Denmark

 

Australian Rules Football has been played in Denmark as a properly formulated competition since 1991. From the humble origins of three clubs, all based in Copenhagen, it now boasts teams from as far wide as Jutland and Sweden.

The controlling body is the Danish Australian Football League (DAFL). Teams:

• Amager Tigers
• Copenhagen Crocodiles
• North Copenhagen Barracudas
• Aalborg Kangaroos
• Farum Cats
• Arhus Bombers

 

History

Australian Rules Football had its genesis in Denmark in 1989. The full story has since become a well-known part of DAFL folklore.

Mick Sitch, a self-confessed, unashamedly football-mad Aussie resident in Copenhagen, loved his adopted country, but badly missed his footy. He placed an advertisement in a newspaper asking if anybody would like to meet him under a tree in a public park and have a kick of a footy. In addition to Mick, a Dane and a New Zealander turned up, and from there, things just snowballed.

Regular training sessions were held, and the numbers grew so fast that by late 1990, enough players existed to form a small competition. Thus, the Amager Tigers, Copenhagen Crocodiles and North Copenhagen Barracudas were born, and became the founding clubs of DAFL.

The inaugural season of 1991 was a 12-game affair, culminating in the Grand Final, in which North Copenhagen defeated Copenhagen by 23 points. Kim Madsen, a Dane and the Amager captain, won the Sitch Medal for the Best and Fairest player.

In 1992, the season was extended to 15 games. This time, Amager and Copenhagen finished in the top two places, and the Tigers (with a side containing 17 Danes) won an exciting Grand Final by 15 points. A small measure of compensation came the Crocodiles' way in the form of the Sitch Medal, won by Aaron Ravenarki.

DAFL was visited late in 1992 by BARFL club, the North London Lions. Although Denmark suffered a heavy defeat, the Lions consisted almost exclusively of Australians, and it was a marvellous achievement to put a combined DAFL team on the field.

Arguably DAFL's most important development came along early in 1993 with the admission of the Aalborg Kangaroos, the first club from outside Copenhagen. The six-hour travel meant that they competed on a limited basis, but it wasn't long before they commanded respect on the field.

After the 21-game home-and-away season, Amager and Copenhagen were again left to battle out the Grand Final, with the Tigers winning again, this time by 63 points. The Barracudas' Ian Moore, somewhat of a journeyman footballer from Woollongong by way of England, claimed the Sitch Medal for 1993.

DAFL grew further in 1994 with the addition of a club from Sweden - the Helsingborg Saints, located two hours' travel north of Copenhagen. A fifth club meant that the season expanded to 30 games, and the final series would include a third team and a second final.

Midway through 1994, a DAFL representative team flew to London to tackle a combined side from the British Australian Rules Football League. Despite losing heavily, invaluable experience was gained by all who took part.

Aalborg made the finals in 1994, but lost to Copenhagen in the Preliminary Final, who then went on to meet Amager in the Grand Final for the third year in a row.

Despite a hugely successful regular season, the Tigers were upstaged by a determined Crocodile side who won a superb game by 25 points. It was little consolation to the Tigers that their centre-half-forward, Rick Ellis, won the Sitch Medal and goalkicking comfortably - becoming DAFL's first season (and career) century goalkicker along the way.

An exciting development at the end of 1994 was the granting of two football scholarships for local players to play for VAFA club, Powerhouse, in Melbourne in 1995. These were won by two first year players, Dennis Klindt of Amager and Joacim Aulin of Helsingborg.

1995 began with enormous promise. For the first time, two new clubs were admitted to DAFL - the Farum Lions and the Lund Bulldogs (also from Sweden). Both clubs were established by existing DAFL personalities keen to expand the competition.

Unfortunately, the fortunes experienced by the two clubs could not have been more diverse - Farum succeeding to the degree where they found themselves playing off for the flag in their first year, while the interest in Lund waned and the club was forced to withdraw mid-season.

Nevertheless, 1995 was fruitful. The undoubted highlight was the national team's first ever victory - over BARFL, in the first international to be held in Denmark. The team contained only local players, including the coach, Kim Madsen.

Also pleasing in 1995 was the advent of DAFL's first 50-game players. Crocs, Martyn Aynge and Steve McKay, were the first to the mark, with Madsen following suit a few weeks later. And Jesper Gjørup of Aalborg, a Dane in only his second year in the game, was an extremely popular winner of the Sitch Medal.

With the extra teams, the final series grew to the traditional final four. Aalborg again made the finals, and won the right to a home final for the first time, only to be swamped by new boys, Farum, in the First Semi Final. Regular finals adversaries, Amager and Copenhagen, met in the Second Semi Final with the Tigers winning well. The Lions continued on their merry way with a big win over the Crocodiles in the Preliminary Final, but were unable to extend their winning form against the powerful Tiger combination, who claimed their third premiership in four years.

A few weeks after the 1995 Grand Final, a touring side from Balmain in the Sydney Football League visited Copenhagen and took on the DAFL All-Star Team, which consisted of players from eight different countries, and only three Australians. As expected, Balmain won comfortably, but again DAFL's leading locals received a stiff education in the game.

Ben Howard, a 24-year-old with AFL experience, came to Denmark to play footy in 1996. Due to his experience and ability, DAFL asked him to play for the struggling Helsingborg side who had won only two games in their two years, and none at all in 1995. It is difficult to gauge his exact impact, as the returning Joacim Aulin instilled some much needed discipline as well, but the fact that they went through the home and away season undefeated speaks volumes.

The crowning moment in DAFL's history came on July 13, when a combined side again flew to London and this time won a thrilling match against Great Britain by five points. It was the first international involving DAFL won by the away team.

1996 finished dismally for the once almighty Tigers, who slumped to a surprising last. North Copenhagen also could not believe their bad luck when they were pipped at the post to finish one spot out of the finals for the fifth year in a row! Aalborg celebrated Jesper Gjørup's second consecutive Sitch Medal with their first win in a final, defeating a resurgent Copenhagen, and Helsingborg slaughtered a disappointing Farum by nearly 200 points in the Second Semi Final.

The Preliminary Final was a fantastic match as Aalborg just failed to shock the Lions. If not for the fact the the Grand Final was surprisingly a thriller, it would certainly have been remembered as the game of the season. But it was over-shadowed by what is universally being accepted as the best DAFL game yet. The history of 1994 repeated itself as the Lions ran down the undefeated, 300%-plus, Helsingborg Saints. To make the day even better, a curtain-raiser between the DAFL All-Stars and the BARFL premiers, Wimbledon Hawks, also had them on the edge of their seats as the visitors enjoyed a come-from-behind one-point win.

There were two important innovations in the league in 1997 - not altogether unrelated. First, the long-awaited admission of a club from Århus, known as the Bombers, was welcome, as it is Denmark's second largest city. Second, a knockout competition was introduced, primarily to give the remotely located clubs a greater proportion of matches closer to home. It was named The Doktors Cup, after long-time supporters of the league, Doktors Pub, and also had the added interest of excluding Australian players.

The International tradition continued with a game against Great Britain in Copenhagen. This time as favorites, the Denmark-Sweden team barnstormed their way to an easy win over a league which was obviously having trouble coming to terms with its Australian domination.

Again the home-and-away season was dominated by one club - this time it was a return to the good old days for the Tigers, who were only seriously threatened twice and again finished undefeated. They were spearheaded by Shaun Hawking, who picked up both the Sitch Medal and the goalkicking. But the big surprise was North Copenhagen who broke their drought and made the finals for the first time since 1991.

Unfortunately, they didn't last long. They were the first to depart what would become DAFL's most exciting finals series with a heartbreaking four point loss to Copenhagen in the First Semi Final. Amager were untroubled to dispose of Farum in the Second Semi. And in the Preliminary Final, what had been a competitive match looked all over with six minutes remaining as the Lions had steadied to a 24 point lead. But four unanswered Crocodile goals gave DAFL it's first ever draw - right when it couldn't accept one! Somewhat surprisingly, it was the Lions who prevailed in extra time, only to lose, expectedly but valiantly, to Amager in the Grand Final.

The 1998 DAFL season was dogged by political reality. With the regional clubs beginning to show the strain of so much travel, the Copenhagen clubs agreed to shift some of their home games to Jutland. This admirable effort was wasted when the Danish general workers' strike in April prevented travel and wiped two games off the fixture.

Nevertheless, the season continued as competitively as ever. The Tigers once again could not come to terms with the loss of a few key players and finished last, and again, a side went through the home-and-away series undefeated - this time it was Copenhagen. But there was no international. DAFL was "due" to send a representative side to London, but was not invited to do so.

The Sitch Medal for 1998 was somewhat of a boilover. Few people knew who Cuda, Mogens Hansen, was, let alone expected him to win, but win he did in an all-too-rare exciting vote count.

An up and down year for Helsingborg saw them back in the finals action and in the First Semi Final they were fortunate to withstand a second half onslaught from North Copenhagen who thus went out in circumstances depressingly familiar to the previous year. Farum matched it with the Crocs for three quarters in the Second Semi Final before resigning themselves to yet another Preliminary Final date, which they handled with aplomb.

By this time, the Lions had appeared in (and won) every Preliminary Final since they joined the league. This, of course, also means that they had played in every Grand Final. Their record at that level is not as good, though, and yet again, they were forced to settle for second best against Copenhagen in an extremely wet Grand Final.

In 1999 a genuine junior competition for under 12's got under way in Farum with three teams competing, including girls. Internationals against Great Britain restarted and DAFL sent a very good side to London under the coaching of Stuart Stevens. After a tight first half Denmark won the game convincingly.

The Doktors Cup was re-born as a two-day lightning premiership - still for non-Australians only. Held at Stefan, it was won by the Tigers.

The Farum Lions finished on top of the ladder but went out in straight sets, allowing the Cudas to reach the Grand Final with the Crocs. After matching the favorites valiantly for half the game, the Crocs won the game with a dominating premiership (third) quarter. Ashley Davie kicked a record Grand Final haul of eight goals. Aalborg coach Duncan Milward won the Sitch Medal.

In 2000 some DAFL clubs reacted fiercely to recent domination by Australian players and made the most radical change yet to the Australian player rule which had in recent years decreased from as many as eight to four on the field and six on the teamsheet. It was reduced to two-and-four with a procedure to allow certain older and/or less-skilled players to be excluded from this limit.

The Lightning Premiership was renamed the Crew Cup after sponsorship from American Crew hair care products. It was played in Aalborg in a single day, with North Copenhagen taking out the tournament by beating Helsingborg in the final. The whole event was a pointer of things to come as Andreas Svensson took out both Player of the Tournament and Player of the Final awards.

Farum continued to break new ground, this time with a three week junior trip to Australia. The young Lions played seven games, winning three of them, including one in front of 72,000 people at an AFL match at the MCG.

Great Britain visited Denmark with a youthful side aimed towards preparing for the International Cup in Melbourne. Denmark won overwhelmingly, the British unable to score a single goal.

As a superb achiever in a poor side, Andreas Svensson was a raging hot favorite for the Sitch Medal and duly took out the award - an enormously popular winner, he can hardly speak English!

For once the season was dominated by two teams, not one, and they contested an extraordinary Grand Final. North Copenhagen had lost only one game for the year and went in as warm favorites. The Tigers jumped them with the wind in the first quarter and led easily, but in a scoreline bordering on the insane, they could not score again at all, and the Cudas snatched victory with two goals in the dying minutes of the game. Incredibly, each side in this match kicked their entire score uninterrupted by scoring from the opposition.

The 2001 pre-season featured trips to Denmark by two BARFL clubs for practice matches, as the North London Lions and the Wandsworth Demons visited Århus and Helsingborg respectively. The Saints won but the Bombers were crunched by a near All Australian Lions side.

The Crew Cup Lightning Premiership moved to Helsingborg, Sweden in 2001, and for the first time was enhanced by a side from Great Britain, the North London Lions. The Lions did well, but ultimately it was the glamour sides of the 2001 season who would contest the final, with Århus taking out their first piece of silverware over the hosts, who were bridesmaids for the second year running.

DAFL was asked to play an Exhibition Game in Svendborg as part of a Sports Culture Festival. They went one better and played a real game there, with the Crocs upsetting Århus in a thriller.

Although not favoured to win, Andreas Svensson took out his second consecutive Sitch Medal.

For the first time since 1994, the Grand Final was contested between the same two sides as the previous one. That's where the similarity ended as the Cudas murdered the Tigers in easily the most one-sided Grand Final ever.

In October, the Vikings travelled to England to contest the Atlantic Alliance Cup as pre-tournament favorites. Nobody had any idea of how much the Gaelic Football experience would help the one year old Irish league. They were a class above the rest and won easily. The Vikings lost the final but the low point came with a shock loss to Great Britain in the preliminary rounds.

 

The DAFL Scholarship Program

The DAFL/Powerhouse scholarship program was instigated in 1994 when the then league president, Mark Scotland, put his Australian connections to good use and convinced his brother, Jeff (President of Powerhouse Football Club in the VAFA) that it would be an interesting project to send local DAFL players to Powerhouse for a season.

Depending on finances, the League aims to pay about 50% of each player's airfare, but more importantly, the player(s) chosen get to play serious footy in Australia, and are supplied with coaching courses by the AFL during their stay. Accommodation and employment is up to the player, although it is rare that DAFL or Powerhouse are unable to help out.

By any measurement, the program has been a stunning success. Danish (and Swedish) players of varying ability have been chosen for the program, and regardless of their level before the year, they have all come back as key players for their club. The program has also benefited Powerhouse to some degree, as the publicity generated has drawn Australian players to the club - to the extent where they struggle to fit the Danes in!

 

Junior Development

In December 1998, Jim Campion, a six-year veteran of the league who had started the Farum Lions in suburban Copenhagen in 1995, began with impromptu junior training sessions primarily with his own sons and their friends.

The response from the local kids and their parents was somewhat surprising in a country, like most, suspicious of this new sport. But if the social welfare ethos of Scandinavia embraces anything, it embraces projects directed at society's youth. With the backing of the Farum City Council and more recently the AFL, the junior development of Aussie Rules in Denmark has progressed to the point where it is an unqualified success.

Well over 100 boys and girls from the ages of seven to 15 play Australian Rules in Farum on a regular basis (weekly), to the point where a handful have progressed to the club's senior side. A visit to the ground on a Friday afternoon in summer reveals three games being conducted simultaneously, not only by Campion but also by a group of senior Danish players.

The Junior Development program took a significant step further at the start of 2002 with the employment of a part-time development officer, Mikkel Norlander. It was seen as the only way of addressing the increasing demand for Australian Rules clinics in Farum, the rest of Denmark, and parts of Sweden.

 

Grand Final Results

2002	Amager 7.10 (52) d. North Copenhagen 5.6 (36)
2001	North Copenhagen 17.18 (120) d. Amager 2.15 (27)
2000	North Copenhagen 6.7 (43) d. Amager 6.3 (39)
1999	Copenhagen 17.12 (114) d. North Copenhagen 12.6 (78)
1998	Copenhagen 8.14 (62) d. Farum 5.3 (33)
1997	Amager 14.12 (96) d. Farum 10.14 (74)
1996	Farum 11.18 (84) d. Helsingborg 10.5 (65)
1995	Amager 12.9 (81) d. Farum 6.6 (42)
1994	Copenhagen 14.14 (98) d. Amager 10.13 (73)
1993	Amager 21.18 (144) d. Copenhagen 12.9 (81)
1992	Amager 14.11 (95) d. Copenhagen 11.14 (80)
1991	North Copenhagen 9.12 (66) d. Copenhagen 6.6 (42)

 

International Matches

The Danish national team was previously known as the Denmark-Sweden Vikings. In April 1997 the first Denmark v Sweden match was played in Helsingborg, Sweden, for the Viking Cup, with Denmark winning 7.21 (63) to 5.9 (39).

1992	North London 21.16 (142) d. Denmark 3.13 (31)
1994	Great Britain 19.15 (129) d. Denmark-Sweden 6.4 (40)
1995	Denmark-Sweden 12.21 (93) d. Great Britain 3.7 (25)
1996	Denmark-Sweden 8.6 (54) d. Great Britain 6.13 (49)
1997	Denmark-Sweden 20.24 (144) d. Great Britain 7.7 (49)
1999	Denmark-Sweden 12.18 (90) d. Great Britain 5.6 (36)
2000	Denmark-Sweden 18.21 (129) d. Great Britain 0.3 (3)
2001	Denmark 6.10 (46) d. USA 5.4 (34)
2001	Denmark 9.18 (72) d. Canada 2.4 (16)
2001	Ireland 8.9 (57) d. Denmark 1.4 (10)
2001	Great Britain 8.4 (52) d. Denmark 7.8 (50)
2001	Ireland 6.12 (48) d. Denmark 3.1 (19)
2002	Papua New Guinea 9.15 (69) d. Denmark 3.5 (23)
2002	Denmark 5.10 (40) d. Nauru 3.9 (27)
2002	Denmark 12.9 (81) d. Great Britain 4.2 (26)
2002	Denmark 10.6 (66) d. Japan 4.7 (32)
2002	New Zealand 3.7 (25) d. Denmark 2.4 (16)

 

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