Semifinal Preview

2008-08-14

The American National Rugby League will be the focus of US rugby football action this weekend as the semifinals will
determine next weekend’s Grand Finalists.

One semifinal is a replay of last year’s semis with the Warriors hosting the Cats. In 2007, the Wildcats scored a win that sent them on their way to their second straight Grand Final victory, but this year New Haven has been on a tear and will be hard to toss at home.

Player/coach Matt Doeg, captain Siose Muliumu, Derek Roma, and Luke Carr among others have helped to lift the Warriors to new heights in 2008 and if they’re on their game on Saturday, the Wildcats will be in for a tough day at the office.

The flipside is that even though the Cats had a bumpy ride at the start of the season, they’ve been roaring through the second half and if their big guns can fire on all cylinders this one will likely go down to the wire.

Players including Danny Bull, Curtis Cunz, Nick Isbrandtsen, Nick Vornle, and Dan Power all have the ability to turn a game in the blink of an eye, and if they’re given any space they can make the opposition pay big time.

Due to unexpected financial issues, the Jacksonville Axemen are not able to take their place in the penultimate round and instead, the New York Knights have been given a second chance.

Jacksonville was forced to pull out of its scheduled semifinal showdown with the #2 seeded New Haven Warriors, so the AMNRL decided that instead of the Warriors being awarded a forfeit, the next highest seeded team, in this case the Knights, would take the Axemen’s place.

On paper, the game looks to be a crackerjack contest. The unbeaten Bulls have had the benefit of a first round bye after topping the points table at the end of the regular season, although depending on which school of thought one subscribes to, that can either be a positive or a negative.

Either way, Aston is primed and ready for the challenge posed by New York. The Bulls’ former Philly-Whitemarsh halves John Grace and Conway Maraki are expected to set the table on offense, along with hooker John Rourke of the British Amateur Rugby League Association.

Defensively, Aston is expecting big things from captain Greg Stelluti, Blair Wards, and Brandywine’s Matt Stauffer.

From New York’s standpoint, they have some trump cards of their own including Adam Nable, JP Martinez, Beaudie Cullen, and another ex-Super League player JC Rocha.

“It’s not often in life that you get second chances, so when you do, you have to make the most of them,” Knights CEO Bob Balachandran told ARN.

Separately, ARN is proud to announce that we will be providing the very first ‘live’ play-by-play call of the AMNRL Grand Final on Saturday, August 23 direct from the Fort Dix military base in New Jersey.