A beautiful sunny morning greeted the Dingos and Blues as they prepared for their Round 2 clash at Humber South. Both clubs were coming off tough losses to open the 2012 OAFL season and were looking to put a notch in the win column. With many changes in the off-season for both clubs, it was hard to tip a winner – but recent history had strongly favoured the Blues. It had been over three years since the Dingos defeated the Blues, including an agonizing loss in the 2010 Grand Final after the Dingos shocked the OAFL, making a run through the Finals to the title match as a 5th seed. Naturally, the Dingos were looking to avenge those recent losses and come out hard.
With several core players unavailable due to injury or other commitments, however, it was not going to be an easy task. For this Round 2 match, the Dingos named 8 rookies to their squad of 24 (Kyle Morrison, Carlos Serpa, Patrick Bossey, Brett Taggart, Liam Sorrell, Patrick Wright, Denis Cormier, and Sasha Crooks), a testament to strong recruiting efforts in the offseason. The Dingos hoped that the raw nerves of the rookies would be offset by some of the veteran Dingos amongst them, including Craig Stewart and Chris Buczkowski up forward, Dave Wells and Bobby Clarke in the backline, and Mick McFarlane running through the middle.
The game began with honorary Captain James Duggan taking the coin toss, in celebration of his 50th game played as a Dingo. Congrats Jimmy! Right from the first tap, the Dingos showed determination to control the centre of the ground, with Aussies Mick McFarlane, Justin Robertson, and Anthony O’Brien reading ruckman Tom Bell’s taps beautifully and pushing the ball forward. The Blues attempted to repel, using their strong backline, but the Dingos kept up the pressure and most of the quarter was spent in the Blues defensive end of the oval. Rick Strezovski was a huge target up front, but was well covered by his Blues counterpart. However, veteran Aussie Craig Stewart and new Canadian Kyle Morrison were able to take advantage of their matchups to get loose and put the Dingos on the board. By the end of the first quarter, the Dingos had doubled the Blues score 4.2 to 2.1
The second quarter saw the Dingos continue to push the ball forward out of the middle, looking to keep up the pressure on the Blues. A collision between Rick and Kyle M, however, led to the former being forced to exit the game with a badly rolled ankle. This blow to the Dingos was offset by a red card being given to a Blues player for striking, meaning the Dingos would be up a man for the rest of the match. Without the big target of Rick up forward, Stewy and Butch stepped up to offer the midfielders a target, with Kyle and halfforward-flankers Liam and George picking up the scraps. Kyle showed off his skills and toughness repeatedly, breaking tackles and cutting into open space to have shots for goal. By the halftime siren, he had kicked 4 goals to match the 4 put through by Stewy. The backline, led by Yoni Moussadji and some great effort by rookie Sasha, had held the Blues scoreless in the second quarter with the score 8.4 to 2.1.
At halftime coach Mick McFarlane urged the players to continue to push the ball forward and to avoid the 3rd quarter letdown that had allowed the Gargoyles to score 5 unanswered goals the previous week. In addition, players such as Brett, Patrick, Denis, and Carlos got into the game and proved themselves to be admirable additions to the Dingos club. With the pressure continuously in the Blues backline, the Dingos were able to neutralize the Blues sparkplug Willsy, with one memorable tackle by Jimmy Duggan leading to a free kick for holding the ball. Stewy and Kyle continued to add to their totals up front, while loose man Geoff Hanson roamed the halfback line repelling most Blues advances. At three-quarter time, the Dingos led 10.8 to 3.1.
The final quarter saw the Dingos keep the pressure on the Blues, holding the ball deep in their forward line and denying the Blues any chance to gain momentum and make the comeback. With his freakish athleticism, Kyle Timmons was a menace on the wing and veteran Ramsey Blacklock kept the Dingos backline rookies settled and focused on preventing any Blues any opportunities. The final siren sounded with the Dingos comfortably ahead 13.12 to 4.2. Best On Ground honours went to first gamer Kyle Morrison, who scored a Dingos-record 5 goals in his debut and was dangerous all day long. Well done, Kyle!
Following the Division 1 triumph, co-captains Paul Tinkler and Gary Conlon led the Division 2 boys into a clash with the Central Blues’ Div 2 squad. With a number of rookies being called upon to play in the Division 1 game previous, it was heartening to see many of them suit up again for Division 2 to gain experience and work on their skills. They were joined by other Dingos rookies, such as Steve Gordon, and a few veteran Dingos looking for a kick.
Once again, Gary “Gazza” Conlon showed himself to be a rookie with a lot of potential, running hard all over the ground and putting pressure on the Blues players. This intensity from the Dingos club, along with the steady skills of Tinks and Glenn Thompson across the middle of the ground, allowed the Div 2 club to pull away from the Blues and emerge triumphant 7.5 to 1.8. Best On Ground was awarded to Liam Sorrell, who played fullback and shut down many of the Blues scoring opportunities.
Unfortunately, the Dingos women’s club was not able to field a full squad, so the match against the Lady Roos was forfeited. However, in great spirit the players from both clubs were amalgamated and a friendly match played. Dingos’ co-captains Meghan Peets and Rebecca Goldman both carried themselves well and displayed impressive skills in the match.
Next up, the Division 1 club plays the visiting Ottawa Swans in two weeks time, after the holiday weekend. The Women will compete against the Swans as well. The Division 2 Dingos will play against the Broadview Hawks Div 2 club (nicknamed The Buzzards). Best of luck to all clubs!
C’arn Dingos!
Last Modified on 16/01/2013 15:21