Round 13 of the Ontario Australian Football League saw the Broadview Hawks travel to Ottawa to take on the Swans in their second meeting of the year. With the visitors having secured a finals berth, the Swans were eager to exact revenge and prove their skill and might are better than the current league standings.
Under pristine conditions, the Swans and Hawks were immediately hard at it across the Rideau Carleton Raceway grounds. Yaser Abou Elenein was again a courageous rover through the middle, fed by stalwart ruckman Morgan Whyte, who was dominate all day, and both were able to secure possession and deliver downfield. For their part, the Hawks once again proved their might through the middle of the ground and aptly accounted for the Swans with their experience reigning supreme in the opening minutes. The Swans battled back in the latter half of the stanza and pulled the score back into striking distance.
The second quarter saw much of the same seesaw battle as both teams looked to impose an aggressive style of play. Matt Payne and Drew Wilson ran free across the ground and flew high over their opponents in the contest. The crowd was brought to its feet by the hard efforts of Alec Campbell, Jake Plunkett-Latimer and returnee Chris Lockhart who had a superior day across the backline. As the sun beat down, the Swans’ efforts was valiant but were not able to produce the results on the scoreboard as the Hawks took a sizeable lead into the half.
With only minor changes made at the half, the Swans came out renewed in the third quarter and were immediately rewarded with several strong marks taken by Mike Kozlowski in the half forward line. The continued pressure put the Hawks on the back foot but the visitors were able to rebound and once again apply pressure to the Swans’ defense. Captain Darren Roffey showed his versatility in the role of centre half back, much to the demise of the Hawks’ standout forward. Roffey, as he has done each week, challenged every possession, was first to the ball and disposed efficiently. While Broadview was largely kept in the check, the Swans were not able to close the gap and remained behind going into the final term.
The final twenty minutes saw the Swans run out hard as their season sets to wind down for the summer. Jean-Francois Chapman led by example running hard through the wings, alongside Cameron Dodge, Guy Joel Rocher and Marc Magierowicz who, coming off injury collected several possessions in the quarter. Paul Fairbrother battled hard through the centre, and once relieved from tagging duties was able to run hard through the middle and was a strong combatant through the full 80 minute contest. As time wound down, the Swans closed in on the scoreboard but were unable to get over the hump as the Hawks ran away victors.
The Ottawa men’s and women’s sides close out their regular season on September 8th, at the University of Scarborough, Toronto against the Etobicoke Kangaroos.
Swans 5.6 (36) defeated by Broadview Hawks 14.13 (97)
Goals: M. Kozlowski, J.F. Chapman, M. Magierowicz, D. Wilson, Y. Abou Elenein
Best: D. Roffey, M. Whyte, M. Kozlowski, J. Plunkett-Latimer, R. Shaughnessy
Last Modified on 27/08/2012 22:10