Example of Australian football as played in Austrialia. Image courtesy of Flickerd (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons.
In 2010, the Los Angeles Dragons joined the then 34 other amateur teams playing in the United States Austrailian Football League. The league's style of football follows Austrialian rules (nicknamed "footy"), and, although as highly physical as American football, Austrialian rule players do not wear most of the protective gear used by American football players. The Dragons were established by a group of Australians living in the Los Angeles area along with local American "footy" enthusiasts. In 2017, the Dragons had opportunity to becoming league champions at the Grand Final*, held in San Diego, California, but lost the title to the Golden Gate Roos, 14-40.
Web site: www.ladragons.com
Affiliation: United States Austrailian Football League (XFL), Western Region.
* The USAFL Grand Final tournament in 2000 was held in the Los Angeles area at Little Lake Park in Santa Fe Springs, California. At that event, the Denver Bulldogs became that year's national champions by defeating the San Diego Lions, 22-20.
An earlier U.S. Australian football club named Los Angeles Crows, played from 1996 to 2003. The team was a founding member of the California Australian Football League, which also included teams in the Inland Empire, Orange County, San Diego, Santa Cruz, and Phoenix. The Crows folded in 2003.
