Maple League Week 5 Preview
- Elli Mäntyranta
- 24 hours ago
- 3 min read
Time for another week of American Football in Finland preview! Last week brought us media scandals and a surprising Botnia Bowl, let’s hope this week’s surprises focus on good football and great performances.
Porvoo Butchers (3-0) – Helsinki Roosters (3-1)
The Butchers have their second home game of the 2025 season against the 3rd seed, Helsinki Roosters. The home team comes to this game undefeated, latest against the Wolverines last week. The visitors have not been on their prime level this season, but I’m sure that last week’s 59-0 win over the Tampere Saints certainly has recovered some of the Roosters’ confidence.
The Butchers are the favorite team of the season, and it is likely that the team will remain undefeated after this one, too. The team in the blacks have strong names on both sides of the ball, the record-breaking Maple League legend Christian Powell on the rush and Pick-6 Machine Zachary Wright.
The Roosters have struggled throughout the season despite their record being decent. If their O-line keeps it together so Ambro Urjansson has enough time to deliver the ball to Bryce Nunnelly, they can be a threat even against the league’s top dogs.
I will be attending this game live. Come and say hi and see with me if the Roosters have what it takes to give the Butchers the first loss of their season!
AFF Players to Watch:
Porvoo Butchers DB #0 Zachary Wright
Porvoo Butchers RB #15 Christian Powell
Helsinki Roosters DB #23 Akseli Olin
Helsinki Roosters QB #9 Ambro Urjansson
Kuopio Steelers (2-2) – Tampere Saints (0-4)
The Steelers host the league newcomer Tampere Saints on Saturday afternoon game. The Steelers have a chance to make their record back on the winning side, and the Saints are desperately looking for their first W of the season.
The Steelers dominated against the East City Giants last week, beating them 44-3. Most of this is thanks to Isaak Marshall, who will be out this week. However, Casper Bakker proved that the Steelers have a strong offense even if Marshall isn’t on the field.
The Saints have located in the bottom spot of the league, and the last couple of games have not shown that they’re in a rush to get up from there anytime soon. Last week the Saints lost to the Roosters 59-0. The Saints have scored a total of 26 points this season so it’s an understatement to say there’s room for improvement. They just need to do everything better and figure out where their problems root causes lie.
AFF Players to Watch:
Kuopio Steelers RB #10 Ethan Greenfield
Kuopio Steelers DL #9 Caleb Sell
Tampere Saints WR #5 Dajon Newell
Tampere Saints DL #99 Henri Illikainen
Helsinki Wolverines (1-3) – Seinäjoki Crocodiles (2-1)
Saturday night light shine on Helsinki Velodrome this week, when the Seinäjoki Crocodiles visit Helsinki Wolverines. Both teams have had struggles this season, but one of the teams enter this game with a national news-barrier breaking dumbness and the other with a fresh Botnia Bowl win on their shoulders.
Helsinki Wolverines have only one win this season, and while their last week’s performance may be shadowed by an extreme need of media appearance and general behavior training for their players, the problems off-field are not the only reasons for the on-field issues.
The Crocodiles showed us last week that they’re not to be written of this season’s stories just yet. A slightly surprising win over the Wasa Royals in the first Botnia Bowl of the season has brought the Crocs face-lift that was needed after a slightly sticky first games. Akseli Syrjänen delivered nightmares to Wasa offense and Brandon Kyles proved to be a dual-threat Quarterback.
Join us watching the games live, online or Ruutu. Let us know your expectations and contact us through our socials. And say hi to me in Porvoo tonight!
Porvoo Butchers – Helsinki Roosters, Keskuskenttä, Porvoo, Thursday July 10th at 6:30
Kuopio Steelers – Tampere Saints, Väinölänniemi, Kuopio, Saturday July 12th at 2:00
Helsinki Wolverines – Seinäjoki Crocodiles, Helsinki Velodrome, Saturday July 12th at 6:30
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