Rhodes Knights and Attica Rhinos will contest the Greek Rugby League Association Grand Final next month, with the Knights (undefeated for four years) clear favourites.
At the completion of the four-team, home and away domestic league, run by the newly constituted GRLA for the first time in 2017, the islanders had conceded only 16 points, scoring an average of 50 points per game.
“All teams are becoming more competitive,” said the Rhodes coach, Michalis Chatziioanou. “The boys showed great passion and a keen willingness to play; that was the most positive aspect from the season.”
Newcomers Patra were the success story, registering a win against Aris and completing the 1,300 km round trip to play in Rhodes, illustrating their enthusiasm and commitment.
“A fantastic season has come to an end!” noted Patra Head coach, Andreas Antonopoulos. “We are satisfied with our performance and with every match we got better, so third place for us is a successful outcome. It was very exciting when we travelled down to Rhodes for an 8s tournament, and also for our first match of the full 13-a-side season. We are looking forward to the future, and we hope that some of our players will make the national team for the Balkan Cup in October.”
To support the demand for technical knowledge that will underpin further progress, the GRLA hosted a first-ever coaching course in Rhodes last week, involving 13 participants.
Next season the GRLA will seek to form women’s teams, whilst in the men’s domestic league the same four clubs will compete again, and it is anticipated that least two of those will participate in the 2018 Balkans Super League.