The runners-up from the Central European Football League last year welcome a strong side from the Austrian Football League as the Thonon Black Panthers play host to the Graz Giants this Sunday.
The Black Panthers have had a great showing in the CEFL with their Kryptonite seeming to be their French rivals in the La Courneuve Flash. Thonon had a decent showing in 2020 beating the Spanish Las Rozas Black Demons in the round of 16, before losing to La Courneuve in quarter-finals.
Their 2023 CEFL entry was a lot more promising, being on the road for each game the Black Panthers managed to beat the Swiss Calanda Broncos 38-35, the Italian Guelfi Firenze 27-14 and the German Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns 42-14, being a real surprise in the champions league last year, before falling to their French rivals in the Finals with the game going 26-21 to the Flash.
Though the Black Panthers came away with the French National title last year, their 2024 season record is a very different picture. Thonon have a very strange record at 2-3-1, drawing with their foes in Courneuve, Rouen and Asineres Sur Seine, beating the Saint Ouen Cougars twice and losing to the Flash in their first game of the year, the results so far for the Black Panthers will make it an uphill climb for them to reach the playoffs again.
Watch live. Graz Giants @ Thonon Black Panthers, May 11, 18:00 CET (6 pm, 12 noon EDT).
The Graz Giants on the other hand have had a great season, going undefeated until they met with the Vienna Vikings last weekend. Although they lost, the Giants still have momentum on their side going into this game with less than stellar Black Panthers side.
The Austrian side came into the CEFL in the opening round, beating the Kragujevac Wild Boars 21-6, with the scores coming by way of a pick 6 with Moritz Koschak taking it into the endzone, with Josef Rock running another in and Nicolas Visser throwing a dart to Valentin Reißner for a 48-yard TD.
The Giants may have suffered their first defeat of the season in the AFL but with the Panthers in their sights they will be looking to push the pace and make a statement and progress into the next round of the CEFL.