GFL Preseason Overview
- Reggie Whitfield
- May 7
- 3 min read
Over the past few weeks, we got to see some teams from the league go through a dress rehearsal with their new rosters — working through their playbooks and getting both experienced and inexperienced players some in-game reps to prep for the season. And that’s simply all the preseason is for: just getting your team ready and seeing what needs to be corrected. We saw most of the GFL1 teams match up against some of their GFL2 counterparts and got to see some interesting things play out. So here, we’ll just touch on some of the scores and things I noticed throughout the preseason test games.
Düsseldorf Panthers
I'll start with Düsseldorf, for two reasons…
I had them pretty low in the preseason rankings, and their squad kinda felt disrespected — which is completely fine and valid.
They had two test games, which I think helps them out a ton since most teams only play one. With their newly constructed roster, I think this really benefits them.
They traveled down to play Schwäbisch Hall as their first test game, which is perfect because they don’t see the Unicorns during the regular season. Just at a glance, the Panthers have a lot of tools to work with. Chris Lipsey not being an A-import means he can be used all over the place, while still having James Okike and Cole Stenstrom out there. So I have no doubts the offense will be rolling by Week 1.
Defensively, I thought they looked super solid. I think Mario Wokocha was a big pickup — having him out there on long 3rd-down passing situations will be tough for offenses to deal with.
Munich Cowboys
I thought Munich looked really good in their 59-0 win against the GFL2 Biberach Beavers. They seemed to move the ball with ease on offense and locked up on defense. I think this is the kind of confidence they need heading into their season. They control their own destiny in the South — going to be an exciting season for them.
Pforzheim Wilddogs
Pforzheim is one of the bigger question marks heading into the season just due to their move up from the GFL2. That being said, I didn’t think they looked bad against Nürnberg, who just moved up to GFL2 from the third division.
Having a mobile QB in Dre Harris really helps to spark some big plays on offense. They will open up their season against a tough Allgäu Comets team, so all focus shifts to that.
Paderborn Dolphins
Paderborn is a tricky one to comment on. They had two test games — the first being against the third-league Solingen Paladins, which actually looked evenly matched until the second half.
But a lot of noise came out of the second preseason game: a 35-9 loss to the Krefeld Ravens, who have a chance to be a GFL2 title contender.
Does this raise concern? Yes and no. I think Paderborn has a problem at QB that is concerning — but in the GFL, you never know. I think they just need to take things week by week, which is going to be tough in the North. So I'm not going to count them out right away just because they dropped a preseason game.
Dresden Monarchs
Dresden looked like their normal selves against another tough GFL2 squad in Rostock, and had an early test game against Leipzig at the beginning of April, getting a lot of backup guys some reps.
Really love the way the secondary — and the defense as a whole — is looking. Got a lot of rotating guys into the game. They now shift their focus to Hildesheim for Week 1.
New Yorker Lions
Same as Dresden here — the Lions look good. They got off to a slow start last year, which I don’t think will be the case this season. Looked solid against the GFL2 Hamburg Pioneers. So we’re hoping for a better start this season as they gear up to face the Panthers.
Hildesheim Invaders
The Invaders looked strong in their 30-0 win over Montabaur. The defense looked particularly good. They had a really strong season last year, and they’re looking to follow that up as they host Dresden on May 10.
Kiel Baltic Hurricanes
Kiel hosted the newly promoted GFL2 Elmshorn Fighting Pirates. I think they have some things to work out. Really enjoyed watching Malte Karlitschek go to work early in the game at that corner spot.
Offensively, there are some new faces, so as always, it takes time to get things rolling. But they’ll have to shift their focus to the defending champs to open the season.
Comments