Exciting season in SELAF

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Goran Košutić

Young Petković (right) will match up against the more experienced Trajković

Prior to the start of the season, expectations for everybody that follows American football in this region were near identical. Kragujevac and Belgrade would play in the final, and the only dilemma would be which team would place first. Still, the Novi Sad Dukes challenged both teams strongly, were in the race for the final until the last game and also made the league very interesting this year.

Although they finished second, it was the Vukovi that reached the final with fewer problems. The first team to get in a position to play for the title had a season that went according to plan for the most part, where their spot in the top two was hardly questioned. The Vukovi mostly dominated the competition, but they failed to get a win against their greatest rival.

That Dukes would be a tough team to beat should have been clear after their season opener against the Legionaries. A very convincing win, regardless of it being only by ten points showed that they have something to hope for. Surprisingly good quarterback Čaba Juhas led the team to five wins and third place, where only a loss by the Vukovi against Kragujevac in Belgrade was the difference between them playing in the final or not.

The Wild Boars in the end squeaked through, with a win over the Vukovi in the last match, but now they have the best chance to win the title. Not only do they have a positive score with the Vukovi this season, but also their biggest problem was Novi Sad, and the Vukovi will be without their best player, Andrej Tasić, who injured his knee in that last match against them.

It’s safe to say more was expected from the Silverhawks, but two wins and fourth place was a maximum for a team that usually played with an incomplete team when they played away in Serbia. The Legionaries’ season could also be considered disappointing, but they too had problems early on, which led to frequent changes with coaching that certainly didn’t help.

In the end, the teams everyone saw in the final will play in it, and it could be said that it was deserved, as they were the two best teams this year.