ROUND #2 Game Report: Hamilton Wildcats (1-0) v Broadview Hawks (1-0), at Colonel Samuel Smith Park (Humber South), Toronto, ON.
After starting the 2012 OAFL season with a commanding victory over the powerhouse Toronto Eagles, the Wildcats again hit the road to face the (1-0) Broadview Hawks at Colonel Samuel Smith Park in Toronto, for what looked to be a hard hitting & potentially low scoring affair. Both Clubs were coming off wins in their first game of the season; as Hamilton topped the Eagles and Broadview narrowly squeeked past the Central Blues.
Unfortunately for the visiting Wildcats, their big Round 1 win was now a thing of the past and the Hawks came out firing on all cylinders to start the game; winning the opening tap and quickly moving the ball forward to the sure hands of Nick Shuttleworth. Broadview opened the scoring thanks to the big boot of their lanky Aussie Full Forward, but Hamilton fired right back. From midway through the first quarter, it seemed that neither team was going to give up any points without a fight, and both Clubs battled hard in the guts to gain any sort of momentum.
As the visitors took to the pitch to start the 2nd quarter, they looked to re-group and made a few small changes around the oval in hopes of kick-starting their offense, but the Hawks seemed to have an answer for everything Hamilton tried to throw at them. The Hamilton backline of Johns, DiRago, Schaeffer, Brake & Thompson definitely worked hard to repell the multiple Hawk aerial attacks, but Broadview's forwards just seemed to be 1 step in front and a hand above the Wildcat defenders at each contest. "Shuttsy" added to his early goal kicking haul on the day (finishing with 9 goals v the Wildcats) heading into the half, and accuracy that helped the Wildcats to defeat the Eagles a week earlier (kicking 12.6) was definitely missing this week v the Hawks; as Broadview led 4.2 to 1.4 after 40mins.
The Hawks were extremely impressive on this day, as their midfield controlled much of the play for the final 40mins, and despite an amazing tagging effort by rookie Wildcat Dennis "Jet Li" Choi on the Hawks Connor Dullard, it wasn't enough to stop their clean delivery into the Broadview forward line again and again. Wildcat veteran Fullback, Eben Schaeffer, was given a tough ask against one of the premier Full Forwards in the OAFL; and despite Shuttleworth kicking 9 on the day, it could have been much worse if not for the efforts of Hamilton's "Wolverine" look-a-like. Even though the Hawks ran out convincing winners on the day, there were times during the day where both Clubs showcased a very determined, hard hitting brand of footy, and i'm sure that there were several players on both sides of the ball that came away feeling a little battled on Sunday morning. Great individual performances from veteran defender Justin "OMG" Johns, 1st year Aussie import Simon "Simmo" O'Donnell, Captain Luke "Digits" Lombardini, rookie Andy "Neon" Leon, Justin "Sets" Settle, and Brendan "Maj" Major despite an uncharacteristic scoring line on the day, continued to lead hard and take several difficult contested marks in heavy traffic giving the 'Cats the chance to comeback.
This past weekend's game was definitely bitter sweet for Hamilton, as it was very important for the 'Cats to assert early pressure in hopes of coming away with 2 consecutive wins away from home against top tier teams to start the 2012 season; but the loss sends them home with a .500 record and the reality check they need, as it just proves to them early that no team in the OAFL can be taken for granted and/or underestimated this early in the year. Hamilton will definitely use this humbling loss to fuel their competitive fire moving forward, continuing to work hard all week at training and for an entire 80min match each weekend to ensure a Finals birth this season.
BROADVIEW HAWKS 12.4.76 def. HAMILTON WILDCATS 2.11.23
HAMILTON GOALS: B. Major (1), D. Crouch (1)
HAMILTON BEST: J. Johns, L. Lombardini, D. Choi, J. Settle, N. DiRago
*for full GAME STATS, please click link: https://websites.mygameday.app/round_info.cgi?a=MATCH&fixture=123772756&c=1-7394-110437-209606-14207859&pool=1
NEXT GAME: Saturday, May 26th/12, (1-1) Hamilton Wildcats v (2-0) Etobicoke Kangaroos at Mohawk Sports Park, Hamilton, ON; starting @ 11AM!!! (PLAYERS: PLEASE be dressed & ready to warm-up NO LATER than 10AM). MAP: https://websites.mygameday.app/club_info.cgi?c=1-7394-110437-142013-14207859&sID=160735
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C'arn the WILDCATS!!!
Last Modified on 16/05/2012 02:24