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FEATURE STORY
Grand Final XIV
The finale of the 2011 American National Rugby League season is set for Friday night when the New York Knights and Connecticut Wildcats square off in Grand Final XIV and it’s shaping up to be one of the most competitive games of the year.
The hard-hitting action kicks off at 9p EST at Pier 40 in Manhattan, but get there early to get a good seat and then get ready to enjoy the show.
Both teams have Grand Final experience and both have tasted victory in the past.
The Cats have been there five times in total, winning the Cup on three occasions (2003/2006/2007), while the Knights have a perfect winning record in AMNRL championship deciders having triumphed both times they qualified in 2002 and 2009.
As for their head-to-head record in 2011, this year’s regular season series was split down the middle with the Wildcats edging New York 42-40 on opening day before the Knights reversed the decision 30-10 in Round 2.
Each team has its game breakers. Goal-kicking playmaker Nigel Millgate, the enforcer Xavier Lozinguez and skipper Gareth Baxendale, who always puts in a captain’s knock, are expected to lead the way for the Knights, although they won’t have things all their own way with the likes of captain Curtis Cunz, Will Garcia and Nick Vornley all fired up for Connecticut.
New York (6-1) won the minor premiership and earned themselves a first round bye in the playoffs, but the week off did them no harm as they smashed the Bucks County Sharks 72-4 in last week’s semifinals.
Connecticut (5-1-1) finished second in the standings and has had a tougher road to the Cup Final. The Cats took down the Aston Bulls 38-30 in the qualifying finals and then outlasted the Northern Raiders 34-20 in the semis.
The Knights go into the Grand Final with the better offensive output of the two having averaged 50 points a game, compared with the Wildats’ 37 points per match. New York also boasts the league’s leading points-scorer in Millgate, who has racked up 124 points to date, and the top try-scorer in Regan Hyde with 13.
All in all, Grand Final XIV looks to serve up a high-octane, supercharged clash between the best two teams in the league this year with the promise of a very entertaining game of rugby league.
If you can’t be at the game, make sure to check back right here for all the news from the culmination of the best domestic club rugby league in America.
Cup Final XIV schedule of events:
8:30pm EST New York Knights Touch Rugby All-Stars match
8:50pm EST Announcement of teams and National Anthem
9:00pm EST Kickoff Grand Final XIV - New York Knights v Connecticut Wildcats
Halftime: Kicking and catching competition - open to all spectators - great prizes!
Postgame: Presentation to 2011 Champions and MVPs
Post match party at the Australian Bar on 38th & 5th Avenue, New York City
Post match party at the Australian Bar on 38th & 5th Avenue, New York City
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