49th Parallel Cup 2023 (USA vs Canada)

[BigBrainUSA]

USAFL YouTube Playlist

As of this posting, the men's matches from August 5th are there. The women's matches on the 19th will also be in that spot.

We're planning on streaming again, though be warned that the quality will be okay at best. Reserves game is 12pm USCDT (3am 20/8 AEST) and the championship is at 3pm USCDT (6am 20/8 AEST).

 

[Canberra Pear]

The US won both of the men's matches, while Canada won both of the women's matches.

Men's
Main: 39-36
Development: 82-13

Women's
Main: 15-24
Development: 10-13

My takes were that the top Canadian men were better than I'd expected, but the Americans clearly have a lot more depth judging by that development score.

The main women's match was pretty close throughout, and the Americans were definitely threatening, but the Canadian women's skills and fitness just seemed to shine through after fatigue set in. The development match was mostly behinds, so that was more a game of inches than precision, and Canada got it close to goal just a bit more often.

For the 2024 Trans-Atlantic Cup, I'd expect the trends to continue. With that development performance in the men's, it looks like their men should continue to do well and they'll probably have the good type of selection headaches.

I know the Canadian women are working on depth coming from its Junior Lights program, but I'm unsure if any of those players will be old enough to bolster the ranks yet. A lot of Canada's best players were their veterans (Aimee Legault was best on ground and she started playing in 2009), so they'll need the young talent to come up soon. If they can properly work those program participants through to the Lights, they should have the wood over the Americans for a few more years to come.