Port Malmö Australian Football Club, Sweden

The jutland adventure

Boys, listen up — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:35:29 +0000

With most of the guys making the trip to Jylland showing their age and Tim “the Panther” Bradford assuring us he had a sure thing in Lund that evening it became Port Malmö football clubs first ever trip to Jylland without at least one car load staying for the after party on the infamous “street” of Ålborg.

With that in mind a small contingent of 10 players made the enduring 7hr round trip bolstered by the always amusing “Dancing” Pat. In hot conditions and a strong wind blowing to one end Gladiator Mårtensson lost the toss and had us working into the wind in the first qtr.

With a mistake by the time keeper giving us a mini-break in the middle of the first quarter we were able to withstand an early albiet wayward onslaught by Randers and take control of the qtr kicking 5.4 to 0.5.

Randers managed the first goal of the second qtr but that would be there only joy in a qtr where Malmö put the foot down kicking 10 goals due mainly to the instoppable Dave Vergren, tireless bullocking in the middle by Simmo and perfectly timed runs out of the back half from Tim.

Any attempt at forrays forward by Randers was swiftly quelled by the sturdy defence of Will and Tony P.

After a dirty tackle by big Jens Djernes on yours truly which resulted in swift retaliation from Simon we found ourselves a man down for most of the 3rd qtr as Simons open hand jab on Jens saw him sent off amid disgruntled Malmö players. Randers took this advantage and managed to kick two unanswered goals during the qtr.

With Malmö coming home with the wind and Ryan really dominating in the ruck the midfield of Chris M, Sime and myself got on top sending the ball countless times into attack. With Jonas up forward playing his first full game for the club and Dancer in everything the Maulers finished with 6 goals to nothing to run out convincing winners. Dave Vergren kicking a new club record haul of 11 goals along the way, Dancing Pat 3 in a solid performance and 2 each to Mårtensson, Ward (claims 3 ) and myself.

Final score Malmö 21.14-140 Randers 3.11-29

Club Song and Round 9 Score

Will — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 19:04:02 +0000

For anyone wondering how the club song goes, try this out (you’ll also find this page by scrolling over ‘History’ above).

And for anyone wondering what the club goal kicking record looks like, try TheFootyRecord.

And for anyone who loves a photobomb.

Forecasted Skåne Storm holds out until final siren blows…

Toe the f'n captain — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 13:12:32 +0000

With one victory a piece, over their two previous Dafl meetings, there was a lot riding on saturdays Skåne derby, down at limhamnsfaltet. The forecast was for clear-skys with a chance of stormy weather but there was little sign of the stormclouds which had overshadowed the previous encounters of these two Dafl Premiership Contenders.

The Saints travelled with close to a full strength team with three noticable absenties being Messrs Antoin, Max & Robyn. The home team however, struck down with recent injuries & family commitments, were missing a veritable smorgasbord of influential players. A mountain had to be climbed and we had to pack a big game plan and an endless supply of resolve to have any sniff of victory.

With the sun beating down on the oval the ball was thrown up between Mauler’s Curly Giant and Helsingborg’s counterpart, David. The Saints man proved to be a strong addition for his team but it was Curls and Chris who edged the rucking contests throughout the afternoon. The first quarter was a quick succession of attack and counter attack opening up big pockets of space in the center. Malmo had a clear game plan to pick out the safe hands of inform Dave V. & Gates in the forward lines. Malmo’s tenacious full back Tony Persson, celebrating his 100th game for the Club, also placed as a target man up forward for the day- proving his versatility as a player for the Club. The Saints played to their strengths working the ball to playmakers Emil, Andy & Lantz and switching the play across the breadth of the oval. The Maulers starting off more alert to the dangers Helsingborg posed, than in their previous meeting. The quarter ended 20 a piece. With nothing seperating the teams this is pretty much how it played out for the first three quarters.

The 2nd and 3rd quarters seen Malmo’s midfield (Messrs Curls, Chris, Az & Baz) impose more authority on the game- plugging the open spaces, detering Helsingborg attacks and winning the majority of contested balls in the center. Although Malmo having more opportunities infront of goal it was Helsingborg who seemed to capitalise more on the possesion they got. They moved the ball well out to their running half back lines who delivered quality ball into the Maulers back line. It was here that countless advances were twarted by a sterling defensive display by the Aussie duo Ben & Tim. Ben putting his body on the line by throwing himself into countless tackles and smoothering Helsingborg attacks whilst Tim soared above Chocs, on several occasions to spoil or take the mark. Not an easy task by any means! Levesque, as ever, was a pillar of strength in the back-line calling the shots and utilising his wide shoulders- providing shepards & bumps to provide space for his team mates.

The few occasions that Malmo looked like pulling away was when they passed the ball around and started to dictate the pace of the game. Upfront when the Maulers hit their target men it boosted their belief and confidence in their play- as witnessed in previous games this season. With the addition of Mauler Legend Danny Johncock, making his 150th appearance, and Matty lacing-up for the afternoon, meant that there would scores on the board. Matty ratching up 4 for the afternoon and celebrating in typical Matty fashion. Three quater time and both teams squared at 54-54.

Entering the fourth quarter the Mauler outfit felt that the game was there for the taking. Malmo started off the stronger getting the ball out of the center into the forward line. Baz slotted away maulers first of the quarter. Unfortunately with a dislocated finger and a nasty gash to his leg, that needed seeing to, this was the last action he seen of the the afternoon. Over the following minutes the ball hardly left the ground in the center circle as both teams scrambled to get a hold of the ball and control the dying moments of the game. It was Helsingborg who broke free and launched a few balls deep into the Maulers back line. A few lucky bounces in tandem with a good sense of positioning placed Chocs in right place at the right time to slot away a few late tap-ins for the Saints. Despite a late flurry by the Maulers the wind was well and truly knocked out of the sails. The game ended 68-85 to Helsingborg and with that the stormclouds blew in and rainclouds descended…

Not to end on a depressing note Malmo are still sitting pretty, top of the table, ahead of Helsingborg on goal difference. Both Farum teams have played less games and look likely to close the gap in the coming rounds. As it stands, it looks likely to be one of these 3 clubs who will go onto winning this years Premiership. This coming weekend see’s Malmo take their yearly pilgrimage to Jutland, to face the Randers Dockers. Malmo haven’t a game until July after this so if there’s any Maulers out with a healthy stash of brownie Points to cash in, this is the time. Travelling in numbers will almost surely steer us on course again and back to winning ways!

/C’mon The Black n’ Blues

Toe

What’s been happening?

Will — Sun, 26 May 2013 13:39:59 +0000

4 weeks in 5 lines

2 weeks ago (11 May): PMFC v Farum Cats. Final Score Farum 10.9.69 def by PMFC 14.5.89. Epic last quarter, with Malmö scoring 31 pts to 0.

1 week ago (17 May): PMFC v Helsingborg. Final Score Helsingborg 17.11.113 def PMFC 13.9.87. Just couldn’t do it.

This week (25 May): Malmö GAA in Scandinavian Regional Series, Round 1 at Malmö. Women’s team, 1st. Men’s A-team, 3rd. Men’s B-team wins peoples award (and wooden spoon).

Also this week (25 May): Skåne Giants vs Stockholm in AFL Sweden Regional Series Rd 2. Game played as 10-a-side. Final Score Stockholm 82 def Skåne 81. Done in the last kick of the match.

The coming week: Training as per usual, plus ‘Rules in practice session – protecting your mate‘ (video here) starting 15 minutes prior (i.e. 18:15) for anyone interested. Home game on Saturday.

Port Malmö Vanquishes North Copenhagen

Simmo — Tue, 07 May 2013 18:33:44 +0000

North Copenhagen was once a mighty outfit but on this day their lack of depth and game experience gave Port Malmö all the room they needed to absolutely dominate.. The Barracudas came with only ten men so Jonas and Dani did the boys a solid and put the boots on for the Danes. Good on ya fellas, thanks to you the game was permitted to continue with 12-a-side. Special mention to the young fella from Bladins International School who also played for NC in his first DAFL appearance.

Malmö lost the toss and was headed in to the wind but that appeared to only strengthen their resolve. This writer picked it at a six to eight goal breeze but in the first quarter the wind seemed to have the opposite effect as Malmö bagged 6.9.45 to NC’s 0.1.1. Blondeau at his best up forward doing damage and the center-field giving away very few clearances. Any footy’s that made it in to NC’s forward line were promptly repelled by the likes of O’Reilly and, on one of his best performances of the season, Persson on the handy NC full-forward. Malmö went in at quarter time fully confident the game would be won, the only question was, which milestone would be conquered.

In the second quarter NC seemed to have any and all wind blown out of them as their attack crumbled with their confidence. Malmö had full control of the game and the scoreboard, or lack thereof, was completely one sided. Malmö increased the margin to 99 points by half time and kept NC scoreless in the second quarter. Malmö 14.16.100 – NC 0.1.1. Injuries: Ward.

Back in to the wind for the third quarter Malmö showed their depth and fitness as the center line cleared the ball and moved it across the half forward line with little opposition. This gave the forwards all the time they needed to shake their opponents and bag 10 goals in to the wind for the quarter. To their credit NC did manage to get the ball forward which resulted in a point. In, what looked like a game of keepsy-offsies Malmö drove the point home in a percentage boosting display, sending a clear message across the sound. Persson, Blondeau, and Bradford did the most damage on the scoreboard and Bradford had one of his best quarters of the season showing great composure with the footy. Malmö 24.22.166 – NC 0.2.2.

By the fourth quarter the goal had been set to beat NC by 200 points. Malmö just let the Cudas through on a couple of occasions allowing them to get some chalk on the scoreboard, or lack thereof. And with a shifty trip by NC Nicklasson was penalized with a free kick to the opposition right in front of goal that resulted in the first six-pointer to NC for the game, with less than five minutes left until full-time. From the side-line it was fantastic to see Nicklasson and Lundgren really getting some game-sense about them, and even getting a bit fancy with the footy on occasions.

But fair credit to The Cudas who never gave up, kept chasing that gazelle-esque Scotford as he weaved and shimmied, stuck their tackles, and never gave the umpire too much filth. But as the barman said to the scruffy dog at the pub, “thanks for coming”. Final score: Malmö 29.26.200 – NC 1.2.8

ANZAC Day Clash of the Titans

Will — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 20:50:09 +0000

Just like Port Malmö, this weeks report is all business (read; sorry, but nowhere near as detailed or entertaining as the work of The Flex).

As the sunburn on more than the one face will attest, the weather had again provided near perfect footy conditions for the ANZAC Day round clash between Port Malmö and Helsingborg Saints. And with both teams understanding what was at stake, the normal camaraderies were put on hold for four quarters of hard fought footy (that’s all I’ll say on that matter, sorry – the umpires did a good job of dealing with any on field issues).

Pre-game saw the acknowledgement of two legends of Skåne AFL reaching two pretty impressive milestones. Andy Svensson in his 40th season (ca. 20th playing AFL) became the first player in Skåne (and maybe in all of Scandinavia?) to reach 250 games. Daniel McClaer took the ground as a player for the 100th time in representing a local club. Once more, a big congrats lads.

Pre-game also saw all present observe one minutes silence in remembrance of the armed forces of our nations, as is the tradition on ANZAC Day. Proceedings were expertly introduced and timed by Adam Brown. As is also tradition, some clown shouted ‘Go Pies’ at the second hand hit 60.

As for the game, the scores tell much of the story. Port Malmö was a maybe a little lucky to be so far ahead at quarter time, with Helsingborg wasting a few good chances early; at quarter time, the Maulers led by 17. That said, luck had nothing to do with the final result. A rock solid defence, great run through the middle, and some quality team work and trickery up forward meant that the Maulers felt in control for the majority of the match. Port Malmö won the second quarter by 6 points, Helsingborg the third by 1 point, and Malmö the final by 11 points. 12-a-side allowed both teams to use the space and set up some great end-to-end plays. Games 2, 3 and 4 between the two DAFL powerhouses from Skåne are shaping up as ones to watch.

Final Scores: Port Malmö 15. 16. 106 def Helsingborg 11. 7. 73

Best; In addition to Gates, Erik Vig, Tony Mac, Ginj, and Az noted on TheFootyRecord, the rock in defence that was Tony Persson, 0.4 Simmo, 3.0 Birtles, and most of the rest of the team deserve to be listed.

Also, congrats to the two boys playing their first game for Port Malmö in Erik Vig (see ‘Best’) and Jonas Lovén. And, of course, a huge thanks to the umpires.

Finally, congrats to Simmo for taking out the nearest the pin comp. Eighth time lucky, to knock out Andy Svensson’s shot at 152cm by a mere, but clear, 9cm.

Yeah, that’s all.

parker — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:22:00 +0000

Proudly Sponsored by Moosehead Bar & Restaurang

DAFL Game 1. Maulers (142) def Aalborg (27)

The Taffmeister Flex — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 09:09:03 +0000

Port Malmö Maulers 21.16 (142) def. Aalborg Kangaroos 4.3 (27)

A mere fortnight ago, Skåne remained in the grips of a cruelly long winter. Temperatures hovered just above freezing with the threat of more snow hanging over us like an icy sword of Damocles. Mercifully, the onset of the DAFL season has brought Mother Nature to her senses and Port Malmö were treated to resplendent sunshine and temperatures in the double-digits upon its’ arrival in Helsingborg for the opening match of the 2013 DAFL season against a depleted Aalborg outfit .

With Port dominant from the outset against an Aalborg side boasting guest players from Farum and three new Swedish recruits from Malmö the result was rarely in doubt. The Danish club registered the first score of the game in the form of a behind, yet Malmö, aided by a stiff breeze soon took control. With both teams somewhat rusty in the skills department, it was the forward pressure exerted by Malmö that dominated the quarter. No less than three of the six first quarter maximums resulted from free-kicks won deep inside the Aalborg defensive 50. Messrs Blondeau, Mårtensson and new Australian recruit Bath were to the fore and were rewarded handsomely for their efforts. Elsewhere, Ward and Higgins, reunited in the black and blue for the first time since the premiership in 2009, took little time rekindling their dominant partnership in the centre. As the seconds ticked away in the first quarter, the latter snapped a superb goal from a tight angle in the pocket. At the time it looked a dead cert for goal of the day. Yet, better was to come.

The second quarter started well for the Kangaroos. Goals for René Palsgaard, Aalborgs stand-out performer, after an excellent overhead mark and true set-shot and Thomas (?) on debut after Port were caught attempting some over-elaborate play out of defence. That, however, was as good as it got for the visitors with the Maulers slowly re-establishing their dominance and striking back through Blondeau, Osterkamp and, the second of Malmös new antipodean recruits, Tim Bradford. With the luxury of a strong bench, despite the absence of a number of household names, Malmö were able to see out the remainder of the quarter with minimal fuss and the half-time scoreboard read 56-14 in favour of the home team.

Any lingering hope to which the Jutland men clung swiftly disappeared in a maelstrom of 3^rd quarter goals. Blondeau, Mårtensson and Ward were again to the fore, each registering maximums. Malmö’s very own gladiator Mårtensson finished with 5.5 from midfield and was arguably the games’ most prominent figure. The major highlights of the quarter centred, however, around Jarred Bath. Two excellent goals, the first on the burst through a pack after a perfect tap from Osterkamp and the second, an audacious banana kick from near the boundary. Aalborg battled hard in the face of the Malmö onslaught and were rewarded with a second goal from Thomas (?), who impressed on debut. All other forays in to Maulers defensive were repelled by the Malmö backline with Tony Persson outstanding at full-back.

With the lack of bench taking its’ toll on the Danes, the final quarter followed the pattern of the third with Malmö scoring heavily whilst Aalborg managed to register just one goal in reply, a spectacular soccer effort from the tightest of angles from Farums’ Nicolai Secher. Special mention must be made of the Malmö trio who turned out for the opposition. Their selflessness ensured the game would go ahead and they all performed admirably in their first games in DAFL

Port Malmö, while content with a strong showing and a convincing win, know sterner challenges lie in wait, starting next weekend with the first of four regular season clashes with the Saints of Helsingborg.

The London Swans were in town.

parker — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 17:25:32 +0000

The sun was out, the wind at a minimum, and best of all, the opposition were a little under the weather.

With both teams taking their time to adjust to the slippery state of the pitch and the low state of match fitness, the first goal wasn’t on the scoreboard until the second quarter. The Swans were more consistent, if not a little wayward, and by half-time they seemed to have the game under control; Half-time; Malmö 0.4.4, Swans 1.8.14. But in the second half, the depth of the Malmö bench started to pay dividends. In a real team effort, in which a few future stars of the club shone, the old guard gave the Maulers the edge on the scoreboard. Daniel McClaer stepped up to slot through 3 goals, ably supported by Matt McMahan who gave Malmö four in total.

Final Score: Malmö 4.6.30 def Swans 3.10.28

Best on ground was rightly awarded to Dave Kovacevic of the Swans for his two goals, countless hit-outs, and sense of direction.

Best: Swans; Kovacevic, Smith, Banks. Malmö; Mårtensson, Lantz, Walsh, McClaer (with special mention to Danny, Matt, and Sean Carter for doing their best to sabotage the opposition the night before).

Find the FootyRecord version of the game here. (Thanks Terry!) And a video of Peter Russell-Clarke here.

Thanks to the boys from London for putting in the effort and coming across for the game, and to those from Helsingborg and the GAA for stepping up for the Maulers.

Last of all, thanks MOOSEHEAD Bar for hosting the after party.

And so it begins…

parker — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 07:35:04 +0000

Season 2013 is off and running.

The AFL Sweden South League, or The SAFL as we prefer to call it, began on Easter Monday with 3 hard fought matches between The Swedish Gryphons, The Malmö-Irish Convicts, and Skåne-The Rest of the World Exiles. The details of the matches can be found on the Footy Record (new window). Thanks Terry for posting this info and for umpiring all three matches!

Special mention must go to all those who played their first ever game of AFL. Welcome to the club!

Next week, we have the London Swans visiting for a friendly. Ball up at 13:00 on Saturday 6 April back at Limhamnsfältet. The early forecast is for another sunny one. And don’t forget to put the after party in your calendars.