USA Season : 2014

The civil war ended. The AMNRL ceased to function while the USARL prospered. They had competed together for three years. So how did the season unfold?

USARL

Tables: The number of teams participating jumped to ten, up from six. Five new sides joined with the Baltimore Blues being the one departure, the latter had only lasted two years. The five newbies were the Atlanta Rhinos, Brooklyn Kings, Tampa Bay Mayhem, Northern Virginia Eagles (from the AMNRL) and the Central Florida Warriors.

A new arrangement to cope with the expansion was a two conference set up. The Northern and Mid-Atlantic were operated as two divisions (I've called them conferences below) that made up one side of the playoffs draw while the Southern Conference was on the other. The first two had three sides and the other four teams.

I believe the North and Mid-Atlantic divisions played each team in their division twice and the teams in the other division once. The Southern teams played each other twice. This arrangement was a cost saver in travel. The final placings are below.

Playoffs: On the Northern side, the Mid-Atlantic team the Fight progressed to the final, while the Axemen continued their unbeaten season through the two play-off matches. Both finalists were at their third USARL final, for 2014 the same two teams again. The Fight again took the spoils, by just two points

2014
North East Conference			Southern Conference
1	Rhode Island Rebellion	8	1	Jacksonville Axemen	12
2	Boston 13s	7	2	Central Florida Warriors	6
3	Brooklyn Kings	3	3	Atlanta Rhinos	4
			4	Tampa Bay Mayhem	2
Mid-Atlantic Conference
1	Philadelphia Fight	14
2	Washington DC Slayers	12
3	Northern Virginia Eagles	4
Playoffs – Northern			Playoffs – Southern
R1	Boston 13s	42	R1	Jacksonville Axemen	56
	Rhode Island Rebellion	26		Tampa Bay Mayhem	4
R1	Philadelphia Fight	76	R1	Central Florida Warriors	42
	Washington DC Slayers	0		Atlanta Rhinos	26
R2	Philadelphia Fight	52	R2	Jacksonville Axemen	40
	Boston 13s	26		Central Florida Warriors	12
			Grand Final
			N	Philadelphia Fight	30
			S	Jacksonville Axemen	18

AMNRL

Five teams lined up for the season, the Aston Bulls, Bucks County Sharks, Connecticut Wildcats, New York Raiders and New York Knights. The season was cancelled, as mentioned above. It had run since the 1998 season and this would have been its 17th.

The Bulls had been there from the beginning and had been hugely successful so their demise was a shame. The Sharks also started in 1998 and had two seasons in the USARL before folding. The Raiders started in 2002 and they now ended their RL run. The Wildcats and Knights joined the new body and still play today.

For the 2015 season, simply click here.
The 2013 year can be viewed by clicking here.

USA Season : 2013

Two competing competitions wasn't going to last indefinitely. Who would eventually win out, the incumbent AMNRL or the new contender the USARL. The answer was revealed in the 2014 season. For now, here is the 2013 edition.

USARL

Table: The number of teams participating dropped in number by two, six this year involved. The New Haven Warriors and Oneida not returning for the season. Baltimore went another season without a win, with both Boston and DC finishing lower than 2012. Rhode Island did better, while the top two switched places.

Playoffs: The two best sides eased into the grand final without too much fuss. It was Jacksonville's second consecutive appearance and the second in three years for Philadelphia. The Axemen were unable to win again, conceding the title to the Fight in a close encounter.

2013
Table			Playoffs
1	Philadelphia Fight	14
2	Jacksonville Axeman	14	P1	Jacksonville Axemen	44
3	Rhode Island Rebelion	8		Rhode Island Rebellion	12
4	Washington DC Slayers	6
5	Boston 13s	6	P2	Philadelphia Fight	52
6	Baltimore Blues	0		Washington DC Slayers	6
			Grand Final
				Philadelphia Fight	28
				Jacksonville Axemen	22

AMNRL

There was a 7's tournament and here were the results. Standings: 1) Connecticut Wildcats 2) Northern Virginia Eagles 3) Southampton Dragons 4) New York Knights Northern Raiders. In the final, Connecticut defeated Northern Virginia 32-4.

Regular Round Table:

	2013 AMNRL Season
		Teams	Pl	W	L	PD	BP	Pts
	1	NY Knights	7	7	0	220	6	30
	2	Connecticut	7	5	2	136	5	21
	3	Southampton	7	4	3	78	4	16
	4	Nthn Virginia	7	4	3	-74	4	16
	5	Bucks County	7	3	4	-46	3	11
	6	Aston Bulls	7	3	4	-180	3	11
	7	NY Raiders	7	2	5	-172	2	6
	Each team had a win from a bye

The NY Knights were by far the best side for the season. Would they be able to keep that up in the finals and take out their third consecutive title? The new side Southampton did very well to come third.

Playoffs: In the semifinals, Southampton fell to the Wildcats 16-50 and the Knights defeated The Northern Virginia Eagles. New York Knights entered their third final on the trot, with the Knights coming out on top on the previous two occasions. This time, Connecticut won the title with a solid 42-10 victory.

The 2014 season can be seen by clicking here.
The 2012 year can be viewed by clicking here.

USA Season : 2012

One competition was doing well (USARL), the other less so (AMNRL). Trying to find information for the latter is a challenge but I put something together for that. If anyone can improve the AMNRL section, please let me know.

USARL

Table: Eight teams lined up for the 2012 competition, with the Baltimore Blues taking over from the New Jersey Titans. Jacksonville took the league from Philadelphia and Boston, clear by four points. The new side predictably finished last with zero wins.

Playoffs: In the semifinals, Jacksonville went one better than last year in making the grand final. Last year's winner went down, ensuring a new champion with Boston qualifying. Jacksonville won by six points.

2012
Table			Playoffs
1	Jacksonville Axeman	16
2	Philadelphia Fight	12	P1	Jacksonville Axemen	58
3	Boston 13s	12		Washington DC Slayers	0
4	Washington DC Slayers	10
5	Rhode Island Rebellion	8	P2	Boston 13s	58
6	Oneida FC	4		Philadelphia Fight	18
7	New Haven Warriors	2
8	Baltimore Blues	0	Grand Final
				Jacksonville Axemen	28
				Boston 13s	22

AMNRL

For the 15th season of this competition, I struggled to find reliable data. One site said the winner of the league was the New York Knights, from the 2nd placed Pennsylvania Bulls (Aston), 3rd was the Connecticut Wildcats, then the Bucks County Sharks (4th) Northern Raiders (5th, presumably the NY raiders). The sixth placed Northern Virginia Eagles did not enter the playoffs.

What I can be sure of is that the New York Knights won their second straight grand final in defeating last years losing finalist - the Connecticut Wildcats - 60-40. The halftime score was 24-22 to the Wildcats, but back came the Knights to lead 60-30 before Connecticut got two late tries.

The 2013 season can be viewed by clicking here.
For the 2011 season, please click here.