On Thursday evening, the Rhine Fire world was suddenly different: with the news that quarterback Jadrian Clark and running back Glen Toonga were leaving the two-time champion of the European League of Football (ELF) and joining the Nordic Storm franchise in Copenhagen, which was joining in 2025 /Malmö, Fire is facing a rebuild that has never been seen before in the club’s recent history.
At least the Rhenish franchise isn’t losing anyone. Clark was the most recent two-time MVP in the 2023 and 2024 Finals, and Toonga leaves as the reigning MVP of the 2024 season and the league’s all-time rusher and all-time touchdown scorer. “I can imagine that many will question my decision and that many will hate me for it,” wrote the Brit in the Rhein Fire Fan Community on social media on Thursday evening. “But I just want to say thank you to everyone at Rhein Fire and especially to the fans. Words cannot express how grateful I am for the love shown to me during my time here.”
Clark also commented on his move. “My biggest goals in the ELF have always been to win titles and help the sport grow in Europe. The opportunity to join Nordic Storm is a dream come true. We are just at the beginning of something big here. And we want to achieve great things,” the American is quoted as saying on the league’s website. There was initially no reaction from Rhein Fire to the double substitution.
Toonga and Clark reunite with John Shoop at Nordic Storm. The American is the new head coach for the Scandinavians and was QB coach at Rhein Fire in the last title season.
Nordic Storm will be a force to be reckoned with in the debut season, and Thursday evening’s signing is more than just a sign of that.
As blatant as the loss of the two top stars may be for Rhein Fire and its fan base, you don’t have to be a prophet to hear a certain sigh of relief elsewhere in the league. It was worth considering that Rhein Fire had plowed through the ELF in the past two seasons – thanks in particular to Clark and Toonga. If these changes lead to more balance at the top of the league, the ELF management shouldn’t have anything against it.
The Madrid Bravos only announced the signing of Yasir Raji on Wednesday. The offensive lineman from Rhein Fire is moving to the Spanish capital, leaving the team after two years and two title wins. The decisive reason for this is that Andrew Weidinger is now head coach in Madrid. Raji and Weidinger worked together at the Potsdam Royals in the German Football League in 2021. Weidinger wanted to bring him to Barcelona in 2022, and in 2023 they were reunited at Fire. Now they are going to Madrid together.
