| Names | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Emus |
| Club details | |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Colours | Green & White |
| Competition | Australian Football League Germany |
| Coach | Christopher Robertson |
| Captain(s) | Fabian Kroll |
| Ground(s) | Eberhard-Bauer-Stadion, Esslingen |
| Other information | |
| Official website | stuttgart-emus.de |
The Stuttgart Australian Football Club e.V., nicknamed Stuttgart Emus, is an Australian rules football club, based in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 2008, making it Germany's sixth Australian Football Club. It is a member of the AFLG (Australian Football League Germany),[1] the promoting and governing body of Australian Football in Germany and is playing in the equally named first national league. In the expired season (2011) they have finished in 3rd place, beating last year's German champion, the Munich Kangaroos[2] in the Match for the Third Place at the AFLG Grand Final Day.
Contents |
The Stuttgart Emus had their first appearance as a stand-alone club in the 2008 AFLG finals tournament, where they played a demonstration match against the 5th-placed German side, Berlin.[3] Yet they were still wearing the guernseys of the Hamburg Dockers, because today's traditional Green and White guernseys had not arrived on time.
The first season of the Stuttgart Emus - 2009 - saw for various reason the establishment of a 2nd Division. Firstly, this was because the playing standard of the league had progressed to a stage where it was difficult for a new or developing club to compete against the established sides. This was particularly evident in the struggles of the Berlin Crocodiles to remain competitive in the previous season. Secondly, the larger clubs conversely were seeing an increase in players numbers and were in need of a venue for their reserve players. These factors, combined with the entrance of the Stuttgart Emus into the AFLG, saw the creation of a second division to the league in 2009.[4] At the end of the season 2009 the Emus could place on the Third Position, earning respect of other clubs such as when they were playing at home against later 2nd division champions, Berlin - which happened to be the thighest loss in the club's history. The consolidation continued again in season 2010, where they came in fourth place, beating the oldest German AFL team - Frankfurt - twice.
At the beginning of the 2011 season the Emus saw themselves confronted to a hughe loss of expierenced players - partly from their founding era - due to retirements conditioned by age or injury (Steffen Belgardt, Chris Brown, Guy Arthur Canino) and removal (Johannes Mast, Chris Mail). However many promising players were pushing from the youth section into the professional team (Jakob Jung) and the recruiting section was purchasing some equally promising players in such a way that the proficiency level could be kept up. At the end of the season the club even saw its biggest success in its young history, winning the Match for the Third Place.
| Season | League | Place/ of | Percentile rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | AFLG 2nd Division | 3./ 4 | 25%[5] |
| 2010 | AFLG | 4./ 5 | 40% |
| 2011 | AFLG | 3./ 6 | 66,67% |
| 2012 | AFLG | / 6 | |
| green background: climb orange background: relegation golden background: championship |
|||
The lyrics are based on the club song of the West Coast Eagles and use the same melody.
We're the Emus
The Stuttgart Emus
And we're here - to show you why
We're the big birds, kings of the big game
We're the Emus, we're kicking high!
For years we learned the lessons
And we learned them very well
And now we've added - Schwäbisch magic
We’re the Emus, we’re here to stay
2011 has seen the formation of two further Australian Football Clubs, the Ludwigsburg Taipans and the Haslach Hawks Both clubs are located in the metropolitan area of Stuttgart, Stuttgart Region. Since some of the founding members had first been active for the Stuttgart Emus, there have been - ever since the founding of the two clubs - close ties with the Emus. So plans for a local 9a side footy league have quickly emerged. There are several proposals still being discussed within the clubs about the shape of the league. Discussions are going from a local junior league to a preseasonal tournament. Determinations are expected for December 2011.
In December after each season player's awards are distributed to the most outstanding players of the season. They will be elected according to agreements of the coach and captain. The following list shows the resulats since 2009:
| Season | Best & Fairest | Best Forward | Best Midfield | Best Defender | Coach's Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Daniel McPhail | Florian Walz | Sven Bolwin | Guy Arthur Canino | Fabian Kroll |
| 2010 | Andrew Miller | Geoff Rodoreda | Johannes Mast | Chris Mail | Florian Walz |
| 2011 | Jakob Jung | Florian Walz | Nico Schwan | Matthew Book | Michael Räumschlüssel |
| Place | Name | Games played | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guy Arthur Canino | 19 | 1 |
| 2 | Fabian Kroll | 18 | 5 |
| Florian Walz | 18 | 14 | |
| 4 | Aaron Wedge | 16 | 29 |
| 5 | Geoff Rodoreda | 14 | 8 |
| Douglas Clarke | 14 | 1 | |
| 7 | Michael Membrey | 13 | - |
| 8 | Chris Mail | 12 | - |
| 9 | Michael Homsey | 11 | 3 |
| 10 | Steffen Belgardt Chris Brown Martin Figel Johannes Mast Darko Pinter Elias Remesal-Velasco |
9 | 3 1 - 1 - 2 |
Standing: Post Season 2011
The Stuttgart Emus are merchandising a small choice of fan articles. Among them you will find a Men's and Women's Supporter T-shirt, Supporter Hoodies as well as Scarfs and a limited edition of the Original Green-White Guernseys.