The Philippine Eagles have been developing exponentially in all areas over the last few years and this year has certainly been one of the most exciting. The Eagles were able to spread their wings and have enjoyed multiple tours including Jakarta, Hong Kong and now looking forward to the champs in Vietnam.
We’ve had another successful domestic PAFL season, including the establishment of an inaugural Auskick program which has gained plenty of popularity so far and given much attention back to the PAFL. There has been an emergence of new talent come through the Philippines, both young and experienced, which will add much depth to the squad. A major focus in 2016 has been development and under the guidance of our super coach Terry Mahoney, each player has stepped up another level and the standard has risen. This was shown back in May, as the Eagles took out the annual Manila Cup tournament and walked away winners for the second time in their history.
The 2016 Asian Champs presents an opportunity for the Philippine Eagles to show what it takes to rise from the bottom to the top, after many years of development and sustaining of competitiveness. To have multiple tours under the belt this year, exposing our young players to the higher level of Asian footy, a successful Manila cup and one of our most prominent years of recruitment. You couldn’t have asked for a better preparation in the lead up to the Champs for the Eagles, and to be in a position to take out the Division One title is a fantastic feat in itself for the PAFL.
Players to watch out for will be:
Coming off an All Asian champs last year, the young gun Shane ‘Salty’ Hawke is set to burn up the track once again, on and off the field.
For a bloke who has been doing nothing but training in the boxing ring, Craig ‘Bull’ Marsh, will certainly bring that aggression onto the field and has a knack for finding the goals.
Adam ‘Houls’ Houlihan, is always a strong feature at each tournament with his sublime skills and on field charisma.
The skipper Evan “model” Spargo, has probably spent more time on his hair than on the track, but always brings his A game for his beloved Eagles.
We welcome back one of our premier ruckman Adan “big show” Rand, who we congratulate on his recent wedding in Wichita and will join us for another tilt at Champs.
A view from above: The Eagles are an extremely well organised and coached team that showed their class at the Manila Cup, defeating the Hong Kong Dragons in the final by a goal and with it preventing a fairy tale retirement story for AFL Asia legend Bowski. While its great to see the Eagles embarking on a few tours outside of the Manila Cup and Champs, a question mark remains on their form outside of the Manila Polo Club, with away defeats to Hong Kong and Jakarta this year. Their model captain Spargs is up there with Doggie Tom Boyd as one of the hottest men in football and could take inspiration from his Grand Final performance and fabulous hair. After a disappointing 2015 Champs the Eagles will be keen to write some wrongs and establish themselves as one of the best. Expect a massive Champs from them.
