Time flies and we are yet again at the beginning of a three-month long journey, that will determine the league champion. The Budapest Wolves will – like last year – have the honor to open the season, as they host the PBB Kragujevac Wild Boars.

Not much has changed with the Wolves, as you may have read in their season preview, but then again some things have. István Kovács is now the new head coach, but all in all, they have mostly their old team back.

What this means remains to be seen. Considering that they are still one of the rare successful teams to play without imports, or real imports as they’d say, their record in the CEFL has been quite good. They have routinely been one of the most consistent teams in the league. But in the end, they had little success when it comes to trophies and an average year in 2012, when they finished only 2-4, missing the championship game.

Their opponent is new to the league, but only after a five-year long hiatus. The two teams already met in 2007, the Wolves’ first and Boars’ last season in the league, and the Wolves won in Kragujevac 17-24. Although there are still some players on both teams – especially true for the Wolves – the team they will host on Saturday is very much different. They are however relatively unknown to CEFL teams other than the SBB Vukovi and as such, difficult to rank among the current teams.

After a year’s absence, their long time quarterback Stan Bedwell returns to the Wild Boars. Having great success, but finishing his last year trophy-less, Bedwell was quite clear: “I chose to come back to the Wild Boars to win two championships this season. Nothing less. “

On paper, they have the team to do that, and their history says they are capable. The first step for both teams is on Saturday, from 3PM CET.