The Toronto Dingos struggled again this past weekend against the Grand River Gargoyles, whose home field dominance and strong lineup proved too much for the Red and Black to handle, as the squad dropped to a 1-3 record for 2014. The loss was particularly difficult to absorb this early in the season, with a number of Dingos going down with injuries early in the game and depleting the Dingos almost non-existance bench. The 'Goyles jumped on the Dingos early and ran away with the match in the 3rd, leaving the Dingos with a long drive home and dark thoughts to contemplate.
The 'Goyles won the toss and elected to kick with the wind to start the game, wasting no time on the attack as they won the first three bounces and scored early goals to put the Dingos on their heels. The rookie-laden lineup of the Red and Black battled hard to respond in the second quarter, but were unable to contain the attack through the middle of the centre and half-back line of the roaming Gargoyles, which continued to load the pressure on the Dingo backline.
That being said, the number of goals could have been double the 6.4-40 mark the 'Goyles had by the end of the 2nd if not for the valiant effort of the backliners, including Shaun McKay, Joe Carrig, and Dave Wells, who was roaming off his natural Full Back position to grab errant marks and try to spur on the offence. Geoff Hansen and Tom Bell gave the Dingos a much needed physical presence in the middle, trying to kick-start the Dingo attack the old fashioned way, while Alex Aitken was his usual speedy self, constantly dodging tackles and maintaining possession of the pill as he looked to move it forward. As for the forwards, they were led by the efforts of Heath Neville and Rainer Haycraft, who were constantly scrambling and leading for their overrun teammates.
Unfortunately, the 'Goyles took advantage of a deadly wind that is well known in Margaret Greene Park, burying the Dingos in the 3rd quarter (otherwise known as the premiership quarter) and throwing up 5 goals to the Dingos nil. The match wasn't too competitive following that goal explosion, though hats off to Colin Turner Bloom for nabbing his first goal as a rookie off a great mark at inside the 50, delivered by yours truly.
FINAL SCORE:
DINGOS - 5.8-38
GARGOYLES - 13.10-88
DINGO GOALS: G. Hansen , C. Buczkowski , S. McKay , E. Wells , C. Turner Bloom
DINGO BOG: Geoff Hansen
Last Modified on 12/07/2014 01:01