before finally settling at the Northern Blues who are the VFL affiliate of the AFL club Carlton.

Aurrichio is named on an extended bench for the match to be played at Preston City Oval against Essendon’s VFL side at 2pm on Saturday.   The Essendon team have their own international in Irishman Conor McKenna who is an International Rookie drafted last year by the Essendon AFL club.  McKenna was scouted by the Bombers at the AFL Europe Combine.

Aurrichio also comes to this point from an AFL Combine.  He attended the AFL’s US Combine in Los Angeles in April 2014.  He was not one of the athletes chosen to come to Australia for the National Combine in Melbourne however.   But having been introduced to this new sport he thought he may still have a future in the game.  Returning to New York he hooked up with the New York Magpies and with a season of USAFL footy under his belt backed himself to give the game a crack in Australia for 2015.

No doubt Aurrichio’s goal is to be drafted by an AFL club in this year’s draft and there is probably no better way to showcase his abilities at the VFL senior level for the rest of the season if he can hold his own at that level. 

Aurrichio joins other Americans already playing senior VFL footy this season in Mason Cox at Collingwood and Jason Holmes at Sandringham who are both making strong impressions as mobile ruckmen.

If you can get along to Preston to watch him on Saturday he will be the big bloke in the navy blue with the American accent and the number 73 on his back.
  ...

The Birmingham Bears’ rocky start to the season took a solid turn for the better on the weekend when they scored an impressive victory over the Tyne Tees Tigers by 108 points.  After their rollercoaster start to the season which had seen one on-field win over the first four rounds, the victory might well mark a turning point for the Bears in season 2015.

In other results, Sheffield Thunder continued their impressive start to the season with a 102 point thrashing of the Nottingham Scorpions whilst the Manchester Mozzies were forced to work hard for their victory over the Wolverhampton Wolverines with accuracy separating the sides on the scoreboard. Both teams had 23 scoring shots, yet the Mozzies recorded a comfortable 35 point win.

The round sees both the Mozzies and the Thunder undefeated, making this weekend’s clash between the two the match of the season so far on paper, and hopefully also on the field. The Bears and Wolverines hold the next two spots on two wins apiece, followed by the Rams, Scorpions and Tigers.

Round 5 Results:

Nottingham Scorpions 11.15 (81) def. by Sheffield Thunder 29.9 (183) at Nottingham

Tyne Tees Tigers 8.9 (57) def. by Birmingham Bears 23.27 (165) at Nottingham

Wolverhampton Wolverines 7.16 (58) def. by Manchester Mosquitoes 14.9 (103) at Wolverhampton

Round 5 Ladder:

AFLCNE Ladder - Round 6

 Next Round (Round 6):

Birmingham Bears v Huddersfield Rams (Birmingham)

Manchester Mosquitoes v Sheffield Thunder (Tyne Tees)

Tyne Tees Tigers v Nottingham Scorpions (Tyne Tees)

Wolverhampton Wolverines - BYE

  ...

Last Weekend’s Games: USAFL Week 7
This past weekend, there were two scheduled tourneys plus the Atlanta vs. Baton Rouge full game. There was a last minute addition and a postponement…the addition was Seattle vs. BC Eagles outside of Seattle, but the postponement was in Houston. The first round of the Texas Cup was postponed due to 11 inches of rain in a week in Houston that made Veterans Park unplayable.

Just 3 years ago, Houston and the state of Texas was in a Stage 3 Drought. Now, they have received 11-17 inches of rain during the month of May, including at the USAFL Nationals HQ in Austin, where the league will be in just 5 months from now.

The Texas Cup Round 1 has been rescheduled for a week from Saturday, 30 May. With that, here’s a recap of last weekend’s games, including extended tournament coverage of the Harrell Cup.
 

Landing Park in Marietta: Atlanta vs Baton Rouge

Played at Marietta’s Gerrard Landing Park this was the first of the home-and-home series between Baton Rouge and Atlanta. The game was a tight battle most of the way until the final quarter of the game, when Atlanta finally took control. Even though the scoring chances were close, 25 to 22 in favor of Atlanta, the Kookaburras won the game easily.

Final score: Atlanta 16.9.105 Baton Rouge 9.13.69

At Sedro-Wooley outside of Seattle: Seattle vs. BC Eagles

This match was played outside of Seattle at Sedro-Wooley Park, near Everett as the Seattle Grizzlies hosted the BC Eagles in the second of back-to-back weekends with the Canadian BC Teams. After the heartbreaker of last weekend’s loss to Vancouver, the Grizzlies needed a comeback and they got it as the battle with BC was back and forth for the majority of the match with Seattle kicking the winning goal with less than a minute to go to pull out the win.
 

Final score: Seattle 10.8.68 BC 9.8.62

The next game for Seattle will be June 20th in Vancouver against the Vancouver Saints in Round 3 of the I-5 matches.

Champions Park, Louisville: The John Harrell Cup
Teams Involved: Nashville Kangaroos, Columbus Jackaroos, Cincinnati Dockers and the Indianapolis Giants

At Champions Park, Louisville home of three USAFL Nationals (Last played in 2010) for the 2015 John Harrell Cup. As the teams had gathered for the annual event, it marked the first time in four years that Nashville had made it back to the Harrell Cup, but they have won all four times they had gone to the Cup.

Game One: 10:45 am: Columbus vs. Indianapolis

First game of the day had the Columbus Jackaroos and the Indianapolis Giants in the first of several games against each other. The weather at the 1st game was moderate heavy rain with a temperature at 75. The first half was one sided as Columbus outmarked Indianapolis by a 16-5 count and lead at the half by a 6.4.40 to 0.4.4. The second half was more of the same with Columbus outmarking Indianapolis by a 13-3 and overall 29-8.
Final score: Columbus 9.6.60 Indianapolis 1.4.10

Game Two: 11:55 am: Cincinnati vs. Nashville

Game #2 saw two of the founding members of the USAFL in the Cincinnati Dockers and the Nashville Kangaroos as they renewed their rivalry. The last time the Dockers played against the Kangaroos was right after the 2010 floods in Nashville, in which Nashville won the game by more than 120 points in a blowout. As this game began, the rain had turned heavy, but no thunderstorms meant the game went on as planned, even with suboptimal field conditions. The first half was surprising one-sided in the favor of Cincinnati as they had a 11-5 edge in marks and lead at half 5.6.36 to 1.1.7. The second half was more vintage Kangaroos ball as they won the marks 13-4 to win the marks 18-15, but the lead was too great for them to overcome and for the first time in seven years, Cincinnati upset Nashville.

Final score: Cincinnati 8.7.55 Nashville 4.2.26

Game Three: 2:00 pm: 3rd Place Game: Nashville vs. Indianapolis

The surprising 3rd Place game was Indianapolis vs. Nashville. Surprising is that for the first time, the Kangaroos wouldn’t be playing in the final. However, it also marked the first time that Indianapolis and Nashville played on the field. By the time of the 3rd Place Game, the rain had lessened, but still was moderate raining on the field. The first half started with a behind in the first 2 minutes by the Giants. That would be the only lead of the game by the Giants as the Kangaroos went on the attack, outmarking the Giants 15-2 in the first and going to the half leading 3.2.20 to 0.1.1. The second half was more of the same through the first 10 minutes as the Kangaroos added 2 more goals before Indianapolis added 3 behinds with 4 minutes left, but by then, the game was in hand. Nashville outmarked the Giants in the second half 14-2 to win the marks 29-4.
 

Final score: Nashville 6.7.43 Indianapolis 0.4.4

Game Four: 3:25 pm: Grand Final: Columbus vs. Cincinnati

The Grand Final brought the Battle of I-71 down to Louisville. This marks the 9th contest since Columbus came onboard with Columbus winning the last 4 straight. However, as the rain ended in time of the Grand Final, it was the Dockers coming out with the first goal in the opening minute and outmarking the Jackaroos in the first 13 minutes 11-6 before a flurry in the last 7 minutes saw the Jackaroos coming back to have a battle in the second half. The marks were 15-14 in favored of Cincinnati at the half with the Dockers leading 2.1.13 to 1.4.10. The second half was the Jackaroos in a clampdown of the Dockers in the final 20 minutes as they outmarked the Dockers 16-2 and outscored them 22-2 in the final 20 minutes to win their 1st Harrell Cup.
 

Final score: Columbus 4.8.32 Cincinnati 2.3.15

USAFLWR New Standings Ladder

With all of the games in the books from last weekend, we have a new leader in the USAFLWR Standings, the Columbus Jackaroos after the clean sweep in Louisville.

                  Men

This Week’s USAFLWR Show

Our show this week will be a little shorter one than normal. As this is Memorial Day Weekend in the USA there will not be any games here, but we will recap Week 8 of the AFL, Week 4 and 5 in the VFL and have some news on the USAFL with the naming of the new coach of the Revolution. Also with reports from USAFL Women’s footy will be Carolyn Poulos. Showtime will remain the same…4 pm CDT on YouTube. As always, you can go under WFN to ask a question in the comments, on USAFL Weekly Report on Facebook, @USAFLWR on Twitter, on the blog and during the show via Chat on YouTube. See you Sunday…and to our Veterans in the USA…we appreciate your service and have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend
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The USAFL has announced their hunt for a new national team coach is over.  Tom Ellis, former Denver Bulldogs captain and US Revolution team captain has been given the nod.  He takes over the position from Matt Bishop who coached the Revo’s at IC11 and IC14 (and the years in between).

Ellis has coached the Revolution once before, in LA against a team of Australians that play in the USAFL back in 2007.  But this time around he is set for to coach at least a full International Cup cycle.  It would come as no surprise to those that know Ellis that he would one day coach the USA in international competition given his long time commitment to the game and passion for the Revo’s continual push to make it to the top of the International Cup tree.

And it is perhaps an indicator of the maturity of the USAFL to elect their first American as full time coach after a succession of well credentialed Australians (including Paul Roos) that have held the position previously.  Not a decision made in haste but one that waited for the right American to be ready for the job.

We wish Tommy all the best.  As does the departing coach Matt Bishop who left this message for Ellis on Facebook “Congrats Tom, well deserved. You are well qualified and will do a great job. Beware the knives circling your back, they can strike any time.”  A reminder that there is a lot of politics in footy and being able to harness the power and support of so many geographically widespread teams is not an easy task.

That task begins with the first match in anger in the 49th Parallel Cup where the USA will host Canada in Florida.   The series of international test matches between the USA and Canada, will be held July 31st and August 1st at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Men’s and women’s teams will play on both days with the main event on Saturday evening starting in twilight and played under lights.  The development teams will also play during twilight/evening on the Friday night.  At the time of the event IC17 will be just 24 months away.

You can read the open letter from Tom Ellis on his appointment here.  Below:Ellis with the headwear at IC05 in Melbourne

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