IFL Power Ranking - Week 8
- Pasquale Basile
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
1. Guelfi Firenze
Despite the Bye Week, the Guelfi still won in Week 8.
The Frogs Legnano's loss at the Dolphins Ancona allows the Tuscans to remain alone at the top of the Italian Football League standings, undefeated.
The next match will be against the Dorics, who are coming off three consecutive wins and are currently among the hottest teams in the IFL. While the goal in Italy will be to defend first place, the European plans have become clearer this weekend.
In fact, the Belgrade Blue Dragons, who won away against the Kragujevac Wild Boars (35-21), will face the purple team on May 16th in the second round of the CEFL.
The rotation between the IFL and CEFL will be a key factor once the European championship begins, but for now the Guelfi enjoy a privileged position.
2. Panthers Parma
A reaction was needed after the loss to Guelfi Firenze two weeks earlier, and that spark ignited against Aquile Ferrara.
The Panthers played a strong game, bouncing back after the tough defeat at the Guelfi Sport Center. The Bye Week served the Black-and-Silver team as a chance to regroup and see how they can handle the Emilian derby, one of many.
Thanks to their away win against the Estense team, Brian Michitti's team secured a playoff spot, becoming the fourth team to earn the chance to travel to Ferrara on July 4th, the day of the Italian Bowl.
3. Frogs Legnano
In the end, the castle crumbled. Frogs Legnano are no longer undefeated and no longer top of the standings.
The loss to the Dolphins on Saturday has perhaps shaken the rankings, with the Frogs, along with many others vying for second place, having to roll up their sleeves to fight in the final games of the regular season.
The next three games in the five remaining rounds of the first phase will all be against top-tier teams. First, Giaguari Torino, then Guelfi Firenze, and finally the Parma Panthers will be the final three opponents in a championship that will now be an uphill battle.
4. Dolphins Ancona
Ancona is back in playoff contention thanks to an unexpected victory over the Frogs Legnano at home in Week 8.
After a poor start to the year, the Ancona team, coached by Rik Parker, is on a three-game winning streak, the second-longest, behind only the undefeated Guelfi. True, the semifinals are over, but there's still growing hope of reaching the playoffs.
Aside from the challenging trip to Florence, the two games against Aquile Ferrara and Rhinos Milano, which seem easy on paper so far given their teams' season slide, will be crucial to regaining their dream of reaching the final.
5. Giaguari Torino
The next two games, the Piedmontese team's last of the regular season, will be two real head-to-head clashes.
The yellow-and-blacks will first face the Frogs, who are coming off a surprise loss to Ancona and, now that the top spot has been lost, are looking to cling to the second-place spot currently shared with the Parma Panthers, whom the Giaguari will face the following week.
The battle for second place has heated up, and Giaguari want to be there at all costs.
6. Aquile Ferrara
Fourth consecutive defeat for Aquile Ferrara, who also fell to the Parma Panthers at Mike Wyatt Field.
This defeat further distances them from the playoffs, a goal they set at the beginning of the year after their premature exit last year.
The risk of seeing the Estensi once again out of the final phase, especially with an Italian Bowl to play at home, has risen even further, and the two final games against Dolphins Ancona (Week 11) and Rhinos Milano (Week 13), including the results of the other teams involved in the fight for the Wild Card Round, will decide their fate.
7. Lazio Marines
Still reeling from their buzzer-beating victory against Giaguari Torino, the Lazio Marines are preparing to return to action next week against Rhinos Milano.
If they win against the league's bottom team, the Roman team could begin to boost their hopes of at least reaching the last available playoff spot, even if the road ahead will be very challenging.
8. Warriors Bologna
After so much suffering, so many missed opportunities, and so many mistakes, the Warriors are finally out of the red zone of last place after beating Rhinos Milano in a showdown between winless teams.
The great push that came between the first and second quarters, with 27 points scored before the Rhinos' first comeback attempt, was a powerful boost for the Bologna team, so much maligned and mocked during a season lacking in great moments.
Who knows if further joy will come in a season that has so far been lacking in positive moments for Christian Nobile's team, but this is already a first step. Now there are three games left, and with the playoffs almost a long way off, it will be enough to honor this season as best as possible, starting with the match against the Parma Panthers in three weeks.
9. Rhinos Milano
The loss in the direct clash against the Warriors sums up the season for Rhinos Milano, a team that has once again had to contend with bad luck and a subpar roster.
The first-quarter blackout, with twenty points conceded and none scored, reflects the complicated situation of a team increasingly in the abyss after last year's mid-season collapse.
The match against the Lazio Marines scheduled for next week is a veritable ultimatum for Luca Lorandi's team, which absolutely must save a season that risks going down in history for adverse reasons.
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