‘HUNGRY’ PANTHERS ON PROWL FOR ELF PLAYOFF SPOT

Craig Llewellyn World Football

The Wroclaw Panthers head into their Week 10 European League of Football clash with the Vienna Vikings on the back of a three-game win streak, but aware that the result this Saturday could determine their playoff ambitions.

The game, scheduled for Wroclaw’s Olympic Stadium is poised be one of the more exciting — and pivotal — of the Week 10 slate, as the Panthers, who improved to 5-3 with victory on the road against a strong Prague Lions last weekend, face East Division leaders Vienna, who bring a 7-1 record to Poland as they look to return to the ELF Championship game for a second straight season.

The Austrians’ only loss this season came back in Week 6, when the reigning champion Rhein Fire gained some measure of revenge for a humbling on home soil by claiming a 33-33 victory. Since then, however, the Vikings have been on their own three-game run, with victory over the Paris Musketeers in France last Sunday confirming them as potential favourites for the #1 seed in the postseason.

Wroclaw, however, have no intention of simply giving up on their own playoff ambitions. Last week’s win over Prague was not only impressive in that it came on the road against a much-improved Lions team, but it also avenged a comprehensive defeat by the same opposition in Poland earlier in the season. Panthers quarterback D.J. Irons led from the front, throwing for two and running for two more, and the American’s mobility — and spectacular style of play — will not only be something to enjoy this weekend, but could also prove to be the hosts’ main strength in the matchup with Vienna, where victory over their division rival would put the Panthers in contention for a playoff spot.

“We feel tremendous determination and hunger,” Wroclaw running back Kamil Kotlarz insisted. “We all realise how much this match can mean in the context of the playoff push. We know it won’t be easy — the Vikings are a team with enormous strength, experience, and tradition — but we’ve proven time and again that we can compete on equal terms with them. We’re not just playing for ourselves. We’re playing for our fans and, now more than ever, we need your support.”