![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
Birmingham Bears | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Names | |
Full name | Birmingham Bears AFL Club |
Nickname(s) | The Bears |
2009 season | |
Leading goalkicker | Chris Kimmet (47) |
Best and fairest | Chris Kimmet (9 votes) |
Club details | |
Founded | 2008 |
Colours | Navy blue and gold |
Competition | Aussie Rules UK National League - Central Division |
Chairman | Mathew Mitchell |
Coach | Tim Smith/David Veale |
Captain(s) | TBA |
Ground(s) | TBA |
Other information | |
Official website | http://www.birminghambears.co.uk |
Birmingham Bears are an Australian rules football team in the city of Birmingham, England. The Bears were set up in the Winter of 2008/2009 to play in the Aussie Rules UK Walkabout National League in 2009 under a 9-a-side format. [1]
The Bears played in their first season in 2009 having been formed at the end of season 2008. They played against teams such as Manchester Mosquitoes, Huddersfield Rams, Sheffield Thunder, Liverpool Eagles and Leeds Bombers. [2]
The Bears played their first games at the Aussie Rules UK National Carnival in Newcastle on 9 May 2009. The Bears played against Huddersfield Rams in their first game, losing 54–19 with the club's first goal scored by Mathew Mitchell. The next game was against the Newcastle Centurions, the current Northern Premiers with the game finishing 42–0 in the opposition's favour. The third game was against the Chippenham Redbacks, featuring the England coach and the Welsh international captain. After a close start the final score was 35–8 to the Redbacks. The scheduled fourth game against Middlesbrough Hawks was won on forfeit after the Hawks refused to field a side. The Bears finished 11th out of 12 in their first taste of Aussie Rules action.
In the 2009 season, Birmingham Bears finished 2nd in the ARUK Central England ladder, resulting in a 3rd vs. 2nd Preliminary Final versus Liverpool Eagles. Having won this match dominantly 147–42, the Bears ascended to their first ever Grand Final to be played in Huddersfield against the Huddersfield Rams. Despite leading going into the final quarter and ruckman Scott Alford being award best and fairest, the Bears were overcome by the Rams 105–84 to finish runners-up in a very successful opening season. [3]
Season 2010 was a time of rebuilding for the Bears. With the formation and success of the University of Birmingham Sharks Australian Football Club at the end of 2010, midfielder Tim Smith took over the reins from Mat Mitchell.
The Bears resumed training in January 2011 and will compete in the AFL Britain CNW (Central and North West) Division with old rivals Huddersfield, Liverpool and Leeds as well as the Wolverhampton Wolverines. The complete competition for Season 2011 is as follows: | Manchester Mosquitoes | Nottingham Scorpions | Birmingham Bears | Wolverhampton Wolverines | Liverpool Eagles | Huddersfield Rams | Sheffield Thunder | Peterborough Lightning | Hull Monarchs | Oxford Beavers
![]() | This section may be confusing or unclear to readers.(May 2014) |
Date | Opponent | Location | Result |
---|---|---|---|
9 May | National Carnival | Newcastle | LLLW |
16 May | Sheffield Thunder | Manchester | W 6.3.(39) - 3.7.(25) |
23 May | Leeds Bombers | Sheffield | W 12.10.(82) - ?.?.(35) |
30 May | Huddersfield Rams | Birmingham | L 11.5.(71) - 13.20.(98) |
6 June | Liverpool Eagles | Huddersfield | - |
14 June | Leeds Bombers | Leeds | W 22.16.(142) - 6.8.(44) |
20 June | Huddersfield | Liverpool | Cancelled |
27 June | Liverpool Eagles | Huddersfield | - |
4 July | Brit Cup | Cardiff | - |
11 July | Liverpool Eagles | Liverpool | W 15.5.(95) - 11. 12.(78) |
18 July | Bye Weekend | - | - |
26 July | Huddersfield Rams | Huddersfield | L 4.5 (29) - 8.15 (63) |
8 August | Prelim Final (2nd v 3rd) | Birmingham | W 21.21 (147) - 6.7 (42) |
15 August | Central Grand Final | Huddersfield Rams | L 13.27 (105) - 12.12 (84) |
The Bears competed in the AFL Central and Northern England for the 2012 season. A somewhat disappointing season saw the bears narrowly miss out on finals as well as losing in the final as part of the West Midlands representative side in the Brit Cup.
Best and Fairest: Sean Walton
Most Improved: Jack Wood
Coaches Award: Adam Coxsell
The 2013 season saw a change in leadership at the Bears with Adam Coxsell and Sean Walton taking over the reins. The Bears under the new leadership had a successful pre-season winning both the Leeds Lightning Cup and the Nathan Blakely Movember Cup in Manchester. The Bears had a strong season making the finals where the narrowly lost to an Australian heavy Leeds Minotaurs in the semi-finals. The highlight of the season came in the Brit cup where the Bears where an integral part of the West Midlands representative side that lifted the Brit cup finally after 3 years of losing out in the final.
1 | RM | ![]() | Mark Barrow |
1 | HB | ![]() | Jac Quinn |
3 | HB/RR | ![]() | Barry Fallon |
4 | HF | ![]() | Tirath Samra |
4 | FB/HB | ![]() | Dave Gillott |
4 | RR/HF | ![]() | Tim Smith |
5 | RR/HF | ![]() | Chris Kimmet |
6 | FB/HB | ![]() | Ian Mitchell |
7 | HF/FF | ![]() | Daniel Shelley |
9 | HF | ![]() | David Marriott |
10 | HF/FF | ![]() | Dan Cater |
10 | RR/HF | ![]() | Adam Hill |
11 | RR/RM/HF | ![]() | Sam Findell |
11 | RM/RR/HF | ![]() | Chris Potter |
12 | FF/HF/RM/RR | ![]() | Mathew Mitchell |
13 | RR/HF | ![]() | Adam Baker |
14 | RR | ![]() | Eoin O'Luasaigh |
15 | FB/RM | ![]() | Kristian Jones |
— | RR/HF | ![]() | Peter Woodall |
— | HB/RM | ![]() | Tom Lindlar |
— | RM/RR | ![]() | Scott Alford |
20 | RM/RR | ![]() | David Veale |
8 | RM/RR | ![]() | Sean Walton |
— | FF/RM | ![]() | Gav Lawrence |
— | ![]() | Adam Coxsell | |
— | HF | ![]() | Jack Wood |
— | HF | ![]() | Adam McVeigh |
Garry Peter Lyon is a former professional Australian rules football player and was captain of the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Since his retirement from football, he has been mainly an Australian rules football media personality, featuring on television, radio and in newspapers. He has also coached during the International Rules Series. He is the most recent VFL/AFL player to kick ten goals in a finals match, having done so in the 1994 Second Semi-Final against Footscray, and the first since Geelong's George Goninon in 1951, 43 years prior.
AFL Japan is a league and governing body for Australian rules football in Japan. The Top League season runs from April to November, with a summer break during August. All teams including the University teams compete in the Top League. The most successful team has been the Tokyo Goannas, who have been premiers since the inaugural Top League season. In 2007, the Osaka Dingoes joined the Top League. Since then the league has expanded with the addition of 3 new teams with the Nagoya Redbacks joining in 2009, the R246 Lions joining in 2012 and just recently the Tokyo Bay Suns in 2013.
The Australian Rules Football League of Ireland (ARFLI) is an Australian rules football competition and is the governing body of Australian Football in Ireland. Ireland is ranked the number three country in Australian football outside of Australia despite having a smaller league than some of its lower-ranked competitors. Ireland has been a competitor and finalist in all AFL International Cups and a winner twice. The success of the Irish team has commonly been attributed to the ease at which Gaelic footballers adapt to the Australian football because of certain similarities between the two codes.
The Great Britain men's national Australian rules football team is known as the Great Britain Bulldogs. The team is made up of the best British born players selected from clubs of in England, Wales and Scotland, and occasional appearances from British players playing for clubs in Australia. In AFL Europe, separate national teams represent England, Wales and Scotland.
In Germany, Australian rules football has been played since 1995 and is currently played by nine clubs within the Australian Football League of Germany (AFLG) the governing body. Three clubs run metro leagues. The Dresden Wolves compete in the CAAFL of the Czech Republic and some other formative clubs play on an ad hoc basis within Germany.
The 1975–76 season was the 96th season of competitive football in England.
The 1971–72 season was the 92nd season of competitive football in England.
The Bristol Dockers is an Australian rules football club based in Bristol, England. The club has both men's and ladies' teams competing in the 9-a-side format.
The 1964–65 season was the 85th season of competitive football in England.
In Ireland, Australian rules football began in 1999 when clubs were simultaneously formed in Dublin and Belfast, however awareness of it dates back to the 20th century due to similarities with Gaelic football and hyrbid matches played between Irish and Australian teams. It has subsequently becoming a source of players for professional leagues in Australia, particularly the Australian Football League (AFL) and later the AFL Women's (AFLW) through the Irish Experiment which is ongoing. It attracts a television audience, particularly the AFLW competition through TG4. There are two governing bodies, AFL Ireland and AFL Northern Ireland, with teams and competitions in Belfast, Cork, Dublin, Galway and Killarney. The game in Ireland is typically played in a modified 9-a-side footy format on rectangular fields.
Leigh “Joey” Montagna is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A two time All-Australian, Montagna finished his career 7th on the all-time games list for St Kilda with 287 games and was top three in St Kilda's best and fairest—the Trevor Barker Award—on five occasions.
Australian rules football has been played on an organised basis in Wales since 2007. The sport is played by both men and women and there are clubs in Cardiff, Swansea, Bridgend, Cwmbran and Penarth. The main competition is the Welsh and England Australian Rules Football League who is also the controlling body of the sport in the country. The WARFL runs a senior men's competition and a 3 team women's WWEAFL 9-a-side competition.
In Scotland, the sport of Australian rules football is a minor, relatively unknown sport, currently played at amateur level by men and women teams from five clubs spread across the regions of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Fife and West Lothian. The Haggis Cup, a major invitational tournament hosted in Scotland, has been run annually since 2004. Unlike the sport in England, in Scotland, the main format is nine-a-side footy played on rugby union fields.
Australian rules football in Asia dates back to 1910 but was only sporadically played until the 1980s after which it has boomed. Clubs have begun in most Asian countries and a governing body for the region, AFL Asia was formed in 2008 to coordinate the Asian Championship and promote its affiliated leagues. AFL Asia estimates that there are now more than 10,000 Australian Football players across the continent.
Australian rules football is played in Europe at an amateur level in a large number of countries. The oldest and largest leagues are those in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, in each of these nations there are several established clubs, and organised men's, women's and juniors programs. The British AFL has now expanded into Welsh, Scottish and English leagues. The Danish AFL has been responsible for the expansion of Australian Football into Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Norway. The governing body for Australian Football in Europe was founded in Frankfurt in January 2010; the body was initially called the European Australian Football Association, but changed its name to AFL Europe at a general assembly meeting in Milan in October of the same year. It currently has 22 member nations. AFL Europe, with backing of the AFL in Australia has overseen a large improvement in the organisation of Australian football in Europe.
Variations of Australian rules football are games or activities based on or similar to the game of Australian rules football, in which the player uses common Australian rules football skills. They range in player numbers from 2 up to the minimum 38 required for a full Australian rules football.
The 1971–72 FA Cup was the 91st season of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. Leeds United won the competition for the first time, beating holders Arsenal 1–0 in the final at Wembley, London.
Huddersfield Rams is an Australian rules football team, based in the West Yorkshire town of Huddersfield, England. They were formed in November 2008 by Karl Haigh, who was introduced to the sport when travelling in Australia.
AFL Europe is the regional governing body for Australian rules football in Europe. As of 2018, it organises the AFL Europe Championship and the Euro Cup, and previously managed the European Legion representative team as well being responsible for the organisation of the ANZAC Cup, Fitzpatrick Cup and AFL Europe Champions League.
The 1972–73 saw Tottenham compete in the Football League First Division, the FA Cup the League Cup and the UEFA Cup.