Novi Sad makes their trip to Budapest for the third time, hoping third time will be the charm. In Austria, the Gladiators can’t go through a year without changing cities, so they’ll host the Monarchs on a new location.
On their quest for a playoff spot, and perhaps more, they won’t be playing in the same town like last year, changing Rudersdorf for Loipersdorf and later in the fall, Oberwart. The game against the Bratislava Monarchs will be played Saturday in Loipersdorf with a 3PM kickoff.
That won’t be the only new thing about the team, now the CNC Gladiators, as they looked at fixing their biggest problem from last year, lack of players, by making a deal with another Austrian team, the Black Lions of Carinthia.
“We have an agreement with the Black Lions that allows us to use some of their players for our CEFL games this year. We also have several players moving up to the senior team from the junior ranks, some of which will contribute right away, while others will be groomed to contribute in the very near future”, says the new GM of the team, Mike Dougherty.
Their import player from last year, he will have additional duties in 2008 with the role of GM. Other than the presence of Black Lions’ players on the team, their biggest addition for this season is keeping receiver Johannes, or Joe, Widner. Last year’s fall addition decided to stick with the team, forming a respectable receiving core for last year’s best CEFL passer, Bernhard Kamber.
”The goal of the team this year is to play in the bowl game in the fall and to generate more interest for football in the area, adding fans as well as new players”, says Dougherty.
Their opponent will, like all three new teams, play its first CEFL game Saturday. Unlike Zagreb, and to an extent the Cowboys, despite being a new CEFL team, they don’t lack experience, after a more than a decade of play in the Czech league.
Their team president and coach, Milan Mudry, says the team lost their starting quarterback and later three other starters on defense in preseason games, and t hat they are forced to start five former junior players on offense.
“For me, offense is very questionable and defense is good. And for the season, I think we will be better and better every other game, like in seasons before”, says Mudry.
Elsewhere, the Novi Sad Dukes go to Budapest, to play the Cowboys this time. Dukes’ plans this year are to go higher than last year, and considering their results from last year that is to reach the top. They go to Budapest after losing twice last year to the Wolves, but the new team won’t be easy to beat, so says one of Dukes’ best players.
“I watched one of their games and I think they’re a solid team, they can play us, the Wolves etc.”, says Čaba Juhas.
The regular season game that they lost to the Wolves was played in the same stadium they’ll play Saturday, and that’s the stadium on Margaret Island, a place where Juhas played his best game in 2007, but only in the first half.
”For that field I have good and bad memories. The first half, I couldn’t have played any better, and the second was different in every aspect. I hope both halves this time will be as good as that first.”
The game is played at the stadium on Margaret Island starting from 4PM.