Mats “El Presidente” Wurmbach featured strongly for Germany and played some great footy in the ruck in their win against Finland, and in the pool matches against Sweden and Croatia. A couple of solid efforts that are sure to catch the eye of the Team Sweden selectors.

Rickard “Bambi” Barrefelt picked up a bronze medal with the mighty Swedish Elks, who defeated the highly credentialed Great Britain Bulldogs in the 3rd place final.  Noted for his speed and intensity at the ball, Rickard kicked a few goals for the Elks and made a number of clinical tackles and clearances when the elks were under pressure.

Finally, a special thank you goes out to the Axemens playing photographer, Frank Heuts, who was present in Malmö for the final two rounds.

The next stop on the European circuit is the Euro Cup 9s in Milan, Italy on October 2nd.  Here’s hoping that the Axemen will be well represented in this tournament as well.

Photos courtesy of Frank Heuts and Olsin Foto: http://www.olsin.se/sportfoto/

The Solna Axemen have always made a mark in international competition and this year is no different. However, some sort of a record has been set with all three players putting on jumpers for three different countries who also happen to be in the same pool division.

It isn’t beyond the realms of possibility that we will have an Axemen as a European champion, and perhaps a couple in the final Team Europe selection.

Brendan Egan in GAA action for Sligo

We start with gun Irish backman and Tourlestrane man, Brendan Egan, who will be playing for his home nation and tournament favourites, Ireland.  The Irish Warriors are the class act in European footy, having won the 2002 International Cup in Australia and always featuring in the top 4 nations in that tournament since.  They have the pedigree and Egan is sure to bring a great deal of stability and experience to their backline. My tip for Team Europe selection also.

El Presidente

The Germany Black Eagles selectors have cast their nets far and wide, and have reeled in a mighty player in sitting Axemen club president and man-mountain, Mats Wurmbach.  Cut surprisingly and controversially from the Elks squad, Mats was never to be denied glory at the EC, and will now adorn a German jumper to bring his tally of countries represented in International footy to two.  Mats is set to bring a lot of international experience to the Black Eagles in their quest for European glory.  If he can dominate the ruck and around the paddock, then Germany is every chance to cause a few upsets over some more highly fancied teams.  He might even pick up a Team Europe jumper as well.

Popular club man Rickard Barrefelt, one of only two Stockholm league players selected for the Elks (with Södermalm stalwart Lars Hagberg being the other), will put on home nation colours after an impressive debut for the Elks against Norway last year and in the warm up match versus the Stockholm Dynamite earlier this year.   A courageous and dynamic player who will bring a lot of athleticism and commitment to the ball, don’t be surprised if he impresses the umpires and racks up the votes.

Finally, yours truly has been working on the tournament organising committee, representing the new regional body, the European Australian Football Association.  It has been a lot of hard work but we sincerely hope the event will go some way to putting footy further on the map here in Sweden and in Europe.

We wish all three players a great tournament and look forward to hearing the stories of heroic battle and adventure when they return to Axemen training in August.

My older brother Jake is currently halfway through completing an MBA in Sweden. He is enjoying life over in Scandinavia but he misses family and friends, the Australian climate, cheap alcohol, Allen’s party mix and eggs benedict from his local café in Melbourne. He lives in Stockholm, about as far away from Australia as you can possibly get. However, as far away as it is, you might be surprised to hear that Sweden is well serviced for Aussie Rules football. Not only does it have a national team for international competitions, it also has its own domestic Aussie Rules league!

In Stockholm there’s the SAFF (the Stockholm Australian Football Federation) with 4 teams: Solna Axemen, Södermalm Blues, Bromma Vikings and Årsta Swans. Jake plays for the mighty Solna Axemen! Across Sweden there’s also the Falun Diggers, Helsingborg Saints, Karlstad Eagles, Port Malmö Maulers, Gothernberg Berserkers.

Approximately 1/3 of every team are Aussies. The others are mostly Swedes, but then there are also Irish, English and the Germans. (Is it just me or are the Irish everywhere?) The Australians that live in Sweden are mostly “love refugees”, Aussie guys that fell in love with a Swedish girl (not hard to do at all I might add) and ended up moving to Sweden.

My brother tells me that the main attraction to the game for the Swedes is the contact. “You can really tell the guys who play love the contact part of the game, which for Australians is interesting because often they don’t know the rules so well, so there’s a s#@*load of late contact which you just have to write off as them still learning the game. That late contact combined with amateur very very bad part time umpires often provides some very anarchic conditions.”

(It should be noted that the SAFF are not as strict as the AFL and Jake’s blatant abuse of the umpires mentioned previously will incur no $5000 fine.)

Since there are no oval shaped footy fields to play on, the games take place on rugby fields. Jake informs me that “often the Swede’s are confused - because we play on rugby fields, we have normal rugby goals set up, with bad wobbly PVC pipes temporarily installed as behind posts. Everyone gets confused by the rugby crossbar, it’s hard to explain why it shouldn’t be there”.

For Australians living over in that part of the world it’s also a small piece of Australian culture that they can share with Swedes and other Australians.

“Socially there’s a bbq and cheap beers at every game. In Stockholm the bbq rights are divided up evenly, each club uses it as a fund raiser.” No wonder the Swedes love the Australian culture; it’s footy, bbq’s and beers!

“The annual AFL grand final is a big social occasion, the game is shown live at a city english pub (at 6am), served with a full hot buffet breakfast and beers and is more enjoyable watching the game over scrambled eggs and bacon than cold pies and warm beer.”

According to Jake, the best non-Aussie would be a guy called Brendan Egan. It turns out that Brendan is Sweden’s version of Tadhg Kennelly. Brendan is an Irishman that has played 1st division Gaelic football in Ireland but has crossed codes “Kennelly Style” and now calls Sweden home.

In Australia, the superstar players of the AFL usually slip into a role in the media after their football career is over. In the Swedish league it’s no different. Mike Nabb, labeled by Jake as one of the better Swedish players he has played with, has recently retired to little fanfare. There was no lap of honor in the back of a convertible for him. However, Nabb is not lost to the game as he now has a role commentating AFL games in Swedish live on Eurosport 2. The likes of Dennis Cometti and Bruce McAvaney are in fact dubbed over, whilst Mike calls it as he sees it watching from a television in Stockholm. (Take note Bruce, “Särskilda!” is Swedish for special!)

Sweden has now had their league up and running for over 10 years. From the beginnings where homesick Australians would once meet to have a kick of the football, it’s grown into a league that now spans the country. I’m sure my brother is very grateful that he has a little bit of Australian culture on the other side of the world.

The photos below show Jake in action. The first photo is Jake is going for a Lewis Jetta-esqe run down the wing whilst two opponents take chase. In the photo below, the Axemen celebrate their grand final win (Jake is on the left). In the background you can see some converted soccer goals.

Source: http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/7106/newsid/95511/default.aspx

Here’s a map:  http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=111953757741970143252.000487a58509aabc062cd

T-Bana (Metro)
Take the Red line towards Ropsten.  Get off at Gärdet station. Take the Askrikegatan exit at the last carriage and turn left when you leave the station. You should see the field at the end of the street. We will be at the American Football field on the far side.

Busses
Buss 1 stops at Kampementsbacken. From there its a 2 minute walk across the park to the American Football field. If you miss that stop or feeling lazy, get off at the Östhammarsgatan stop near the badplats, and walk across the road.

Buss 4 & 42 terminate at Radiohuset. It is about a 5 minute walk from there.

Buss 56 (Hakberget) & 72 (Frihamnen) terminate nearby. 2 minute walk.

Buss 76 stops at Lindarängsvägen. 2 minute walk.

Driving & GPS
There is a large car park on the corner of Sandhamnsgatan and Lindarängsvägen with lots of parking spots close by one of the goals (next to the Grill) - address Sandhamnsgatan 67.
Map:  http://www.hitta.se/LargeMap.aspx?var=sandhamnsgatan+67,+stockholm

The Preview is publiced on facebook! Right Here

Due to the mental anguish caused for a select few (we’re not gonna point fingers at anybody, that’s not our style, but out of our 3 competing clubs we would like to thank BROMMA VIKINGS and ÅRSTA SWANS for their ON-GOING SUPPORT!) of our beloved and otherwise well received SAFF previews, the previews will now be posted on our Facebook Fan page (which happens to have 8 times as many supporters thus far then complainers of “Not Solna-Bromma-Årsta”) Martin Brody’s pre match report. So log in, support it and have fun. It’s not harder than that!

The Solna Axemen Football Club sincerely hopes that SAFF has not suffered any sponsorship loss or that the game has been promoted in an un-sportsmanlike way due to, what as far as we can see, are the most read and most well recieved and ONLY EVER previews written in SAFFs history.

Sincerely Yours
VPMB

SAFF Rd 2: Årsta (Söder Rejects) Swans vs. Solna Axemen

Current Form

With the first round of footy well and truly in the history books, Solna Axemen delivered on their promises. A faster, a more skilled and a sexier outfit easily accounted for the Blues, who as predicted were still suffering from a Premiership Hangover. New recruits Cameron ”I look I’m 12 years old but I play better then most seasoned Swedes”, GazMan ”I’m so good, I’m already captain” and Adrian aka Patch, all showed why Solnas recruiting staff deserve a medal as they accounted for nearly half of the Axemens scores.

Årsta Swans on the other hand led the Vikings all day, only to realise that they aren’t really that fit and then lost the game by 9 points. Those 20 minute quarters sure got to the Rejects.

When asked about his prediction, Coach Dad replied ”Look, you know, we haven’t beaten the Swans…. I mean eh, look, you could argue we let them win a few quarters out of charity last season and they prolly should’ve been penalised for playing too many Aussies, but I don’t hold grudges against Rejects and … eh, I’m eh, just lookin’ forward to a good hard contest against a well… not quality side, but a decent side when all their players are playing above themselves, which I don’t think will happen”.

Spokesperson ”I’m a fan of everything on FB” Damien was slightly incoherent. When asked about his sides lost in Round 1 he looked at the sky and mumbled ”Beer?”. When asked if the Swans have the legs to run out four 20 minute quarters or tough enough to outmuscle the sexy Solna outfit he looked even more confused (while updating his FB status) and responsed with a ”Ehhh…. More beer?”

Solna’s president Zilla tried to comment, but was too busy watching Bang Bus at home.

Prediction:

Not even with history on their side, and the fact that Solna has had enermous difficulty in matching Årsta for some unknown reason, this unbiased reporter cannot see the Swans beat Solna on Friday night. This will be another away win for Solna, who should get up by 32 points.

//Marty “stor i orden liten på jorden” Broby

Rivalries in the SAFF don’t get much bigger than Solna v Södermalm matches, dating back from the nail-biting 2008 SAFF Grand Final where the underdogs Solna won at the death.

For both teams, the first quarter would be “rusty” after a long Scandinavian winter though Södermalm managed to start best and post a few goals against the wind to take the well-deserved lead into quarter time.  Solna didn’t help itself by kicking 3 points that should have all been majors.

The second quarter was much more even and the score was close coming into half-time.  Solna started to find its straps against the win while Södermalm were taking their opportunities and kicking a number of goals on the run in the area 30-40 metres out from goal.

The third quarter is commonly known as the premiership quarter, as tight matches are often decided during this period. Both teams were trading goals and Solna managed to get even with a few minutes to go. The final 5 minutes would end up being the major difference the two teams and would decide the outcome of this match as Solna fired 4 unanswered goals to take a handy 15 point lead into the final term.  But could they hold onto it while Södermalm had the breeze in the final term, or would Söder come home with a wet sail?

The fourth quarter opened up brightly with a couple of quick goals by Södermalm and it was truly game on.  However, Solna managed to find some composure in the midfield and replied with a couple of steadying goals from Joel Tjernlund and Sligo-man Brendan Egan, who pushed up 50 metres from half-back to finish. From this point, the teams traded goals until the final siren and which point Solna found itself 10 points up to take the match.

In summary, there wasn’t much difference between the teams except for that last 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter where Solna managed to get the upperhand and enough of a lead to defend in the final quarter. Both teams were evenly balanced across the park which saw a number of exciting and close one-on-one contests.

Influential players for Söder included Joel Burnell who dominated from the half-back line and instigated a number of rebounds that resulted in scores. First-gamer John Murphy and Petter Eek had solid games while Sean Hargreaves had a good first half but went a touch quiet after that. Max Larsson battled hard all day in the midfield and put a number of fine touches together that resulted in majors.  The ever-dangerous goal sneak and Eurosport commentator Jonathon “Brissles” Briscoe came on at Full Forward for a cameo 10 minutes at the end, but one has to wonder why the Söder coaching staff didn’t get him on much earlier in the game.

For Solna, first-gamer Mat Wright found his stride and got better as the game wore on. He partnered well with tireless “hard ball get” specialist Jake Richards and ruck-juggernaut, Mats “Matzilla” Wurmbach. Björn “Jesus” Sundqvist and Sean “El Presidente” Donnelly were strong off the half-back line, laying in a number of turnover tackles. Also first time in an Axeman jumper, Adrian “Dickie” Knee, was enterprising across the half-forward line taking a number of contested marks but failing convert often enough.  Joel “Belly” Tjernlund had a good day at the office but could have kicked atleast another 2 or 3 goals on top of the 3 that he did slot through.  Philip Porublev, surprising many by being selected at full back, did “ok” according to a number of impartial observers up until he let in a wobbly bouncing goal from Austrian star import from the Vienna Kangaroos, Sebastian Dorda. claiming at the time “I lost it in the sun.. seriously”.

Linköping based Field Umpire Jay Siermans had a good game and let the match flow. Special thanks also to the goal umpires, Peter and Jay, and to those came to support all teams on the day.

Next week it will be the Axemens bogey team, the Årsta Swans, for the Friday evening blockbuster at Årsta field. The Axemen were winless against the Swans during the regular season last year and will be looking to reverse the trend.  First-up winners Bromma take on Södermalm at home at Bromma Airport in a repeat of last years SAFF Grand Final.  No doubt, Bromma will be looking to kick much straighter than they did last time… and restore order in the universe by reversing the result. Bromma by 2 goals and Solna by less than a kick.

SAFF Rd 1: Södermalm Blues vs. Solna Axemen

The hottest rivalry in SAFF history is headlining once again the double-header Anzac Day Round 1 as the Södermalm Blues host the Solna Axemen to kick off the 2010 SAFF Season. The other much less important and less interesting match seeing the Årsta (Söder rejects) Swans vs. Bromma (”Solna Wannabes” - but we can’t kick straight when it matters)Vikings.

While the Blues finally won their first premiership (or really Bromma losing the premiership more so than Blues winning!), it’s been a long off-season for the Axemen as the two time premierships and VB Cup 2010 Champions failed to even qualify for the finals for the first time ever in 2009.

But with the signing off a new coach and a new board, things are looking bright. A seasoned coach, ”Dad” was recruited and has made the team work hard for each other, improve their fitness, welcomed new players into the club and lifted everyones spirits. Old hacks like Brother of Kent and The Mouth are missing in action, only to be replaced by young, fit and HOT what can only be described as STARS of the NOW and the FUTURE.

Söder on the other hand are suffering from a ”Premiership Hangover” or at least that’s how their 2009 coach and team manager sees it. Jordo described his current team as ”a side with lots of potential, if they didn’t have those giant guts to deal with. That and our living in constant fear of the great Axemen, it’s not lookin’ promising, but I’m saying a prayer every night to both God and his mother, and eh, well, eh, that’s the best I can do, cause my team as it looks like right now, well… we’re just … shithouse really!”.

Coach Dad wouldn’t have a bar of it. ”Look, we take each game as it comes. Söder is a good side, they’re the premiers, even if they didn’t really win the premiership, so you gotta be cautious. You never know which Söder shows up on Sunday and we just gotta be prepared for anything on the day”.

Solna’s president Zilla tried to comment, but was too busy watching Whores of Warcraft at home.

Prediction: It’s hard to see the Premiers take on the new and improved Solna Axemen. New coach, new players, new era. 20 minute quarters means four extra goals, and this non-biased reporter believes that will be the winning margin. Axemen by 24 points.

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Martin Broby -VP Solna Axemen

Training has been going on for two weeks now and with only 6 sessions in our legs we take on Södermalm Blues in the first round. The Calender has been updated and we are currently working on a player presentation.