Coming off a 19 point victory in the first week of the finals in Hamilton, the Dingos once again took to the road looking to win their sixth game in a row at the same venue where the winning streak began. Captain Craig Stewart won the toss and elected to kick into the wind, which would play a major factor all day.
The first quarter saw both teams come out hard, but the Gargoyles managed to control the majority of the play. The Dingos backline held up strong and conceded only three goals for the quarter despite almost all of the play being in the defensive 50. The quarter ended with Guelph leading by 20 points, but the game still very much up for grabs.
The Dingos began to get more of the ball in the second quarter, using the wind to their advantage. Shaun McKay got the red and black on the scoreboard halfway through the quarter with a nice set shot from just inside 50, before Mick McFarlane kicked the Dingos’ second for the match. Tempers rose towards the end of the quarter when McFarlane was hit high when going for the ball and an all-in melee ensued. Red and yellow cards were handed out to players from both teams, with assistant coach Chris Buczkowski thrown off the field for the remainder of the match. The Dingos received a free kick and fifty meter penalty for the hit on McFarlane, which resulted in a goal, and the siren sounded with the Gargoyles lead trimmed to 5 points.
At half time the Dingos knew that they were lucky that the score-line was so close as Guelph had dominated the play, so they were desperate to step it up a notch in the second half. Already missing McFarlane and Buczkowski for the remainder of the match, the Dingos lost talented Canadian Yoni Moussadji in the third quarter after he sustained a broken nose from an errant elbow. Guelph again managed to take advantage of the wind in the 3rd, kicking a further three goals to zero to extend their lead to four goals.
The Dingos came together at three quarter time and reminded themselves that they managed to come back and beat Guelph the last time they played after trailing by a similar margin. They came out determined to take the lead in the fourth quarter, but missed many simple opportunities to kick goals. Stewart was double and triple-teamed every time the ball went near him in the forward line, while Tom Bell struggled to beat his opponent due to an injured hamstring. By the time the final siren sounded, Guelph had won the match by 21 points and ended the Dingos season.
Dingos Goals: S. McKay, G. Hansen, M. McFarlane
The focus now turns toward the many offseason events that are in the works, including this weekend’s AFL Grand Final Party, the annual footy trip (this year to Montreal), awards night, and (everybody’s favourite activity) spewing at the DCC.
Written by: James Duggan
Last Modified on 26/09/2012 09:36