1
San
Diego Lions[*1] (10 #1 Votes) (6-0)
2
Denver
Bulldogs[*2] (5-1)
3
BW
Eagles[*3] (5-0)
4
NY Magpies[*4]
(4-1) (UP from 5)
5
Golden Gate
Roos[*5] (1-1) (DOWN from 4)
6
Chicago
United[*6] (5-1)
7
OC Bombers[*7]
(1-4)
8
Boston
Demons[*8] (2-2)
9
Minnesota
Freeze[*9] (3-1) (IN)
10
Seattle
Grizzlies[*10] (3-0)
Also receiving votes
Atlanta
Kookaburras[*11] (4-2) (OUT),
Milwaukee
Bombers[*12] (3-7),
Nashville
Kangaroos[*13] (6-1).
The No. 1 San Diego Lions have cemented themselves as favorites going into the
USFooty National Championship Tournament in Louisville KY on October 13 and
14. The Lions also finished top of the
Unofficial
USFooty ladder[*14] with 6 wins, no losses, 24 points and a percentage of
301. The Lions impressive regular season included going 2-0 in their home
and home series with the Orange County Bombers, a convincing win over Golden
Gate in San Diego and taking out the 2007 Western Regional Tournament by beating
No. 2 Denver Bulldogs by 9 in Denver. The Lions have been led all year by
former president and 2006 joint Best and Fairest, Brendan McDonald who finished
top of the
USFooty
goal kicking[*15] list with 17 goals, an average of just under 3 goals a
game. Also contributing to the cause is current President Adam Cannane, J
Cameron, S Shenk and last year's joint Best and Fairest Justin Valley.
Nipping the Lions' heels all season has been the Denver Bulldogs. Denver
also had a very impressive season finishing with 5 wins and just one close loss
to the Lions. Denver finished 3rd behind the unranked Nashville Kangaroos
on the Unofficial USFooty ladder with 20 points and a percentage of 485.
Denver have been led all year by former USFooty President and 2007 East vs West
stand out Rich Mann.
The big mover in the 2007 was the Baltimore Washington Eagles who finished the
season ranked No. 3. The Eagles had a very impressive 5-0 season with road
wins over New York,
Philadelphia[*16]
and
North
Carolina[*17] . The Eagles finished 4th on the Unofficial USFooty ladder
with 20 points and a percentage of 211. Their win over New York gave them
the 2007 US Eastern Australian Football League Premiership. The Eagles
play has been characterized by a strong running game with a forward structure
that reminds you of the 1977 Carlton Premiership side. Aaron Tyndall led
the Eagles with 10 goals and a number of best on grounds. Unfortunately,
Tyndall will not be available for Nationals. The Eagles will be looking
for Revos Chris Carroll, RJ Wheelock and Jay Lavesque to play at their
best. Coach Matty Bishop has also had some success playing up
forward. The Eagles east coast nemesis, the New York Magpies finished the
season ranked No. 4 with 4 wins and their only loss to the Eagles in New
York. The Magpies finished 8th on the Unofficial USFooty ladder with 16
points and a percentage of 147, and second in the US EAFL. The Magpies
will be looking for big contributions from Shane Batty and Luke North.
No. 5 Golden Gate Roos only had two games for the season and finished 1-1 with a
loss to San Diego in San Diego and a win over the Orange County Bombers at
home. As usual the Roos are the dark horse going into the National
Championship Tourney. No. 6 Chicago United finished the season by beating
arch nemisis Milwaukee and winning the 2007 MAAFL Premiership. The win
gave United an automatic bid into Division 1. Chicago finished the season
5th on the Unofficial USFooty ladder with 5 wins and the one loss to Seattle in
Seattle. United will be looking for big contributions from Drew Ehlers and
Rohan Ward and must be given some advantage due to their proximity to the
Louisville.
Rounding out the top 8 and only bubble for Division 1 are No. 7 Orange County
and No. 8 Boston Demons. Orange County finished the regular season 1-4
with the toughest schedule in USFooty. The Bombers lost to the No. 1 San
Diego Lions, the No. 2 Denver Bulldogs and the No. 5 Golden Gate Roos.
Probably their best game in 2007 was their close loss to the Lions in LA.
The Boston Demons finished 2-2 with both losses on the road and a forfeit win
over the North Carolina Tigers. Also on the bubble for Division 1 are No.
9 Minnesota Freeze and the No. 10 Seattle Grizzlies. Minnesota finished
12th on the Unofficial USFooty ladder with three wins and their only loss to No.
2 Denver in Minneapolis. The Freeze are a relatively new team in USFooty
and had a break out season in 2006. It will be big step for them to
compete in Division 1, but if they don't look for them to finish towards the top
of Division 2. The Grizzlies are another dark horse coming out of the
west. They had a perfect record with three wins, but never traveled too
far from their home of Seattle.
The teams to watch out for in Division II include the Nashville Kangaroos with a
6-1 season putting then second in the Unofficial USFooty ladder with 24 points
and a percentage of 165. Nashville is led by Luke Nemeth who was the
leading vote getter in
USFooty
in 2007[*18] and Jason King who finished 2nd in the goal kickers with 13 goals in
league play. Located only a couple of hours from Louisville, Nashville is
likely to bring a strong squad. Also look for the Milwaukee Bombers who
had a disappointing 3-7 season and are obviously missing the Brunmeier brothers
who have just finished out their season in the reserves with the
West
Perth Falcons[*19] . The other team to watch is the Atlanta Kookaburras who
had an up and down 4-2 season with good wins at home.