Canterbury Cobras
The Canterbury Cobras compete at the annual National Provincial Championships against the Auckland Buccaneers, Otago Riot and the Wellington Tigers.
In addition, the match versus Wellington hold extra incentive as the winner takes home the mythical George Lanyon Shield, which is named in honour of one of the pioneers of the sport in this country. Canterbury won the shield for the first time in 2006 at the NPC held in Auckland when they comprehensively defeated the Tigers by 34 points. In 2007 however, on their home turf the Tigers turned the tables on their more fancied opponents and stormed to a 21 point win in blustery conditions.
NZ Falcons
AFL players from Canterbury have enjoyed a great deal of success at representative level in recent times. In 2005, 6 players were members of the NZ Falcons team that won the International Cup that was played in Melbourne. The Grand Final was played at the home of AFL, the MCG as a curtain raiser to a game between traditional AFL heavyweights Carlton and Collingwood with the Falcons defeating the PNG Mosquitoes by 17 points.
The Falcons are comprised of players who are born and bred in NZ. In 2006, 4 players were part of a New Zealand side that also comprised some Aussie ex-pats who now reside in NZ that competed at the Australian Country Championships on the Gold Coast. NZ plyed in Division 2 and came up against an Aboriginal All-Stars team, a team representing Victorian Districts and Queensland Country. Although outclassed by their more experienced opponents, the team won the respect of their opposition and the Canterbury players returned to the local league and played significant roles in their club's fortunes. In August this year, the Falcons will again travel to Melbourne to defend their crown and we expect that Canterbury players will make up a significant portion of the squad.
