The 2016 USAFL National Championships were the 20th installment of the premier United States annual Australian rules football club tournament. The tournament as held at the Premier Sports Campus in

Lakewood Ranch, Florida Lakewood Ranch is a planned community and census-designated place in southeastern Manatee County and northeastern Sarasota County, Florida, United States, consisting of approximately . It is part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida M ...

, on October 15–16. The tournament saw a total of 41 teams representing 34 USAFL clubs and three from AFL Canada.

Recap

The Austin Crows picked up their second consecutive Men's Division 1 premiership by sweeping the group stage and then defeating the Golden Gate Roos 39-13 in the Grand Final. The Roos' appearance in the Final was their first at the D1 level since 1999. Nolan Cox, brother of Collingwood Football Club player

Mason Cox Mason Cox (born March 14, 1991) is an American-Australian professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Playing as a ruckman and key forward, he first played Austr ...

, was named most consistent for the tournament in helping the Crows to their third D1 flag in three years. Austin's 4-0 record completed a perfect 18-0 season, and extended their win streak to 23 games, the second longest in Men's USAFL history. Elsewhere, the Calgary Kangaroos won their second ever Division 2 title, the Portland Steelheads became the first D3 team to win back to back titles, and the Ohio Valley River Rats won their fifth Division 4 premiership. In Women's Division 1, the Denver Lady Bulldogs saw their six-year streak of National Championships snapped, falling to the San Francisco Iron Maidens. The Maidens, who are the women's arm of the Golden Gate Australian Football League, beat Denver 9-6 in their first game on Sunday afternoon, then defeated the Minnesota Freeze 16-6 to finish the round robin competition at 4-0 to clinch the title. The Division 2 Women's competition, made up of three combined teams, was won by the team with players from the Portland Sockeyes, Seattle Grizzlies, Arizona Hawks, and Tampa Bay ARFC. Special guests on the weekend were

Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Mulgrave, Victoria, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was founded in 1902 in the inner-east suburb of Hawt ...

greats

Dermott Brereton Dermott Hugh Brereton (born 19 August 1964) is an Australian former professional Australian rules football player in the Australian Football League (AFL) who is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation. Of Irish descent (his p ...

and

Chris Wittman Chris Wittman (born 30 August 1965) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Hawthorn and St Kilda in the VFL/AFL. Originally from Xavier College, Wittman played mostly as a rover for Hawthorn. He kicked 33 goals in 1988 File ...

, who held a coaches clinic on the Friday before the tournament, and also provided broadcast commentary. A record 30 matches were broadcast live via the USAFL's YouTube channel, including all twelve Men's Division 1 group matches, all fifteen Women's Division matches, and the Men's Division 1, 2, and 3 Grand Finals.

Men's Division 1

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Group Stage Ladders (Men's Division 1)

Group A Group B

Division 1 Men's Grand Final

2016 USAFL National Championships club rankings

Men

Women

References

External links

{{USAFL National Championships USAFL season Australian rules football competitions National championships in the United States Sports competitions in Florida Sports in Sarasota County, Florida

USAFL National Championships The USAFL National Championships is a tournament for Australian rules football in the United States. Since 1997, the National Championships have been a large event featuring teams from the United States and Canada in four men's divisions and t ...