And the winners were...

Congratulations to all Clubs who participated at this year's Nationals. Once again, we had a fantastic venue, perfect weather and a well run and skilfully umpired tournament.

Our thanks to all our Umpires, and to our National Umpire Director - Brian Green.  The League is certainly lucky to have such a great group of umpires. They really showed their stuff this year - although they were undermanned and  had to umpire in hot weather with a minimum of breaks, they always managed to do a great job with terrific humor. Their camaraderie and enthusiasm was inspiring.

And what would a National Tournament be without Grilla's skillful and rousing commentary? Once again Grilla was ably assisted by Graham Mabbs ('Mabbsy'). Grilla and Mabbys's knowledge of the game and their love of footy in the US once again came to the fore, ensuring a great atmosphere at the fields. We understand that there are a number of bars in Las Vegas who are still talking about Grilla.  If only we had photos! Their job was made easier once again by Susan Graham of Atlanta - thank you, Susan, for all your hard work.

We were lucky to have Robert DipierDomenico (Dipper), Peter Schwab (Schwaby) - both Hawthorn Hawks legends - and David Matthews of the AFL join us this year, courtesy of the AFL.  All our special guests contributed to the great atmosphere of the weekend and were terrific ambassadors for the Australian Football League.

We can never thank everyone after a weekend like this, however we must send a special thank you to Paul Conway (Irish) and his team which included Greg Everett, Denis Ryan and Michael Ablett.  Nina Marianna was always there for us, and did a brilliant job of keeping the scores straight, and Tiffany O'Keeffe was wonderful in her job as general dogsbody and merchandise retail specialist. Once again the Milwaukee Bombers came to the fore. Not only with Irish, Nina and Tiff, but also in the many essential tasks which needed to be done, such as picking up and delivering huge amounts of water for the teams.  And the Nationals could never have taken place without our dedicated and enthusiastic Board - the League is truly lucky to have such a great group of volunteers on our Executive and Portfolio Boards. Thank you, too, to the Las Vegas Gamblers who in their first year of competition not only won Third Division but also ensured the success of this first Las Vegas Nationals.  Quite a remarkable record for a great group of players and supporters.

Here are the final results:

Division I
San Diego - 4 9 33
Denver - 12 0 12

Division II
Baltimore/Washington - 10 9  69
Minnesota - 2 0 12

Division III
Las Vegas - 7 5 47
Baton Rouge - 5 1 31

Women
Atlanta - 3 10 28
Pacific Coast Highway - 0 0 0

- Office Manager
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