2016 Season Preview - Men's East

At one time, the Eastern region could be compared to the Beatles; three talented lead musicians, a steady fourth keeping pace, and a rotating cast of cameos.

Over the past two years, however, the remains of the EAFL have become a solo artist and a backing band.  New York has been the best team on the Eastern seaboard for over a half decade, and though they have lost some of the luster that shone through when they were Divvy 1 champs in 2014, they are still center stage.

But the session players who have toiled to rebuild have grown in practice and are ready to strike out for glory of their own, albeit at a pace of an old folk song.  How fast they’ve grown will be tested at a number of skirmishes throughout the year, the centerpiece being the Eastern Regionals in Yonkers on June 26th.

From the shores where the lobstermen rule down the coast towards squid-friendly waters, footy is set for a renaissance in the USAFL East in 2016.  Here’s how they’ll shake down.

As one of the longest tenured clubs in the USAFL, the Kookas always seem to put together a solid string of efforts, and 2015 was no exception for the boys from Peachtown.

Atlanta has traditionally stuck to a schedule among southeastern teams, which has been a good mix of opponents.  They compiled a 3-4 regular season record, their biggest being a 77-75 home squeaker over perennial invader Nashville, followed closely by a   They were favored at Nationals in Division 4 as only one of a handful of full clubs competing, but were knocked out of semi-final contention after a 58-8 loss to the eventual champions from San Diego/Orange County.

The Kookas have already opened their 2016 campaign, and despite the 36-point setback to Nashville on March 5th on home turf, Atlanta are still going to be a tough side to encounter.  Coach Paul “Piggy” Bacon returns after a five year sabbatical from the club to add to a team with a robust veteran core.  NSW’s Paul Balding, who won every possible piece of club hardware last year, is the most dangerous of younger player base that continues to grow.

As in last year, this is still a high-end D4 team with a chance to crack D3 if they are able to string together some upsets.

NATIONALS SEEDING PROJECTION: Division 4

Washington: First in War, First in Defense, Division 4 in the USAFL.

The Eagles were once a club that struck absolute fear into the hearts of the teams from the East Coast they would battle on a yearly basis.  Though they would have solid numbers during the course of the regular season, they would win just two of their seven games and finished the year ranked #20.  But their record belied a team of passion and heart, one with a core of mainstays padded by a growing number of recruits.

Though they could’ve easily been competitive in Division 3 at Nationals, they would pair up with the Edmonton Emus to play in Division 4.  The combo took both of their group matches with convincing wins before succumbing to Kansas City in the semis.

The transient population in the nation’s capital has always hampered recruiting, but reports from the beltway have been of strong recruiting so far this year.  DC has always had one of the best metro leagues in the country, and that should coax some more fresh blood in.  Jay Levesque will be back in top form, as will best-and-fairest Andrew King and the massive athletic unit that is Tracy Williams.

Like Atlanta, this is a team that is capable of D3 football.  If they bring enough players with them down the coast to Florida, they’ll be in the thick of it come Nationals.

NATIONALS SEEDING PROJECTION: Low seed, Division 3.

It looked as though the Dees would have turned a corner in 2015, after settling down into the middle of Division 2 at Nationals the year before. 

A big home win against undermanned Philadelphia set up a powerful road victory at Chicago, who many considered to have a shot at the D2 title last year.  Finishing the year in 15th on the Top 20 poll, Boston would go into Nationals as the fourth overall seed in the division.  They opened with a heartbreaking one point loss to Sacramento before splitting their final two games, the win being their first at Nats since 2013.

The Dees’ still maintain a hard yet balanced style of play, with good ability to spread the ball and speed to boot on the outside.  They are led by the Rusty Smith and Rory Smith, two parts of the famed 80’s new wave band (maybe not).   Rory returned from a stint with Subiaco of the WAFL, where he brought energy to a premiership winning side over there.  Veterans Ari Joniec and Joe Connor continue to add pressure to the midfield and are known to force their opponent into mistakes.

The Dees have lost a couple of long timers this year, including high-flying Rusty Smith.  That said, they have recruited well to start 2016, and their new players will play a pivotal role in the immediate future of the club.

Boston has shown that it can overpower teams, and while they’re still a step behind a club like New York, they are good enough to be considered a D2 dark horse.

NATIONALS SEEDING PROJECTION: Middle seed, Division 2.

Aside from their first two games in March, the Squids played their regular season within the friendly and humid confines of South Florida.  They hosted the Eastern Regionals at the expansive Broward County Stadium in April, and despite having home field advantage, their victory over North Carolina and New York was a bit of a surprise.

With a team that was nominally Australian peppered with American elbow grease, the Squids bounced around the bottom of the Top 20 and ended up in 19th.  In a minor surprise, they swam into D2 as the final seed.  But just as they had in 2014, they brought a piece-meal team to Austin and crashed out of pool play with an injury affected 0-3 record.

In spite of the disappointing showing at Nationals, however, footy is still growing in Fort Lauderdale.  Though they have a base of good Aussies such as Cameron Pinnock, Ben Schmidt and Glen Parrish, club president Tom Hecker is looking for more fellow Americans to balance out the roster.  Branko Milic is an up-and-comer on the team, and an underrated defensive player.  The Squids play a good possession game which can take clubs by surprise from time to time.

Their opening game this past weekend was an undermanned loss against Tampa, but they should rebound from it.  There is good growth down in the Fort, but a return to Division 2 seems unlikely; they’ll be very competitive in Division 3.

NATIONALS SEEDING PROJECTION: High seed, Division 3.

No one said it would be easy, but no one said it would be so hard.

The turnover tsunami toppled into Manhattan hard and fast, and though the damage wasn’t total, it left in its wake a team that wasn’t quite up to the premiership form it found in 2014.  Despite still having a pretty damn good team, there were cracks in the armor that weren’t there previously.

Now, it’s worth noting that their only two losses during the regular year – against Fort Lauderdale in the ERT final and against Austin in the Centrals final – were partly under attricious circumstances.   They had travelled undermanned to both tournaments, but they were almost taken down at home by Dallas, a game that they would normally be in control of.  They lost the top poll spot after just six weeks of the season, but rebounded to finish at #2.

In spite of the rough go, New York was seeded at the top of Divvy 1’s Pool B, and opened by exacting revenge on Dallas.  After being outmatched by Denver, they still had a chance to sneak into the final.  But a repeat was not in the cards, as Orange County got back at the Maggies for being them in the 2014 final with a Sunday win of their own.

Irrespective of last year’s result, however, the Magpies are still easily the East region’s best team.  They’ll be more stabilized this year and hope to get back to the “seek and destroy” footy that has put them on top in previous years.  They have a long history of being loaded with Australians, and  Melbourne’s Marcus Jankie and Perth’s Alex Kwiatkowski are two of the best.

But there is little success to be had in the USAFL without a good core of American players, and “Magic” Mike Murphy captains his team with the determination and skill of a twenty year AFL veteran.  Others such as Ojas “Juice” Desai, Paul Gaurino, and Brad Davis have been around the game and this team a while, and have helped cultivate the winning culture of the club.

No matter what happens, nothing will change the eventuality that the Magpies will have another good year and will be another high seed.  They just need to figure out how to get back over the hump.

NATIONALS SEEDING PROJECTION: High seed, Division 1.

It may not always show it on the scoreboard, but the Tigers have always been one of the hardest working teams in the USAFL.

North Carolina entered 2015 priming itself for a Division 3 berth after knocking out D4 in Dublin.  After a decent yet winless showing at the Eastern regionals, they claimed two big wins over former tormentors Baltimore-Washington, but could not get by Atlanta in each of their two encounters.  They couldn’t crack the top 20 poll, but got a decent draw at Nationals all the same.

In Austin, they fell heartily to regional foe Philadelphia, came back to just edge out Tulsa before getting blasted out of the tournament by Ohio Valley.

Last year saw a bigger focus on Metro play down in the Triangle.  Recruiting has picked up over the last year and should hopefully reap some better results.  The Tiges continue to play tough footy with good mechanics, led by Peter Cappozziello and Nick Camilleri.  Scott Bradley, who was team MVP at the ERTs, is arguably the biggest weapon the team, known for his ups and good play.

Coach Wes McCallister, one of the few American head coaches in the USAFL, has trained his team to be smarter, and it’s paying off.  They’ll be playing Atlanta again, as well as Baltimore Washington, and how they do against those teams should send a message as to how they’ll do in Florida in October.  They should bring a good squad to Nationals, and they’ll make some noise if they do.

The Tigers are on their way up, and yet another better season is in store.

NATIONALS SEEDING PROJECTION: Middle seed, Division 3.

Philly likes an underdog.  Whether it be Rocky, Smarty Jones, or the guy writing this preview, the City of Brotherly Love has been home to the lovable loser, and rejoices when they breakthrough.

Entering 2015, the Hawks had come off of a Division 3 runner up and were hoping that this would be the first time that they would take a giant trophy back to the Delaware Valley for the first time in over a decade.  The season started out well with a 24-point home win over Baltimore-Washington, but road would get extra bumpy the rest of the way.

Hampered by injury and a couple of other tough breaks, the Hawks would finish at 2-5, with both wins coming against the Eagles.  Still, the panel thought well enough of them to place them in 17th, and they were a 2-seed in Division 3 with a favorable pool.  Though they would beat Carolina and Tulsa, their Saturday afternoon defeat to Ohio Valley would deter them from another Grand Final appearance.

The Hawks find themselves floundering in terms of steady player numbers.  Just as they did last year, they will be aggressively recruiting to put more pieces around the ones they have.  Alex Lyden, consistently one of the best rucks in the country, is back for another season.  So is former Revo defender Pat Miller.  Ryan McGettigan, whose season was hampered by an injury during the 49th Parallel Cup, should be close to 100% and will gear himself towards a winning season and a spot on the Revolution for IC17.

But one thing that veteran coach Jon Loring has instilled into the club is a winning mindset.  They’ll be competitive again this season, and with a favorable Nationals draw, could fighting for another D3 Grand Final berth.

NATIONALS SEEDING PROJECTION: High seed, Division 3.

After almost two years of preparation, Tampa finally makes its full USAFL debut in 2016.  Last year was focused on recruiting, though they did play two games against in-state foe Fort Lauderdale which resulted in losses.

Tampa’s road to growth will be though their Metro program, which they hope to become one of the largest in the country.  This model is similar to what Golden Gate has done, with an emphasis on local play with the carrot of being on the full representative side.

Its leader is Dustin Jones, who has been around the USAFL since the dawn of its days, and whose 7-goal performance at the 49th Parallel Cup development match showed that he still has plenty in the tank.  EFL vet Mark Lumsden will also help grow the club on the field and off of it, and the seemingly ageless Alex Mirakian is still a workhorse in the middle of the field.

Buoyed by the fact that Nationals will be right down the road from them, the inaugural year for Tampa Bay could not come at a better time.  Their first game of the year was an impressive win over travelling Fort Lauderdale, which should buoy their confidence for the rest of the year.  With a full club, they should be very competitive in Division 4.

NATIONALS SEEDING PROJECTION: Division 4.