2012 Nationals Review
Submitted by USAFL on November 2, 2012 - 9:47pm

The 2012 Nationals will be remembered in the history books for not only being the League's 15th Anniversary, but for also not recording a Division I Championship team.  Despite the Dallas Magpies being stripped of their Division I Championship Title, the tournament was a big success with an outstanding level of football across all divisions.  Thirty seven teams were spread across the 4 men's divisions and the women's division.  A number of new teams took the field this year including the Sacramento Suns in Division III, the Houston Lonestars in Division IV and the San Francisco Iron Maidens in the women’s division.

“Volunteers are critical to the success of Nationals and we couldn’t have asked for a better group this year.   Ben Huffman, Scott Hofmann and Linda Smith of the Warren County Convention and Visitors Bureau were outstanding to work with in the planning and execution of the event.  From recording game results to serving up hot pies, and helping with the enormous task of cleaning up after everyone, the Warren County team provided invaluable support for the tournament.  Special recognition goes to Susan Graham as head volunteer, she has been fantastic serving in that role the past nine Nationals and we wish her well as she returns home to Australia.  Also would like to thank Ben McCormack and Chris Dow of AFL Europe for their support throughout the weekend,” said Doren James, USAFL Operations Manager.

On the field, fans were treated to one of most competitive tournaments in recent history, with several new champions being crowned for the first time.

Division I showcased some of the best teams from across the country and made for a very entertaining competition with some hotly contested matches.  This year featured Denver, Golden Gate, Seattle and Orange County from the West, Nashville and Dallas from the Midwest, New York from the East and Calgary being the only Canadian side.

The match results were varied with some coming to within a few points and others much more one-sided.  This resulted in a couple of apparent front runners by Saturday afternoon.  However, the upsets on Sunday morning by Nashville over Orange County and Dallas over last year’s grand finalist Calgary setup an all Magpie showdown between Dallas and New York for the title.  The rain might have dampened the ground, but not the play as Dallas 3.4.22 outlasted New York, 3.2.20. This result, however, has been overturned by the USAFL after an investigation revealed an ineligible player participated for Dallas, and ultimately, left the Division 1 Championship vacated. 

Division II was looking fairly even at the start of the weekend and the top teams were a little unpredictable.  This year featured Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland from the west, Minnesota, Austin from the Midwest and Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore-Washington from the East. 

The Los Angeles Dragons and the Minnesota Freeze quickly showed who the dominant teams were as they headed for the Division II Championship game with 3 wins each in pool play.  The Freeze were just too good for the Dragons, capturing the Championship for the second time in the club’s history, in a very low scoring game of windy, wet weather footy, by a score of 1.6.12 to 0.3.3.

Division III proved to be one of the most competitive with each team winning at least one game.  This year featured Sacramento (making their Nationals debut) from the West, Chicago, Columbus, Kansas City from the Midwest and Florida, a second New York Magpies squad, North Carolina, Atlanta from the East.

The Columbus Jackaroos and Chicago Swans were in top form winning all three of their pool games to setup a showdown between the central region rivals in the Grand Final. Columbus went into the game as favorites having beaten the Swans in their three previous matches this season.  However, it was the Swans that came out on top in a close, hard fought match by a score of 4.7.31to 3.4.22.

Division IV displayed the highest standard of football that has been played at that level.  This year featured Houston, Des Moines, Baltimore-Washington and combined teams of Minnesota/Dallas, Ft. Lauderdale/Boston, Nashville/Columbus and Milwaukee/Ohio Valley (Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis).

Houston, Milwaukee/Ohio Valley and Des Moines separated themselves from the pack early dominating their opponents with lopsided victories.  The showdown between Houston and Milwaukee/Ohio Valley, on Sunday morning, was for the right to play for the title.  Milwaukee/Ohio Valley trailing at halftime battled back to pull out the victory in the final minutes.  This setup another central region Grand Final between Des Moines and Milwaukee/Ohio Valley.  Des Moines prevailed in the end to capture the first title in club history, completing a dramatic second half come from behind victory 5.6.36 to 4.4.28.

The Women’s competition this year was stronger than ever with an exceptionally high standard of football coming from all teams. The Denver Bulldogs were back and ready to prove why they are the best team in the country. The first year women’s team, the San Francisco Iron Maidens, combined with the Sacramento Suns were the only team able to get a score on the board against the Bulldogs all weekend. The women’s division also saw a lot of new faces filling out sides from Boston and Baltimore-Washington, New York and Minnesota. The Calgary women had helping hands (and feet) from players from Arizona, Milwaukee, Orange County and Columbus.

The Boston/Baltimore team defeated Calgary by 2 points for their spot in the Grand Final against Denver, but he Denver ladies were just too strong, beating the Boston/Baltimore team 3.4.22 to 0.0.0.

“I was really impressed at the level of footy here this weekend, especially by the women” said Neil Mildenhall, visiting from Western Australian where he is the WA State Women’s Coach.

One of the highlights of the weekend was the 15th Anniversary Alumni match between the 'Masters' and the 'Legends'. The participants in this game were from all over the US and from many an era. The majority of players were over 40 and with USAFL legends Matt Dainauski and Leigh Barnes (stepping in for Paul "Plugger" O'Keeffe) as the captains - this game was cut out to be one heck of a show. AFL legends like John Ironmonger and Neil MIldenhall made a showing with the US Women's founder, Kathryn Hogg even rucking against 'Big John'.

The weekend was almost dampened by an incoming storm on Sunday afternoon which forced organizers to move the finals matches up earlier in the afternoon and the awards presentation back to Kings Island Resort.  This sudden change in venue ended up creating a great atmosphere for the awards ceremony.   The Executive Board wishes to thank all players, clubs, umpires and volunteers for a fantastic weekend.  Congratulations to all division champions and individual award winners.

Check out the tournament photos here:

View all the Awards and Honors here »

View Game results here »

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