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A perfect day for Saturday footy at Waveland. Sponsor’s Day for the Swans, hosting the Columbus Jackaroos who have played 5 games already this year with a 4/1 win/loss record. The Jacks no doubt would be pumped for this one, having lost a heartbreaker in the final last year against us at Nationals. This was the Swans third game of the year, both away losses recorded to Minnesota & Nashville a couple weeks ago.

Both teams had solid squads and this was going to be a tough one to win, even at home. A 75 degree day with the wind blowing to the Southern end, worth maybe a goal or two. Pony Boy won the toss and decided the Swans would kick against it. A decision in hindsight worked against us, Columbus came out of the blocks quickly in the and had our backman under siege, if it hadn’t been for their poor kicking we may have been staring at a large deficit at quarter time. 24 to 0 at the first break.

The second quarter saw the Swans work their way back into the game. Big Al, Oscar & Sainty kicked majors to get us back into the game. Mike Panek came into the forward line and gave us some much needed bite up there. The on ballers began to work their way into the game. Pedro, Keefy, Pat, Sars, EZ, Alex were in and under, and this seemed to ignite the Swans into action. The trusted backline led by Hoyt, Poncho, newcomer Alastair Martin, Conway and Xavier were unlucky to have two goals scored against them. But the Swans found the spark they had been looking for in the first quarter, and were able to match the intensity with the Jackaroos and eventually won the quarter.

The third quarter turned into a dour struggle with no team prepared to give an inch, Josh Edwards was a welcome return to the Swans line up and was working his way into the game. Pony Boy continued on his merry way giving the running lads first use, but while we had quite a bit of the play could not apply score board pressure. We missed a couple of crucial shots on goal, which could have made a difference.

Heading into the last quarter, Columbus held an 8 point lead. We had played well to get ourselves back into the match, winning the second and third quarters. The boys were confident we had enough left in the tank to get us over the line. The Boys from Ohio had a different idea and really ran all over us in the final quarter, piling on 5 goals to 2. Running out 34 point winners in the end. One of the highlights of the last quarter was a goal scored on the run by ruck man Pony Boy.

All in all a pretty good effort by the lads, we were slow off the mark but were able to claw ourselves back into and in the end were not fit enough to run out the match. Back to the drawing board for us, plenty of work to be done before Nationals in 5 weeks, and the 21st September when Minnesota come into town.

Blue Jacket & Goose – Jason “Pony Boy” Wilhelm

BOG (Blue Jacket): Jason Wilhelm
Oxford Landing Wine: Alistaire/Mckeegan
Golden Goose: Wade Porter

With 7 Metro games under our belts our Swans season kicked off on Saturday with 20 of us heading up to the Land of 10,000 Lakes to take on the Freeze, who are the current Division II Premiers. A perfect afternoon for football with the sun shining and what appeared to be a 3-4 goal breeze down the City end.

The Freeze were switched on from the outset and were able to quell any forward movment by the Swans. Given we were aided by the breeze in the first quarter were unable to capitalize, heading into the first break 1 point in arrears. The second quarter saw the mid field for the Freeze gain the ascendency, Pony owned the aerial dual and in the end the Freeze roved his taps very well and gave our backman some real headaches. At this stage in the game the scoreboard was getting away from us, at half time the score 32 to 14.

After some soul searching at half time, the Swans came up and really took the game up to the Freeze and you could feel a momentum shift and all of a sudden the Swans got a sniff. Xavier went into the forward line after half time and made an instant impact, Big ‘soon to be wise’ Al battled all day against what must have seemed to be a wall of opposition. The mid field began to click and guys that had been relatively quiet, Keefy, Alex, Sars, Dougy, Rocky started to find the ball and create some quick movement into the forward, something that had been lacking in the first half.

We had outscored them in the 3rd quarter, and there was a buzz in the huddle about the fact we were still in it. The last quarter began with a real sense of urgency, Pony Boy began to give our mid fielders first use of the ball, this kick started some real genuine chances with quick movement into the forward line and all of a sudden opportunities began to present. Of the four behinds registered in the last quarter, three were from set shots, so to go down in the end by 9 points was a pretty reasonable effort given the first half performance being below par.

There were some really excellent efforts from the boys and to get so close with only 20 blokes gives us some real positives moving into the second half of the year. New Swan recruits and first gamers, Wade Porter, Quin McMillan, Alex Wallach, Andrew Woodman, showed us their value and ability and we look forward to having them be a string part of the group for the rest of the year.

Revolution ruckman, Jason Wilhelm seems to get better and better every time we play and am sure Revo Coach Bishop is excited knowing Pony Boy will be up for the challenge in the upcoming Parallel Cup in Edmonton, Alberta, CA on August 3rd.

A really good start to the year overall! I beleive as a Club and as individuals the programming this year has been beneficial. With the mid season break upon us, it gives a bit of breathing space before we head into the business end of the year.

Chicago’s Jason Holmes obviously got his directions mixed up when he asked where Swans training would be held this week. Instead of making the journey to Waveland field to prepare for the weekends match against Minnesota, Jason jumped on a flight to Australia and is training with the Sydney Swans with hopes on winning his name on Sydney’s international rookie list.

Anthony Hendrie, coach of the Chicago Swans has been running Jason through the motions at training and has been impressed not only with his raw athleticism but with the speed in which he has picked up the game. “At some point someone joins the club and really impresses for a number of reasons; Jason is one of these guys. Once he hones his kicking & handball skills, his height and agility will put him in line to play a number of postions very well in our game. Something to be genuinely excited about!”

Club president Frank Bradley echoed those sentiments, “…after a couple practices and metro games he showed one thing only a few of the new American recruits to the game possessed, a desire to learn and get better every time he played. His enthusiasm for learning the game, paired with his physical abilities, will be what makes him a very appealing recruit for the Swans.”

Holmes is looking to emulate players like Canada’s Mike Pyke, Ireland’s Tadhg Kennelly and USA’s Eric Wallace to make an impact back in Australia. Jason’s 203cm frame has been a welcome sight down at Friday Night Metro games for all but the opposing ruckman. Winning almost every tap playing in the ruck, kicking four goals for the season and showing aggression through the packs to get the ball have shown his skills have come a long way in just three “Aussie Rules” footy matches.

One player who might be glad to see Holmes take an extended trip to Australia is Chicago’s starting ruckman and USA revolution player Jason Wilhelm who has been battling with the 6′ 8″ frame of Holmes in Chicago’s “Friday Night Footy” league this season. Wilhelm spent last season with the Gin Gin Eagles in country Western Australia and has done battle against quality opponents both in Australia and the US over his short 4 year aussie rules career. When asked about Holmes he wished the big man all the best, “… Jason is going to be something special. The kid has hands that just attract the ball, and stuck like glue. His ability to read situations and adapt, while constantly learning and asking what more he can do is inspiring. His size, ability and heart will take him far. I’m excited to see what he brings to the sport internationally and here in the US. Good luck mate!”

On the other side of the tap, Swans midfielder Doug Malcolm had this to say, “Playing against Jason feels like you’re going up against someone who is a foot taller than you. And maybe that’s because he is.” He went on to explain how it has helped improve everyones skills at the club. “…now you don’t have to be perfect with your kicks. Just put it up high and he’ll go get it.”

Jason will be in Australia for a two-week try out with the Sydney Swans and then will have a chance to visit with other AFL clubs. The Chicago Swans wish Jason all the best and hope he makes it back to the states in time for the USAFL Nationals in October.

Related links: AFL.com.au – US trio to train with Swans

Welcome back, Footy Fans, for yet another addition of Friday Night Footy at the Wavo. The storms that rolled through in the afternoon left the pitch a bit soggy, but that didn’t frighten the Lincoln Park Piranhas and Lincoln Square Tigers from lining up against one another in a fight for the top of the ladder. 1556 spectators looked on as the teams took their positions and got ready for the opening bounce.

The Piranhas got the scoring under way with Wade “Gun” Porter who slotted one through almost immediately, but also pulled his hammy as he kicked, leaving the Piranhas with one less on the bench for the entire game. After Porter went down, the Piranhas seemed out of sorts. Though there was solid opposition from Dan “Ginger” Khastilan the Tigers were relentless, and pumped the pill into the forward line. Al “Snaps” MacGlashan was on fire, with two goals. Little Nolan Schmelzer was up and about as well with one goal. A bright spot for the Piranhas was Doug “Boots” Malcolm who continues to have a strong season across half forward. Frank “Ponch” Bradley was his usual active self in the backline for Lincoln Park. His great work at ground level continues to defy logic for a tall backman. By the end of the first quarter, the Tigers were up 4.4.28 to the Piranhas 1.0.6

In the second quarter, Tiger Pedro “Corrigan” Jimenez had a beautiful center clearance… for the oppostion. A chorus of “GOOSE” followed. Ryan “Skullet” Daudelin was a force to be reckoned with in the forward line. He roved a beautiful tap by Jason “Ink” Wilhelm and put a goal on the board, and 2 for the quarter. Fellow Fish, Tim “Munster” Hermann was once again active in the middle of the ground, and had another great game kicking one goal on the evening. The Tigers answered through Alex “Wazza” Wallach who continued his good form, kicking one goal for the quarter. Brian “Package” Hoyt had another good game in defense for Lincoln Park, while Matt “Not Quite Webster” Webb seemed to have a nose for the footy. Tyler “Goose” Dorsett was his usual self, making great leads and putting on strong shepherds, some against the opposition and one in particular against an unexpecting teammate. At one point, the players realized that umpire Anthony “Razor” Hendrie had forgotten to check his watch for at least fifteen minutes resulting in the longest quarter in AFL history. At the end of it, the Tigers led the Piranhas 8.5.53 to 3.3.21.

After the long break, the players from both teams decided to pump up the volume. It was a battle of defenses as there was little scoring. Jason “Pippy” Schmelzer, Andrew “Sainty” St James, and Dan “Tiger Balm” Sarbacker really started to connect beautifully in the Piranha’s midfield. Russ “Rusty” Adams wasn’t his usual dominant self, but still provided plenty of ball to his teammates. Coming out of defense, Joe “Chuck Norris” Swierupski decided it was a great idea to clear the ball but instead kicked Piranha forward Joel “Nugget” Bennett’s shin causing him to leave the game. Quinton “Barbie-Q” McMillen consistenly found space on the wing. The goals didn’t see much action, but Umpire Biggsy felt the brunt of everyone’s aggression. Particularly Tiger Eric “Not So EZ” Zukowski who kicked straight from a set shot late in the quarter. Xavier “Big” Burton continued his excellent form collecting 32 posessions and most of those were contested. At the end of the third quarter it was the Tigers still leading the Piranhas: 8.6.54 to 4.6.30.

In the fourth quarter, the Piranhas really needed to come up with some magic while the Tigers simply needed to keep the Fish underwater. Tiger backman, Mike “Disco” Panek found himself lost in the forward line while Tiger Forward Paul “Gloves” Enzinger found himself lost in the back line. No one quite understood what happened, but it worked out for the better. Oscar “I finally got a vote” Meyer kicked a beautiful banana from the boundary for a goal. Keith “Charger” Campion was a monster at ground level, constantly winning the contested ball along with Mark Appel “IIe” who continues to impress in his first season. Andrew “No, I don’t look like Brian Lake” Woodman is starting to find his feet as the season progresses. All in all, it was a hotly contested game, but in the end it was the Tigers who ran away the victors. At the final siren it was Lincoln Square 9.7.61 to Lincoln Park 5.8.38.

Blue Jacket (BOG): Ryan Daudelin
Oxford Landing Wine: Xavier Burton / Jason Wilhelm
Golden Goose: Tyler Dorsett