This past weekend, the men and ladies left Ottawa to pursue wins in different cities. The men were successful in this quest, winning over the Central Blues in Toronto. The ladies split their games in Montreal, where the Carleton Warriors fell to the Giants and the Rideau Shamrocks triumphed over the Eagles.
On Saturday the men were able to get the valuable 4-points, despite have two fairly flat quarters against a resilient Blues team. The final score was Swans 9.8.62 vs. Blues 7.6.48.
The Swans expected the Blues to come out firing, and they did, however Ottawa was ready to match them. It was a great start for Jordan “LeBron” Harcombe, who had two great marks which he converted into goals. The half back line in particular Ben “Trewy” Trew and Joel “Crimmo” Crimmins had to be turned on to rebound the attacking Blues from the first ball up.
The second quarter term was more of the same, the Swans continued to bring the ball forward and added 3 more goals to their total. With Alex “Yobbo” Huard working hard to shut down one of the Blues most dangerous players, and solid defending by the Swans (Yaz, Fingers, Horse and Pony) the damage caused by the Blues was kept to a minimum.
The second part of the match was something the Swans will want to improve upon. The hard work from the middle went unrewarded and frustration seemed to get the better of the Swans. Luckily the Swans were able to settle down and the surging Blues were unable to capitalize as the clock ran out.
The following day, Ottawa’s two women’s teams heading to Montreal to play their next matches in the AFLQ league. First up was the Carleton Warriors against the NDG Giants. This match was a nail-biter, but in the end the Giants were the victors, securing the win by one goal. Giants 6.2.38, Warriors 5.2.32.
The Warriors, lived up to their names and battled for every ball. Being short on numbers Carleton had to rely on a backline of Shamrock players who despite having a game of their own to play after showed strong defensive play. Special mention to Kelly Cambridge who has found a home in the full back position. Vivian Nguyen, again had a great showing kicking 4 of the 5 goals for the Warriors. The game was tied with minutes to go and a final push by the Giants resulted in the game winning goal and their first points of the season.
The second women’s game saw the Rideau Shamrocks square off against the Plateau Eagles. With a strong first quarter the Shamrocks cemented a win for an Ottawa team on Sunday. Shamrocks 7.5.48 over Eagles 2.2.14
Ask any of the Eagles and they would like to erase the first quarter, where the Shamrocks scored 6 unanswered goals in the first 10 minutes. Thhree of these goals were by Nathalie Presseau, who found herself for the first time in her 4-year playing career in the forward line. Like the game before the Shamrocks needed the help of the Warriors to field a side, meaning that they too had to move players around to follow the “borrowed players, must play back line rule”. This not only got Presseau on the score sheet but Cambridge as well, who found herself past centre on many occasions this match. Her efforts in this game plus her solid back-line work for the Warriors resulted in her being named the AFLQ’s Player of the Round. The relentless Shamrock (err Warrior) back line had to dig deep and worked hard, in their second full gamr to make sure the momentum building Eagles did not erase the first quater gains. With this win, the Shamrocks take over the leaderboard.
Next games:
The Men take on the Toronto Rebels in Ottawa this weekend. This is sure to be a great match as the Swans are looking to repeat their Round 1 win. Game time is at 2:30 and will be taken place at 4061 Strandherd Drive NOT the RCR.
The ladies have the weekend off, as a scheduling conflict leaves them without a field to play on. The “Warrior Shamrock Clash” will instead be played on August 22nd.
Cheer, cheer the red and white!
Last Modified on 20/06/2015 01:18