The second Northern Beaches Open was held on October 13, 2007 at Sports and Leisure Centre, Willoughby, and saw 8 teams fighting for the trophy.  There were Sydney based teams Bondi Rockets, Glebe, Sydney City, UNSW, the hosts Northern Beaches Stingrays, QLD's Story Bridge Devils, along with Canberra Blue Bulls and of course, the Weston Creek Pirates.  All teams started the day with big ambition and in 15 games of floorball the spectators could witness 157 goals and spectacular floorball action. 

Some luck or psychic prediction by the organisers saw the top of the group clash for both pools to be battled out in the very last group game on both courts. In group 1 the undefeated hosts needed a win against the impressive Story Bridge Devils to secure top spot, as the Queenslanders had scored one more goal in their previous two group games. In the group 2 clash Bondi Rockets could top the table with a draw against Glebe. In a very tight game Bondi Rockets did exactly that and managed the top spot on goals scored after a 3:3 draw against a strong Glebe outfit. Bondi was therefore awaiting the second placed team in their semis. Northern Beaches Stingrays started their last group game strongly and established an early lead, however the Devils came back and only in the third period the Stingrays managed to get the upper hand.

With that Northern Beaches Stingrays could avoid playing Bondi Rockets and needed to play Glebe in their semi final clash on court 1. The game between the two oldest and most consistent teams in NSW has a bit of tradition with Glebe and Northern Beaches Stingrays having had many big games in NSW series, AFO’s and other tournaments and it always makes for a terrific floorball game. Glebe started strong and looked like they could pull off an upset against the hosts. However a strong finish in the last period by the Stingrays secured a 6:2 victory and the second final appearance in as many years by the hosts. The second semi final was a tight and physical affair between the 2007 AFO runners up Bondi Rockets and the 2003 AFO winners Story Bridge Devils. Each team had their chances and had the lead at some stage of the game, however no team could ever get away decisively and the score was levelled a couple of times, before the guests from Brisbane scored the 5:4 winner two minutes out from full time.

This meant the 2nd NBO final was a rematch of the 2006 AFO final in Mornington. Most of the players in both teams were part of their respective sides 18months ago and remembered that day all too well. The hosts were confident after having beaten the Queensland team in the AFO final and the group clash just an hour earlier, that they could go one better than at the last NBO in 2006. Story Bridge Devils gain some confidence after beating Bondi Rockets, a team that beat the Stingrays in the NSW grand final earlier in the year. While the Stingrays had the early lead in the pool game, it was the other way around now and the Devils went to the break with a 2:1 lead. Early in the second period the Stingrays were penalised for a slash from behind with 2 minutes plus a penalty. The Queensland team converted the penalty successfully to a 3:1 lead and it certainly looked like the Northern Beaches Stingrays team were ‘playing’ perfect hosts again after losing the final in 2006 in a dramatic penalty shootout against ACT. However the Sydney team has developed a somewhat trademark comeback, as they are at their best when they are actually chasing the lead. Just before the period break the host managed to get back on level terms and now had the momentum for the last period. In the third term the Stingrays used that psychological advantage to put the game out of reach for the guests adding another 3 unanswered goals to the score. With the 6:3 lead and the home advantage, the Northern Beaches Stingrays had to give the Story Bridge Devils one more goal, as they never gave up, but finally secured the 6:4 victory. A sweet feeling for the host to finally have their name engraved on ‘their’ cup, after a long 12-month wait.

Player of the tournament:
Jan Slavicek from the Northern Beaches Stingrays with 20 scorer points in 5 games!

Ref of the tournament:
Nic Johnson from Blue Bulls FC having played 3 games with his team and being referee in 5 more games!
He seemed to have recovered OK and was spotted replacing lost fluids at the Bridge View Hotel.

Team of the tournament:
Story Bridge Devils for coming all the way from Queensland for the day with one of the strongest teams ever to play in Sydney and for showcasing some magnificent floorball skills to the spectators.

* Report courtesy of Reto Wolf, Northern Beaches Stingrays.