Québec Saints
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| Full name | Québec Saints Australian Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Saints |
| Sport | Australian rules football |
| Founded | 2008 |
| First season | 2008 |
| League | AFL Quebec |
| Colours | Blue / White |
| Anthem | "Saints go marching in" |
| President | Governed by AFL Quebec |
| Head coach | Nathan Jacobs |
The Québec Saints are an Australian rules football club based in Montréal, Canada.
The Québec Saints were founded by Luke Anderson in early 2008. The team joined the Toronto-based Ontario Australian Football League's 'Rec Footy' program the same year competing against the Central Blues and Broadview Hawks reserve squads.
In late 2008 the Québec Saints divided their squad into two 9-a-side 'Metro' teams (the Montréal Saints, Laval Bombers and later in 2009 a third team the Pointe Claire Power) forming the basis of what is now known as AFL Quebec (prior to 2012 known as the Eastern Canadian Australian Football League or ECAFL). The Québec Saints now act as the representative team of AFL Québec.
In 2009 the OAFL relaunched 'Rec' Footy as OAFL Division 2. Five teams took part in the inaugural season including the Central Blues, Etobicoke Roos, Toronto Eagles, Broadview Hawks and Québec Saints. The Saints competed in the division for two years. The team finally withdrew from the competition because of the extreme travel requirements. From 2011 onwards the Saints focused on playing exhibition matches and sending representatives to the United States Nationals tournament.
Just 49 days after the Saints conducted their first training session the team took on the Central Blues Reserves squad in Ottawa. In an upset the Saints won by four goals. The Saints suffered a loss in their second match against the Broadview Hawks later in the year. These matches between the three teams were the catalyst for the Ontario Australian Football League to consider an official second tier competition.
Before the season began the Saints formed a partnership with the Ottawa Swans and became co-tenants of the Rideau Carelton Raceway along with the Ottawa division one club. After finishing the regular season on top of the ladder the Saints defeated the Central Blues by 103 points in the first semi-final to earn a berth in the inaugural OAFL Division 2 Grand Final.
On October 3, 2009 the Québec Saints co-coached by Shane Blight and Matthew Wood, and captained by Cameron Stark, defeated the Broadview Hawks by 19 points in the Grand Final at Humber College North in Toronto. They Saints were awarded Mike Pyke Cup, the trophy named after the Sydney Swans ruckman, the first Canadian to play in the AFL. The Best players on the day included forward Mick Lacy, on-ballers Luke Anderson and Ben Vawser, as well as defender Renaud Carbonnel. On-baller Cam Stark claimed best on ground honours for the match.
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