News

October 2008

Vancouver Wins US Nationals

October 15, 2008 by Mark Block | View Comments (1)

On October 13th 2008, the Vancouver Cougars won the Division 1 Championship in spectacular fashion at the US Nationals in Colorado Springs. I was particularly impressed by Stewart Grills who has bled blue and red for the Vancouver Cougars as one of the legends of B.C. footy. His hard work is also been benefiting the Northwind national program. There were strong performances from players like James Maitland who cleaned up in the half back line with great marks and booming clearances. Clayton Holmes applied effective pressure in the half forward line with Gareth Bowley. They also had strong performances. Congratulations goes out to Scott Sheen, (B.C.'s Assistant Coach of the Northwind) as well, for his great success as the coach of the Vancouver Cougars.

The Calgary Kangaroos Head Coach, Troy Rose (Northwind Alberta Rep.) also had a great tournament as his crew fought all the way to the Division 2 "Grand Final". The recovering Gareth Williams would have made the difference as this tight knit crew fought admirably. Matt Kidd (previous Northwind player) was a warrior in the backline and newer Canadians Jim Lillico, Tyson Marques, Damian Radcliffe and Oluseyi A Oyewumi showed potential as future Northwind participants.

In the Women's Division, the Calgary Kookaburras went undefeated to capture the US Nationals Women's Championship. It was an incredible story as only one year ago they were unable to win a game. With the help of Jake Anson (Head Coach), the dedicated Kookaburras have built an incredible organization over a short period of time. Great job!

AFL Canada VP Peter Campion entered the West Coast Saints into the tournament in Division 3. They competed well. Peter shared the spirit of many other participants who continue their Australian Rules football legacy in Canada. B.C. Footy continues to grow as a result of the passion shared by people like Peter.

Darrel Perry, Helga Cunning and I also attended a conference between US Footy and AFL Canada. One of the most exciting formats for match-ups between Canada and the Revolution were discussed including matches against Australian All-stars from both USA and Canada. The possible birth of an Inaugural "Canadian Nationals" tournament in the summer of 2009 are also planned. Commitments to the schedule will be confirmed this January. One thing is for sure. The Footy scene is growing strong in Canada! Congratulations to the Vancouver Cougars, B.C. Footy and Alberta Footy leagues. The entire nation is proud of you and our national program will be better for your efforts.

Kangaroos Bounce Their Way to First Premiership

October 5, 2008 by Daniel Eddy | View Comments (9)

In one of the greatest Grand Final's in the 20-year history of the Ontario Australian Football League, the Etobicoke Kangaroos have taken out their first Premiership in stunning fashion by defeating the Toronto Eagles by just one point. The victory stopped a run of two consecutive Conacher Cups for the mighty Eagles team.

The day began with an exhibition match between a metro team and a team from outside of Toronto, with the metro squad too strong in the end to the tune of 97 points. That was then followed by a junior match with students from Red Willow public school in Brampton. This was a success as the kids soaked up the chance to learn the skills of the game on a League oval in front of a big crowd. With a junior program in the works for next season, we may see these kids playing in the OAFL before too long. It was then time for the big match, and after opening speeches from representatives from League sponsors Crown Point (Martin Walter) and the Trillium Foundation (Vincent Conville), as well as the Canadian National Anthem, the game got under way.

Like they have done most of the season, Toronto jumped out of the blocks and kicked 4 goals before Etobicoke knew what hit them. It wasn't just the forwards firing for the Eagles though, as the defence kept the Roos to just one point at quarter time. For the rest of the first half the Roos were playing catch up, and despite kicking their first goal and holding the Eagles to only 1 themselves, the margin was still 25 points at the main break.