Canada

 

The controlling body is the Canadian Australian Football Association (CAFA). The main league is the Ontario Australian Football League, which is based in Toronto. Teams:

• Toronto Eagles
• Toronto Downtown Dingos
• Lawrence Park Rebels
• Broadview Hawks
• Mississauga Mustangs
• Hamilton Wildcats
• Guelph Gargoyles
• Windsor Mariners

There are also teams in British Columbia (Vancouver Cougars) and Alberta (Edmonton Bushrangers and the Calgary Kangaroos).

 

History

The Canadian Australian Football Association was first formed in May 1989 as a bit of an excuse for a bunch of expats to get together to have a few beers and a kick of the footy.

It rapidly became apparent that interest amongst the locals was sufficient to form a more structured arrangement. Two teams were formed, the Toronto Panthers and the Mississauga Mustangs. On October 12 1989, during half time of an exhibition match between Melbourne and Geelong in Toronto, footy jumpers were presented to the team captains of the Mustangs and Panthers. Two days later the Panthers defeated the Mustangs 65 to 48, winning the inaugural Conacher Cup.

In 1990 the league doubled in size with the addition of the Scarborough Rebels and the North York Hawks. That year the Toronto Panthers went undefeated and won their second straight Conacher Cup.

1991 saw the addition of the first team based outside of Toronto, the Hamilton Wildcats. Hamilton was the first team to have its own home ground. The city of Hamilton is approximately one hour west of Toronto. The Toronto Panthers again won the Grand Final defeating the Scarborough Rebels.

In 1992 Graeme Hewitt left the Toronto Panthers and together with Sandro Mancini from the Scarborough Rebels started the league's sixth team, the Balmy Beach Saints. That year the North York Hawks became the Broadview Hawks when they relocated and the Scarborough Rebels defeated the Mississauga Mustangs to win the flag in a thrilling Grand Final.

In 1993 one more team, the Brampton Wolverines, was added to bring the league to a total of seven (the Scarborough Rebels also relocated and became the Lawrence Park Rebels). This placed six teams in the greater Toronto area and one in Hamilton. The Rebels again won the flag in another close Grand Final against the heavily favoured Toronto Panthers who had completed an undefeated season.

1993 also saw the first ever international series with a representative team from the British Australian Rules Football League paying a visit as well as a side from the Sydney competition, Balmain. The Canadian team fared well against the Brits giving them a sound 12 goal thumping, however they suffered a 5 goal defeat at the hands of the Australians.

1994 was a successful year with the Mississauga Mustangs finally winning their first Premiership. The Mustangs' win over the Rebels ended their quest for a third straight Conacher Cup. The British sent over another All-Star team, only to meet with the same fate as the year before. On the bright side they only lost by a five goal margin this time.

1995 saw CAFA make large gains with the local media at last becoming supportive. The two major newspapers in Toronto carried all scores and several stories as well as the local radio networks. Hamilton cable TV covered several of the games played in Hamilton. On July 28 the Hamilton Wildcats played a CAFA ALL-Star lineup in front of 21,000 fans at half time between the Hamilton Tigercats and Edmonton Eskimos (Canadian Football League). That same year CAFA sent a team over to England. The CAFA squad proved to the British that home soil had nothing to do with the previous two victories as they defeated the Brits by three goals. The Toronto Panthers had been reborn prior to the 1995 season as the Toronto Eagles. This change saw the Eagles go undefeated the entire year and win their fourth Premiership.

1996 saw the Downtown Dingos form, proudly wearing the Essendon colours. It is believed that the 1996 season was one of the best in CAFA history. It was the most competitive season ever, with six teams fiercely contesting the four play-off spots. The season saw the seventh ranked Balmy Beach Saints ending the Toronto Eagles two-year winning streak in a close match, only to lose to the eighth ranked Brampton Wolverines the following week. The Eagles went on to win their second consecutive Premiership.

1997 started badly with the collapse of the Balmy Beach Saints. After many meetings to discuss the future of the league the few remaining players joined the Hawks and a few other teams. The Lawrence Park Rebels dominated the ladder that season, going undefeated. At the league's annual Canada v. Australia All-Star match the Canadians defeated the Australians for the first time in CAFA history.

The Grand Final saw the Canadian All-Star side take on the visiting Diamond Creek Football Club from Australia. The Australians had spent the week touring Southern Ontario seeing as many sights as they could. They watched a leaf practice (ice hockey) and received a tour of the Maple Leaf Gardens. They went on a tour of the SkyDome and practised with the Toronto Argonauts (Candian football). They were also on CITY TV's Breakfast Television modelling swimwear and CFNY's Humble and Fred morning radio show where they sang the Demons club song. A great time was had by all.

Diamond Creek had an entertaining match against the Canadians and won easily. They were then shown the greatest grand final in CAFA history. The Toronto Eagles defeated the Lawrence Park Rebels for their third straight Conacher Cup. They came back from a four goal deficit at the half to win by a solitary point at the final siren.

1998 saw strong competition from all teams. The Rebels once more dominated the league in the early stages, with the Eagles coming on strong in the second half of the season. The grand final was a repeat match up from the previous year. The Rebels fought a hard battle but could not match the Eagles depth. The Toronto Eagles won their fourth straight Conacher Cup.

Unfortunately all was not rosy in 1999. Both the Brampton Wolverines and the Mississauga Mustangs had problems with playing numbers. As a result both teams merged, playing under the Mustangs banner but with a majority of Brampton players. On a more positive note, the Boston Demons visited Toronto in May for a match against the Toronto Eagles. The Canadian national team also travelled to Chicago for a match against the USA Revolution. Final scores: USA 10.15 (75) defeated Canada 8.7 (55). In the Grand Final the Toronto Eagles came back from a four goal fourth quarter deficit to defeat the Broadview Hawks for their fifth straight Premiership.

2000 saw six strong teams return for a 15 round season, the most games played by clubs in one season. The Toronto Dingos reached their first grand final, defeating the Toronto Eagles in convincing fashion to become only the fourth team to win a premiership. The national team hosted the Revolution for a return match. In very wet conditions the Revolution defeated the Canadian team in another close game.

2001 saw growth in Ontario and Western Canada. The Vancouver Cougars were formed and played several matches against the Seattle Cats. The Edmonton Bushrangers commenced training over the summer and had several inter-squad matches. The Calgary Kangaroos were formed late in 2001 and did not get a chance to play. In Ontario the Guelph Gargoyles were formed, bringing the Ontario Australian Football League to seven teams. Guelph exceeded all expectations and managed to make the finals in its first season. The Lawrence Park Rebels went through the season undefeated and proved too strong for the Eagles, defeating them soundly to win their third premiership flag. The Canadian national team, the Northwind, participated in the first Atlantic Alliance Cup in October in London. The Northwind played against teams from England, Ireland, Denmark and the USA, picking up valuable experience in preparation for the 2002 International Cup.

 

CAFA Premiers

2001	Lawrence Park Rebels
2000	Toronto Downtown Dingos
1999	Toronto Eagles
1998	Toronto Eagles
1997	Toronto Eagles
1996	Toronto Eagles
1995	Toronto Eagles
1994	Mississauga Mustangs
1993	Lawrence Park Rebels
1992	Scarborough Rebels
1991	Toronto Panthers
1990	Toronto Panthers
1989	Toronto Panthers

 

International Matches

1993	Canada 19.7 (121) d. Great Britain 7.7 (49)
1994	Canada 12.8 (80) d. Great Britain 10.6 (66)
1999	USA 10.15 (75) d. Canada 8.7 (55)
2000	USA 4.17 (41) d. Canada 2.4 (16)
2001	Great Britain 4.3 (27) d. Canada 2.8 (20)
2001	Denmark 9.18 (72) d. Canada 2.4 (16)
2001	USA 8.9 (57) d. Canada 5.5 (35)
2001	Ireland 7.21 (63) d. Canada 1.5 (11)
2002	Ireland 7.14 (56) d. Canada 4.7 (31)
2002	Canada 4.11 (38) d. South Africa 1.5 (11)
2002	New Zealand 10.8 (68) d. Canada 2.6 (18)
2002	USA 8.4 (52) d. Canada 1.1 (7)
2002	Canada 6.5 (41) d. Japan 5.2 (32)

 

AFL matches in Canada

1987	Melbourne 20.19 (139) d. Sydney 12.9 (81)
1987	Melbourne 19.13 (127) d. North Melbourne 16.15 (111)
1988	Collingwood 18.11 (119) d. Hawthorn 15.15 (105)
1989	Melbourne 14.19 (103) d. Geelong 13.12 (90)

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