World Footy News

The biggest footy clash of the season in Western Canada took place this weekend at Thunderbird Stadium, home of the University of British Columbia's Canadian Football team, as the Vancouver Cougars hosted the Burnaby Eagles, Seattle Grizzlies and Calgary Kangaroos for the West Coast Challenge. The Challenge was a revamped version of the BC Footy Cup, with the cup still on the line. This came on the heels of a successful tournament in Kelowna, British Columbia that put Vancouver/Burnaby and the two Calgarys (Canadians and Australians) against each other. This would be the first time however, that the clubs would meet as a whole.

The tournament was advertised as an event to hopefully see teams attend from the Western United States, echoing the visit of arguably the best footy side in the Americas, the Denver Bulldogs to Vancouver a few years ago. Unfortunately that didn't come to pass and with the trouble experienced by the Victoria Lions this season, the tournament dropped to four sides from five. While this was regrettable, it did make the tournament a little more straightforward, with a round robin deciding the winner and every side playing every other, instead of just 3 of 4, like in last year's cup. The matches were two 20 minute halves apiece.

The largest change this year, besides the format, was the venue at Thunderbird Stadium, typically reserved for the grand final. Before the tournament, Vancouver's website said that the stadium was one of the best in North America for footy and after seeing it for myself, they weren't wrong. The playing surface was level, freshly cut and actually alive, which on some grounds in the area, is asking for a lot. The Vancouver Cougars in general, and especially tournament organiser Peter Campion earned well deserved praise for securing the ground, as well as organizing a concession, complete with meat pies. Calgary's Aussies, who hadn't seen the Thunderbird setup before, said it was as good as anything you'd find in Australia.

Now for the footy. The tournament started out with a classic cross-town matchup between the Cougars and Eagles, which saw a lot of new international players playing in some of their first matches. The two sides put on a close match as per normal, but the Cougars came out on top 5.2.32 to 2.7.19, pulling away in the last 10 minutes.

The other two sides took to the field, in a match that was never to be as close. Seattle brought 18 players initially and with two loaners, it was agreed that they would field 16. Calgary had 22 and as a result, 6 men in interchange. Combine that with Seattle having three Aussie players (one on loan), compared to the overwhelmingly Australian Calgary side and the odds were stacked against the Grizzlies from the first bounce. The Roos showed why they'd won the cup the last two years, easily dispatching the largely American Grizzlies side, 12.8.80 to no points. Still reeling from their last loss, the Grizzlies hit the oval again to battle Vancouver and while not for lack of trying, they didn't fare much better, losing 6.6.42 to 0.1.1. Once Calgary defeated Burnaby 9.9.63 to 2.3.15, the final matches were clear. With matching 2-0 records, Calgary and Vancouver would square off for the cup in the next match, while the Grizzlies and Eagles would take their 0-2 records to battle for 3rd place.

The Grand Final had added significance for two Cougars vets, including club co-founder and coach Stu Grills and Captain Doug Vargo, who both played their 50th games in the NWPAFL (North-West Pacific AFL). The Cougars kept the game close in the first half, thanks to a good all around effort, plus a rousing pre-game speech from Coach Grills, trailing 0.4.4 to 1.4.10 at the half. However, the Roos didn't panic and pulled away in the second half, winning 5.5.35 to 1.4.10

In the 3rd place match, Seattle kicked their only two goals of the tournament, but still faded, as fatigue began to show on both sides, with the Grizzlies losing to Burnaby 8.10.58 to 2.3.15, giving third to the Eagles. After some festivities at a local watering hole, the tournament was over for another year.

The Cougars and Eagles next have a game against each other, before sending a combined team to Calgary at the end of August, for the annual Stampede cup. Seattle is planning to travel to San Diego for the Western Regionals, in hopes of improving their seeding for the US nationals.

Best in tournament by club

Vancouver Cougars: Stu Grills, Scott Fleming, Ted Murray

Burnaby Eagles: Colin Hilton, Pete Taylor, Paul Atkinson

Calgary Kangaroos: Troy Rose, Beau Corps, Kristen Judge

Seattle Grizzlies: Aaron Winkler, Aaron Stratton, Joey Pauley