Road To The 2016 Tulip Bowl As Dutch League Underway

The Dutch American football association, American Football Bond Nederland (AFBN), has kicked off its 2016 season.

The Amsterdam Crusaders have already begun  the defense of their 2015 Tulip Bowl American football title, whipping the 010 Trojans 44-0 two weeks ago.

With the Dutch season has already underway, let’s take a look at the eight team league. The eight-team format introduced in 2015 was successful and has been retained for this year with a slight realignment.  To check out the full schedule and standings try out the German link – Football-Aktuell.de.

The Amsterdam Crusaders, Arnhem Falcons , Lightning Leiden and Rotterdam Trojans comprise Group A while the Alphen Eagles, Amsterdam Panthers, Hilversum Hurricanes and Groningen Giants (newcomers) play in Group B.

Highlights of the 2015 Tulip Bowl

 

Alphen Eagles

 

The Alphen Eagles could not defend their title in 2015, falling to the Amsterdam Crusaders in the Tulip Bowl. They enjoyed a 9-1 regular season and look to return to the championship game in 2016. The Eagles open their 2016 campaign against the Hilversum Hurricanes who they beat twice last year.

 

 

Amsterdam Crusaders

Head coach Winston Ronde, also the Dutch national team coach, will look to keep the first championship trophy the club had won in five years. The Crusaders returned to their usual form in 2015 and have already kicked off their season in dominant fashion defeating the Rotterdam Trojans 44-0.

 

 

Amsterdam Panthers

The Panthers are aiming to improve on their 3-7 season in 2015. They struggled early last year but seemed to find their form. However, a final-game shellacking by the Crusaders finished the year on a low note. The Panthers do not open their 2016 season until March 20 with the elongated schedule.

 

 

Arnhem Falcons

The Falcons had an excellent season in 2015, finishing with a 7-3 record and pushing the Amsterdam Crusaders in their semi-final matchup. They will definitely be in the mix in 2016. They opened their season with a thriller though, edging the Leiden Lightning 6-3.

Groningen Giants

The Groningen Giants, newcomers to the top division in Holland, have opened their season by falling 20-0 to the Hilversum Hurricanes. Nevertheless, the young squad heads into the 2016 campaign with high hopes, although a playoff berth might be too big of a step in the first year.

 

 

010 Trojans (Rotterdam)

As was the case last year, the Trojans will be looking to improve on a 5-5 record.  In fact, the Trojans really struggled against teams with records of .500 or above. They managed to give the Alphen Eagles problems but still dropped both games to the Dutch finalists. They need to get over that hurdle to have a chance at a playoff spot.

 

 

 

 Hilversum Hurricanes

The Hurricanes finished with a 6-4 record in 2015 but also struggled against the +.500 teams. Nevertheless they handed the Amsterdam Crusaders their only loss of the regular season and gave them problems in the other game. So with an improved offense in 2016, they could find themselves in playoff contention this year.

 

 

Leiden Lightning

The Lightning Leidin suffered through a dismal 1-9 season in 2015 in their return to the top league in Holland. With the close loss to the Arnhem Falcons a couple of weeks ago, they may well be on their way to a major improvement in 2016.