Dallas Magpies Fly High in First MAAFL Win

Coaches Corner.

May 15^th 2004.

Figure 1. Russo dashing through the center.	In what was undoubtedly one of the most hard fought, tough and thrilling games in MAAFL history the Dallas Magpies proved to be too strong, defeating 2003 MAAFL champions St. Louis by 9 points on Saturday. Revenging last year's MAAFL loss in St. Louis, the Dallas side was determined to bring home the win. On home soil in front of the largest Magpies crowd in recent history, the cheering crowd spurred on the Magpies as they dug deep to fight back in the last quarter and pull off a great victory. It was a close game and neither side stretched their lead by more than a couple of goals throughout the entire day. Full credit must go to the Blues who brought a very strong and competitive side to Texas. Throughout the day, St. Louis proved their strengths of fitness, agility and height, as they ran the ball and showed skilled disposals. But it was a better Dallas side on the day that came away with
the all-important four MAAFL points. The first quarter was pretty even, both sides going goal for goal. Led in the middle of the ground by little ball getter Anthony Guterras, Dallas showed some speed and accuracy in delivering the ball to the forward line and managed to convert on several occasions. Guterras was well supported in the middle by Justin Chance, Chris Cordry and the two big Ruckmen Aaron Gunn and Jon Samuelson. The second quarter saw much of the same as the Magpies and Blues battled it out to see who was tougher - there were a lot of great running plays, hard hitting and body work. Full credit must go to the Magpie backline players who constantly held off forward advances by the running St.Louis on ballers. Daniel Russo played a terrific game, picking up 21 possessions and running the Dallas defense. Other backline players worthy of a mention were Scott Hunt, Brandon Blankenship, Justin Nash, Ross McLaren and Ritchie Champion who all showed just how good they were, playing a top four quarter match.
Throughout the day it was the accuracy of Dallas' forwards Stuart Rackham and Glen Paton who kicked a combined for five goals and created many other scoring opportunities for the running players that kept the scores close. Some outstanding footwork and keen eyes helped Dallas remain a few points up at the last change as the teams entered the final 20 minutes. St. Louis kicked the first couple of goals in the last quarter to move ahead by 3 points and really giving it all but it was an inspired Dallas who wanted the victory more. Some desperation around the ground and in front of goal led to a Dallas goal, putting the home side up by 3 points with only minutes left to play. The Blues were starting to feel the effects of a very physical game as Dallas powered on to kick one last goal as the siren sounded to notch up a convincing 9 point win. Looking back at the player possession statistics it became noticeable that Dallas movement of the ball by handball wasn’t as silky as it has been in previous 2004 games. If you compare the previous games against Austin you can see that against a stronger side such as St. Louis that Dallas were forced to hurry kicks instead of using the handball option. This is one of the things we will work on in the coming weeks as we gear up for our next MAAFL foe, the Chicago Swans. We will need to utilize the running players more as we get nearer to the Nationals.		Figure 2: Rackham too strong.
Dallas now leads the rivalry 3-1, including two straight now, and will look forward to the next battle. If this game is any indication of what is to come this year, the MAAFL competition will be one of the strongest in the USA. Thanks to all who participated in the game through your loud cheering and supporting, it made the day a great success. Cheers, Super-coach-stu
St Louis Blues Pictures 1.