AMNRL Semi's

2009-08-20

We’ve reached the penultimate round of the American National Rugby League competition for 2009 and it doesn’t get much better than the two Games of the Week that are on tap this weekend.

You talk about mouthwatering – yeah baby!

The New York Knights host the New Haven Warriors on Friday night, while on Saturday, the Jacksonville Axemen are at home to the Boston 13s.

Our Rugby League Guru rates the Friday night semifinal as probably the more competitive of the two, but that said, the Saturday matchup could also provide some fireworks on a hot summer’s night in north Florida.

Pier 40, alias ‘The Castle’, in NYC is where the action should come thick and fast in a replay of the final regular season game between New York and New Haven that was decided by a single point.

The Knights won that one, but the Warriors were without one of their main strike weapons Keiki Misipeka and he’ll be on the pitch this time along with one or two other key players who were unavailable because of injury.

You can forget about that regular season result because it’s all or nothing this time with a place in Championship Final XII on the line. No quarter will be asked and you know damn straight that none will be given.

Both teams have legitimate playmakers on their rosters and both have the experience required to go all the way. The difference could be that New Haven, as the defending titleholder, has the added benefit of knowing what it takes to get it done.

Guru is tipping the Warriors, although not by much – final score of 28-22 to New Haven.

The Boston 13s will be the clear cut underdogs in the other semi. Jacksonville is the only unbeaten team in the league having run the table and the Axemen have been ultra impressive.

They recruited extremely well in the off-season and brought in some excellent Australian talent and quite frankly those guys have been the difference.

Playing in tandem with Jacksonville’s home grown footballers, the Aussies have added some much needed offensive muscle that no team in the league has been able to cope with, at least to this point in the season.

Boston, on the other hand, has enjoyed a Cinderella run in its inaugural season, but Guru thinks the 13s’ time is up.

They were handled by Aston in last week’s quarterfinals but advanced after the Bulls were disqualified for fielding an ineligible player.

Guru is tipping Jacksonville to win by a final score of 54-18. The match will be available online at www.jaxaxe.com by clicking on the Jax Axe TV link.

Article courtesy of Brian Lowe (American Rugby News).