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Piranhas Take a Bite Out of Rhinos 0

While the Piranhas celebrated, the Rhinos were left to lick their wounds and count the cost of their first loss of the season. In a heart wrenching moment for all Rhino and Chicago fans in general, Gordon Ambrosino went down with an apparent knee injury in the last quarter, effectively killing any chance for a Rhino comeback and putting the United team in disarray as they set themselves to duke it out with a vastly improved Cincinatti in two weeks. While the extent of the injury wont be known for a few days, fingers are being crossed at Burgmann Towers.

From the opening bounce it was obvious this was going to be a cracker of a game. The star studded Piranhas kicked the first two through Hoyt and Beau before the Rhinos hit back through McCoombe who looked to be in terrific form again. The Piranhas dominated the quarter but were unable to convert with some desperate defending from Rhinos Fenton, Pat Hoyt and Case. Deri Morgan popped up late to score a major and at the first break, heads were being scratched in the Rhino huddle. The Piranhas had the momentum and Kastilahn demanded more out of his lads as he sniffed an upset.

At the break, LP 3.1: 19 v WV 1.3: 9

The Rhinos hit back in the second with some lovely passages of play. McClamroch continued his marvellous form on a flank that will one day be named after him. Ambrosino started to get a lot of the ball and managed to have 4 pings at goal, but unluckily for the rhinos, all were minors. Wolfe was starting to dominate both in the ruck and around the ground and it was all of a sudden looking very powder blue. The Piranhas however had other ideas and with Beau having a field day on the flank and the Piranha runners in Oscar Meyer, Deri Morgan, Betty Palmer and Ryan Hayes starting to get more of the ball the tide turned again. A bubbly Mustard was giving the Rhino defenders headaches and Hoyt started to find room in the wide open Piranha forward line. But like the Rhinos, Lincoln Park weren’t able to convert where it mattered most and at the long break it was LP 3.5: 23 v WV 1.8: 14.

The Rhinos sniffed a comeback and they took it right up to the Piranhas. Wolfe continued his domination in the center and Ambrosino was running riot but Kastilahn had a few tricks of his own. He moved a quiet MacGlashan to full forward and Mustard to center half back on first gamer Dave who was playing a great game for the Rhinos. Mustard was able to give the Piranhas the jolt they needed as his constant delivery to Beau, Betty, Oscar and one of the games best in Deri Morgan set up numerous forward thrusts where an overworked Rhino defense struggled to contain the Piranha numbers. Oscar Meyer broke free to kick a long bomb to extend the Piranha lead and Betty Palmer bagged himself one as the Piranhas threatened to blow the game apart before the Rhinos hit back. A busy Jezza Morgan who had his best game of the season started getting a lot of the ball and the ever impressive Ambrosino found a leading McCoombe who finally got the Rhinos second.

At the orange break it was LP 5.9: 39 to a terribly inaccurate WV 2.11: 23

With his charges tiring and the Piranhas threatening, the Rhinos threw an injured Miller up front to see if he could spark a revival but it was all in vain as the Piranhas dominated the last quarter. Against superior numbers, the Rhinos tried to hold out the inevitable but after Oscar Meyer kicked a beauty from 40, the game was over and the only thing that could make it worse was a major injury and low and behold, it came with the shocking knee injury suffered by Gordo. To rub salt into the Rhino wounds, a classic mongrel punt from Big Al fell into the arms of his captain and DK kicked one of his very rare goals, the perfect icing on the victorious cake for the embattled leader who will enjoy this victory for a long time.

Final scores in this one were LP 7.13: 55 to WV 2. 13: 25 meaning an incredible 26 points to 9 goals were kicked, possibly some sort of record.

For the Piranhas it was a well deserved victory as they look to kick start their season. The run they achieved out of the backline and their delivery to their forwards must have pleased Kastilahn. A return to form from Deri Morgan and Betty Palmer and the good form of himself brought a smile to the face of DK. New recruit Rohan played well and will be much better for the trot.

The Rhino hierachy though must be very concerned that their season just went down the toilet with the injury to Ambrosino. Drake will be pleased with the fight shown by his lads but in the end, a loss is a loss and this will be a bitter pill to swallow as the Rhinos go into the bye week.

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.