The CNC Gladiators and the Budapest Wolves will meet for the fifth time in four years. The two teams have a history now, their first meeting dating back to 2005 when the Wolves defeated the then ASVÖ Gladiators 27:6 in the Austrian Division II. Their next meeting took place on October 26 2006 in Rudersdorf, where the Wolves came out on top 45:20 in a friendly. Last year the two teams met twice, both games being part of the AFBÖ and SELAF season as well. First the Gladiators traveled to Budapest in May, then they hosted the Wolves in Ruersdorf in June, with almost identical results, 42:21 and 41:21 for the Wolves respectively.
The teams will match up again on May 3 in Loipersdorf at 16:00. Will the fifth meeting finally bring an Austrian victory? We don’t know that, but one thing is for sure; it will be a high scoring, exciting game to watch. The Gladiators have started their season on a high note, beating the Amstetten Schnitz´l Land Thunder 52:00, had a convincing game against the Bratislava Monarchs (43:26), seemed to struggle a bit against the Ljubljana Silverhawks, but came away with a victory (6:13) in less than ideal playing conditions. The Budapest Wolves have not played any international games so far this season, but they have been dominant in Hungary. In their first game in 2008 they have pounded the 2007 Hungarian League runner up Debrecen Gladiators (52:3), beat the 2007 Hungarian Champion Győr Sharks (33:12), and posted triple digits against the North Pest Vipers (100:0).
“The experience our team got last year playing in the SELAF has resulted in the improvement of many of our players, also the addition of new players (mostly our juniors who have moved up) has helped.” Says Mike Dougherty, Gladiators GM, about their roster. ” We have played the Wolves several times in the past couple years and have an idea of what to expect (a tough physical game). However, at this point in the season we are more concerned with our execution of plays and will adjust to what we see from the other teams.”
William Goldenberg, the offense coordinator for the Wolves thinks “This will be the first real test for us this season. The Hungarian results don’t mean a thing in CEFL. Our goal for the season is to bring the CEFL Bowl trophy to Budapest. That’s what we train for at every practice.” Concerning roster changes he added “We have a couple of new guys, mostly from the juniors, and we are really happy that they came ready to play”.