News — footy

Chicago Trumps Kings 0

In beautiful Rogers Park on a sun drenched day and with numerous United players swapping jumpers to help out the boys from Kentucky, interstate football came back to Chicago.  Chicago won the toss and Captain Kastilahn decided to kick with the aid of the 3 or 4 goal breeze.  Chicago started strong and repeated forays forward towards a lovely, open forward line where the two flankers in Hoyt and McClamroch were finding plenty of space resulted in numerous set shots with no result.  B. Hoyt was showing some rare form on what must be his favourite ground and was taking some big grabs but his kicking let him down as the points kept coming until McClamroch, the boy from Cinci and an old foe of the Kings swept on a losse ball 40 out, dodged one and went BANG from 30 to nail Chicago’s first.  All the Kings men in the center started to get more of the ball and their run was magnificent as they surged forward and brought up their first major of the day to go into the first break a mere 5 points down.

Louisville 1.2: 8 v a disappointed Chicago whose control of the game up to this point was not reflected on the scoreboard due to poor kicking with 1.7: 13

The second term was all Louisville with moments of champagne Brian Hoyt.  The Louisville midfield was in control and with the massive battle of Jacko at centre half back on Captain Coach Matt swinging the big King’s way, goals started raining for Louisville.  Burgmann (Louisville) was on fire in the ruck giving sleepy and sissy first use of the ball and despite their inexperience, the two lads used the ball wonderfully when going forward.  The Kings slammed on 5 of the best against Chicagos 2 against the breeze, both both of those booted by the irrepresible Brain Hoyt who was being a right pain in the rear end of the Louisville side.  With Hoyt finding room all over the middle and McClamroch being busy on the other flank, the two were able to keep Chicago in it at the half as Mustard De Jong and MacGlashan were being very well held with no thanks going to their midfield and half backers for some sloppy delivery.  At the half, the Kings leapt out to a handy lead 6.5: 41 to Chicagos 3.7: 25

Umpire, Coach, Commentator, Scorekeeper and Timer Drake had a few choice words at the half and swung some big moves that had an instant effect.  Mustard went into the ruck to face Burgmann, MacGlashan came out to center half forward and Ehlers went to full forward to see if the 3 big United fellas could impose their will on the game.

The Kings runners were still causing havoc all over the ground but slowly the United midfield started to get on top being ably led by new recruits Whitey and ‘Front’ Meyer.  Ambrosino started to find more of the ball as Mustards ruck work and strong marking around the ground gave the Chicago boys more of the Kangaroo skin.  Ambrosino, as he always does, popped up for his first of the game, a lovely kick from 40 odd out.  Minutes later he was able to find the ‘Front’ man in Meyer who went back and kicked truly and all of a sudden the boys from Americas best city started to get a sniff.  A quick kick out of the center by Gordo set a lively Biggs in motion and he collected the ball 30 out, weaved around one and slipped out a lovely handball (on his left hand if memory serves me?) to a galloping McClamroch who burst through a pack of Kings and went BANG to register goal of the day and bring the incredibly good looking crowd (am I wrong?) to life.

At the orange break, Chicago lead 7. 11: 53 to 6. 7: 43.

The last quarter promised to be a ripper and the boys from just below the Mason Dixon, although tiring threw everything at a United team whose tail was wagging at the moment.  They attacked constantly with the breeze, only to be thwarted time and again by Kastilahn who was amongst Chicagos best, Betty Palmer who is starting to run into form, the hard hitting little Case and a white hot Funky Miller who shrugged off a poor first half to dominate the second.  Louisville banged on one to get closer but there on in it was all Chicago.  Miller was running riot off the half back line with Kastilahn and Betty constantly feeding him.  Hoyt was being given far to much room and was able to expose the tiring Louisville backline.  McClamroch stepped up another gear and added another goal to put his hand up for best on ground.  Drew Ehlers, kept very quiet all day, hit his straps in the last and provided the marking power up forward that Chicago had so sorely missed and managed to bag himself 3 in the process which just quietly could have been 4 for the quarter as he very unselfishly and very surprisingly to all assembled, dished off a handball to the effervescent Biggs who kicked truly to put the game away.

For the Chicago brains trust it was a good win and they can be very happy with the second half, particularly the running and movement of the ball to space.  The form of the Hoyts, McClamroch and emergence of Case were all high points but the skills were worrying with MacGlashan most likely being very sore after being at the bottom of many a pack after healthy leads.  It’s not for this scribe to mention but i will of course, that when Big Al did get one out in front and with the lead out towards his adoring wife and beautiful little girl, daddy decided to show off and take the big grab with the old noggin instead of the two big mitts.  Funny stuff indeed but leave it up to Al to deliberately let a fast moving footy hit him in the honker for the amusement of all.  Always thinking of others is Big Al.

For the Kings, a great game and a welcome back to the big time of MAAFL football.  Matt’s boys equipped themselves extremely well and with a big recruiting campaign in process in the Derby city, we can expect a big showing from the mint julip crowd in future.

Toothless Tigers Tamed! 0

Unveiling two new guns in Jackson and McCoombe, whose acquisitions were kept very quiet by the Rhino hierachy, the boys from Wrigleyville danced to their own tune the entire game. With Burgmann shut down by Jezza and a suffocating Rhino defence, the Tigers tall timber was out run and out hustled by a much more determined Rhino team led by the American duo in the middle of Wolfe and Ambrosino along with the dangerous Johnson who not only had the better of the dangerous Aussie trio of Paul, Matt and Travis but managed to excel in the pressure cooker atmosphere of this titanic clash.

Winning the toss, the Rhinos kicked to the city end with the aid of a 4 goal breeze in the first. The Tigers dropped a spare man back and from the outset it was obvious it was going to be a dour struggle. L.S looked good at the start with repeated forays forward being denied by the superior Rhino numbers down back but once the Rhino machine got into first gear, everyone knew second wasn’t far away. McCoombe, the boy from Geelong and sporting the vote catching shorts marked strongly and converted his first and his second of the term came soon there after. Pat Hoyt was revelling in the constant delivery from his team mates’ hard work up the ground and after laying a bruising tackle was rewarded with a free kick and duly bought up the “the fish was this big” salute from the goal umpire At quarter time, the Rhinos went to the huddle leading 20 to 2 but Tiger fans knew their boys had done well to keep the scoring that low.

Burgmann strode to his post at full forward with a look of excitement on his face as he knew his three highly paid mercenaries in the middle were about to run riot with the breeze. Drake dropped himself and Miller back as spare men to stop the inevitable onslaught that is Warrick Burgmann but the Tigers first came through Pat Hoyts brother Brian reading the ball deftly off the pack and showing some soccer skills to get the Tigers going. The Tigers continued to attack as the Rhinos, feeling the heat stuck solidly to their gameplan of sending the ball wide and looking for the boundary. Burgmann marked and shot for goal again to bring up his third behind of the game as the double team on him did it’s job. Some beautiful work from the Rhino backline saw Deri Morgan find a charging Ambrosino whose long ball found the dangerous McCoombe 40 out. Big Macca went back and slammed a bomb home, a magnificent kick into the breeze that sent the Rhino army into hysterics just before the long break. At half time, Rhinos 4.4:26 lead the inaccurate Tigers 1.6: 12.

The premiership quarter was going to be a big one. The Tige’s had to hold McCoombe and maybe sneak a couple of their own to plug the gap. Burgmann put one of his many Matt’s (Aussie Matt) on the big fella and asked Matt (Wolfes mate Matt), to take over ruck duties. Second gamer little Matt was playing a ripper along half forward and the other Matt was getting into the game as well. The Tige’s started the third hard and threw all they could at the Rhinos. The game was being magnificently umpired by the hard running Kogs and the sturdy MacGlashan who both let the game flow. The tackling was a treat and when Burgamnn finally broke the Jezza imposed shackles to goal, the Tigers looked a red hot chance. Travis and Paul in the middle and Poncho down back were full of piss and vinegar and starting to impose their will on the game but with Burgmann being sometimes tripled team and the coaching staff of the Tigers not wanting to take the spare man out of defence, repeated forays forward were shut down as the Rhino defence of Morgans J & D, Miller, Kastilahn and Drake had a cup of tea with every possession. Then the Rhinos pulled their trump card. Fresh from being overshadowed in the ‘next morning’ stories by Travis after the pub crawl, big Jacko waltzed onto the field like a victorious General MacArthur in the Phillipines and let his intentions be known with a soaring grab above the pack at half back. With the Tigers starting to tire but still giving it their all, McCoombe broke free for his fourth, Jacko let rip with a ripper on the left from forty and first gamer JJ Leblanc, the recipient of a throwing the ball decision after a bruising tackle kicked his first two arm salute and it was all smiles from the Rhinos as they went into the orange break with a commanding 32 point lead, 8.4:52 to 2.8:20

The Tigers came out to win and after Chris went down with a nasty ankle injury all looked lost for the Tigers but alas, it turned out to be the luckiest break all day for the Tigers as they finally put another body up forward. As injured as big Chris was, Drake decided to play off him which cost the Rhino coach dearly as Chris helped himself to two gimme goals in the spae of a few minutes to cut the score in half and cause Rhino fans to start watching the clock as they sat uneasy in their seats. The 2 goals also caused a sensational dummy spit from the normally collected United coach of the likes not seen since losing the U17’s grand final in 1990 to arch nemesis Nar Nar Goon at the magnificent Cora Lynn oval, in the heart of the Koo Wee Rup swamp (great asparagus country). One of the many Matts, “Welcome”, chimed in for another but the Rhino defence stood strong and was able to outlast the more experienced and talented Tigers, eventually running out winners by 16 points. A bitter pill for Burgmann and the Square dancers to swallow but apart from some bad kicking for goal by the great man and some poor use of the ball in the third, the Tige’s could easily have won this. The Rhinos defence was a huge problem for the Tigers and with an offence being ably lead by LeBlanc, McClamroch and the daunting body of McCoombe, the Rhinos ran out handy winners, serving notice once again that Lincolns Park and Square need to come to play in future.

AWARDS: Bottomless mug: Wolfe, Wines: J. Morgan & Aussie Matt

Piranhas Eaten Alive by Hungry Tigers 0

After a 7 month hiatus, football hit Chicagos shores again Friday night and Lincoln Square hit Lincoln Park even harder. After several days of classic trash talk between the two teams, everyone was on the edge of their chairs as they awaited the first bounce.

The Tigers, with the aid of a good 3 goal breeze got out to a flyer with new Australian recruits Matt and Paul justifying the money and time the Lincoln Square power brokers spent on securing their services with numerous centre clearances that repeatedly put the Piranha defenders under pressure. Mullis had the job of trying to contain Burgman and Palmer battled hard on a dynamic, refreshed Hoyt whilst a rampant Ambrosino seemed to run free, his pace a huge headache for first year coach Kastilahn whose headaches only got worse. Burgman opened the scoring with a lovely mark and goal brought about by a magnificent mark, spin and delivery by the former Kookaburra in Biggs. Ambrosino added two more and Hoyt chimed in with his first as the Piranhas failed to to penetrate the staunch Tiger defence led by Bradley and a very impressive Thorneloe.
Quarter time: LS 5. 5. 35 v LP 0.1.1

MacGlashan was licking his lips as the Piranhas started to hit back with the breeze in the second. With Jezza giving him 100 pounds and 6 inches and Tony Modra look alike Travis getting more of the ball and delivering well to the big man, the Piranhas started their come back. Big Al helped himself to 3 very handy goals as the Piranhas closed the gap. With Hayes starting to get on top and Kastilahn running hard out of defence and being ably supported by Fenton who is obviously enjoying married life a bit more than most and with Morgan and Ehlers stemming the free flowing nature of the Tiger on ballers the Piranhas got to within 17 points before Hoyt chimed in with his second to push the half time difference to 23 points.

The Burgman and MacGlashan show continued into the third with the 2 veterans going toe to toe and goal for goal. Burgman added three more and was basically unstoppable whilst big Al got himself one also as he continued to cause the Tigers headaches. Ambrosino snapped a ripper to extend the margin before Hayes’ kicked goal of the day, a pearler on the run from 40 which lifted Piranha spirits. At the orange break, Lincoln Square was keeping the pesky Piranhas at bay by 35 points.

The last quarter saw the wind die and the Tigers take control of the game as the undermanned Piranhas surrendered to Bryan Hoyts will as he ran riot up front. With Burgman taking most of the attention from the Piranha defenders and a seemingly limitless flow of opportunities coming from the dominant Tiger onballers, Hoyt was able to slip in for his third and fourth to put the game beyond the gallant Piranhas. Biggs marked strongly and kicked truly to put the game to bed as the Tigers ran out winners by 59 points kicking 14.16:100 to Lincoln Parks 6.5: 41.

For the Tigers it was a dream start as they won all over the ground and Burgman, with questions about his health coming into the game managing to escape unharmed. The win sets up a classic game next week when the Tigers take on the Wrigleyville Rhinos in what should be a cracker of a game with plenty on the line. Look for the big match ups in the middle with Wolfe on Matt and Ambrosino on Paul which will go a long way to determine the winner of this. Drake is in line as the next sacrificial lamb to take on the red hot Burgman while an interesting match up will be Bradley on the ever dangerous Scott Anderson. If Ryder turns up, he could get Hoyt and there are still question marks over the Rhino el capitan’ Millers availability. This one is harder to pick than a broken nose! For the Piranhas though, it was a case of to small and too injured again. A backline under constant attack was always going to break but they did a sterling job and Kastilahn, while disappointed with the loss of both the game and gun recruit Starick with an ankle injury, has much to look forward to with several players due to come back and a great game out of first gamer Doug.

Next week: Lincoln Square play host to reigning Metro Premiers Wrigleyville. 6pm at the corner of Lakeshore and Waveland. Don’t miss this game.