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Welcome back to Chicago footy everyone. Round 1 of the 2014 season was a rematch of the 2013 metro grand final, Lincoln Square Tigers Vs the Lincoln Park Piranhas. The match started a little after 6 as the weather was delaying some of the local baseball games, but at soon as the boots were tied and the legs were stretched, the whistle blew and the game was underway. From the first ball up it was apparent that Jason “Ponyboy” Wilhelm was going to win the taps all day, but with “cannonball” Kiefy roving for the Tigers he was quick to play off the taps and keep the ball in the Tiger side of the Field. Conway kept Pony occupied all day keeping a body on him at all times and really shutting him down. The first half was all Tigers as there more veteran side was apparent over the younger and more inexperienced Piranha side. The Piranhas were lucky to hold the Tigers to only 5 goals in the first quarter, but the second half was the comeback we were all waiting to see. Tiger goal kickers first quarter were Beckham…err I mean Sainty…X2, Al “I’m still young enough to kick ass” Macglashin X2, and Eric “Cutter” Conway.

The second quarter was more in the Piranhas side of the field and the goals starting coming back their way. New players Patrick, Tom, Mack, Joris and Kevin all started to get a feel for the game, and soon enough Dougy “Fresher than Fresh” Malcolm slotted 2 goals and Alex “roids” Wallach snapped a ripper from 30 out. “Drakey” made a veteran appearance for the Tigers and showed he still has years of footy in him, and while he made the honorable call to let the younger players play while he ran the boundary. For the Tigers, Nolan “what’s with the hat” Schmelzer grabbed a pair of goals and looked smooth out there with his spin moves and jukes. Best on Ground Player of the match Sam “I swear I’m not 19″ Svoboda played incredibly well looking super sharp for still being a newer player. Mark after mark and spot on kicks got this kid the Blue Jacket at Brownstone. At the half, the scores were a little more even at 7.2 (44) to 3.3 (21)

Coming into the premiership quarter the Piranhas were stopped again and again by one very big man: Russ “the bus” Adams. With more years playing that probably the entire Piranahs team combined, it was hard to not only get the ball into the forward fifty but get it in the hands of those who could put it through the big sticks. Al “silky smooth” Martain was instrumental in keeping the ball moving forward for the Tigers. Coming out the wood works Graham “Crackers” got his name on the sheet with a major score, along with Oscar “mile high” Meyer. Pony receiving a handball from Doug off the wing kept the Piranhas alive with the only goal for the quarter for the blue and reds. Lots of hard work was to be had by Tyler “Minutes” in the pocket keeping Paul “Garden Gloves” scoreless on the day. Russ kept Rhino gun Dave “Wild Child” Deutz goalless for his cameo appearance. Sars was another key player on the Pirhanas who made the 3 hour drive in and drive home that night (huge effort) to keep the flow moving to the Pirhanas offensive sign, but the Tigers were just too strong. Hoyt played too.

The Fourth quarter was nothing short of a fizzle out. Lungs were short of breath while Big Al and Crackers bagged another goal each. In the End the Tigers were just too strong and will absolutely be a force to be reckoned with. Next week the Pirhanas get a chance to get their name back when they face the Wrigleyville Rhinos.

As always, huge thanks to all the WAGs/friends/family and kids who came out to support the footy and have a drink while watching men beat the crap out of each other. Always good having the support and the cheers/jeers when we kick goals or shank them miserable. Huge thanks for Anthony Hendrie to umpire the game. See you all next week!

Best on Ground: Sam Svoboda
Oxford Landing: Pedro and Kevin Shinsako
Golden Goose: Kiefy

Come celebrate everything there is about being, knowing (or wanting to know) an Australian at the annual Australia Day party hosted by the Chicago Swans. This year we will be at the Kirkwood hotel (another of the Four Corners tavern group) with a great wristband deal ($35 draft beer, call spirits and wine from 8-11). For up to date event details, check the official Chicago Swans Facebook page.

We can’t promise the 40C weather back in Oz right now, but slip on your coat, slop on some green and gold, and slap on a Kirkwoods wristband and party Australian style Saturday 25th from 8pm onwards at Kirkwoods (2934 N Sheffield).

Time to break out the Red & White suit, get the missus all dolled up and pay tribute to our award winners for 2013!

Join us for the final event of the season on Saturday 23 November at Sidebar & Grill, LaSalle & Wacker. Party starts at 7pm. Dinner served from 7:30pm. Drink package until 11pm. Party bus picks us up at 11pm to continue at the Benchmark Tavern on Wells.

$40 per person for financial members & guests

$60 per person for NON financial members & guests

The Chicago Swans would like to thank the over 200 fans that packed The Brownstone Tavern on Lincoln Ave in Chicago to watch the Fremantle Dockers face the Hawthorn Hawks in what turned out to be a thrilling 2013 AFL Grand Final. In the end, the Hawthorn Hawks triumphed 11.11 (77) to Fremantle 8.14 (62) in a game that was still in the balance with minutes to play.

Hosting the AFL Grand Final and officially drawing the winners of the Qantas Raffle has become an annual tradition for our football club. We would like to thank our major sponsor, The Brownstone Tavern, who do an amazing job on the biggest night of the year for the club and continue to dedicate countless hours in the kitchen perfecting their rendition of an Aussie meat pie for this event. The Chicago Swans and The Brownstone Tavern look forward to hosting the AFL Grand Final for many years to come.

The 2013 Qantas Raffle was the most successful in recent history. Thank you to everyone who supported the club and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society by purchasing raffle tickets. Over the years, The Chicago Australian Football Association has donated over $12,000 in raffle proceeds to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and “Project Relentless”. Local football clubs rely heavily on external support and we are extremely lucky to have people & sponsors both within the club and externally that believe in our future. Congratulations to the winners!

Grand Prize – Airfare to Australia for 2– Chavewan Chutipisalkul
1st Place Prize – $400 – Jaclyn Wike
2nd Place Prize – $200 – Ryan Daudelin
3rd Place Prize – Mixed Case of Oxford Landing Estate Wines – Jeff Wilcox

The Chicago Swans have finished their final regular season game with a huge win over the Minnesota Freeze. This was the perfect result for the home team who had yet to register a win in 2013 including a narrow loss to the Freeze earlier this year. The selected side also had 12 missing from the disappointing loss to Columbus 2 weeks ago. That said the 25 blokes that put on the Swans jersey were determined to give it a red hot go!

Chicago set the tone early with repeated forward entries set up by Jason Wilhelm giving the on ballers first sniff of the ball. A few close misses finally turned into goals and at quarter time the Swans had a 4 goal lead with the ball barely entering the visitors forward half. The early signs looked ominous for the Freeze with Swans’ midfielders, Porter, Young Pat playing most likely his best game for the Swans, Pedro, Sainty & Keefy dominating the center clearances and the forwards locking the ball in the forward 50 in an impressive display.

Full forward Leigh Rees showed his overhead skills was going to be a handful for the Minnesota defense, and the likes of the 2 Nolans, Doddsy, Dougy Malcolm, Dorsett, Henry Knoop all doing their bit to turn a defensive action into a scoring opportunity. Such was the domination in the first quarter the Freeze didn’t look close to scoring and failed to register a single point.

The 2nd quarter was a continuation of the first with the Chicago on-ballers taking advantage of the clever ruck taps from Revo Ruckman Ponyboy and working strongly together to clear the ball and deliver effectively into the forward line. Chicago’s defence held together by club stalwarts Hoyt & Prez Poncho, along with first gamer James Rapley & Russ holding the Freeze game breaker, Tiger to a few inneffective touches, were tried only slightly but held strong and worked well to clear the footy when the time came. Not being quite as wasteful in front of the big sticks the Swans were able to extend their lead with another couple of goals while the the Freeze still couldn’t get themselves on the scoreboard.

The Swans went into the main break with a commanding lead, 5.9 (39) to the Freeze 0.0 (0).

No score in the first half would be eating away at the Freeze and we knew they would rebound from such a one sided first half and with a little bit of luck and some classy play from a few of their guns, Zach & Tiger managed to finally score. Still, the Chicago backline kept the visitors busy and provided a great springboard for their forward thrusts. Fitzy & Nolan Schmelzer came out on the wings and played like men possessed; Fitzy really did turn back the clock on Saturday. This type of form from these two blokes makes for a difficult match up for the opposition.

Even with Minnesota kicking a couple of quick goals the Swans still won the quarter kicking 3 majors of their own to extend their lead to 45 points. it was clever play that won the premiership quarter, working in numbers, leading hard and not afraid to take the opposition on when it counted. A couple of key attacks from patiently going backwards to progress forwards was a clear indication that the Chicago boys weren’t only playing harder than their opponents but also working smarter.

The last quarter was more of the same. The midfield didn’t let up, full back Hoyt, Fitzy were almost toying with their opponents thrusting the ball repeatedly into the forward line, and kicking almost as many goals in 20 mins as they had in the previous 3 quarters. Even the midfielders were sharing the honours desperate to get their name in the paper.

Minnesota did manage to score another couple of goals but it was too little too late. The domination shown by the Chicago Swans was highlighted by an an absolutely fantastic end to end goal which the Freeze had no answer to. Young Pat El Zoghbi capped off a magic day with a goal on the siren.

In the end the Swans ran out 70 point victors 14-14 (98) to Minnesota 4-4 (28). It was great effort by Chicago who were keen to round out their season with a comprehensive 4 quarter effort leading into the final few weeks before Nationals in October.

If the boys can take this effort and keep moving forward then there is a most definite chance that they can bring back more Silverware from Austin and continue their climb to the upper ranks of the USAFL.