THE MAGPIES DEFEAT ATLANTA ON THE ROAD

Magpie Press - May 21^st 2006, Atlanta

The Dallas Magpies notched up their second win of the year on the road against the Atlanta Kookaburras on Saturday afternoon in perfect Atlanta May weather. The Magpies making their first travel game of the year were worried that injuries from key players Benjie Bliss (groin), Jared Ray (ankle), Glen Paton (shoulder), Grant Cambell (wrist), and Jess Wortman (finger) were going to affect the outcome of this game, but evening things out saw Atlanta put 3 of their key players (2 revolution players) on injury reserve prior to the game - It was a battle of attrition from the beginning.

Atlanta won the first bounce from center, moving the ball into their forward line and they controlled play for the first 5 minutes of the game. The tough Magpie defense held strong through the legs of Justin Chance and Jason Ellis who repeatedly beat their opponents to the fall of the ball, while full-back Stuart Rackham put a clinic on how to defend against a taller opponent. When the Magpie midfield got their act together, the running game started to click. Drew Schneck, Brenn Miller and Stephen Moore began to take over in the middle of the ground. Moore fed off the strong marking off Schneck to deliver the ball on a dime to Daniel Russo who marked and goaled three times in as many possessions, which Scott Cobb marked strong in the goal square to add the other goal of the quarter.

At the end of the first quarter, because of the straight kicking of Dallas, the score read Dallas 4.2 (26) to Atlanta 1.1 (7).

The second quarter started the same way that the first quarter ended. The Dallas midfield started to dominate the running game which stemmed from the center bounce battle that Jon Samuelson was controlling. Atlanta tried no less than three different big men against Samuelson, but none could do any better than the previous. The second quarter saw the coming-of-age of Sebastian Aguiari. The little man from Italy was everywhere in the second quarter, picking up close to 10 kicks, delivering the ball in to the forward line where Russo and Cobb converted two and one goals respectively, bringing Russo’s goal-haul to 5 for the half.

At the half, the score read Dallas 7.6 (48) to Atlanta 1.3 (9).

Atlanta came out after the half time break with the same determination that they started the game with. Atlanta big man, Brent Bacon moved to center half back to stem the flow of the ball through Schneck, and it seemed to be working as Atlanta notched up a couple of quick goals to show that they were not giving up just yet. Russo had plenty of opportunities to add to his goal haul but inaccurate kicking saw him only kicked 1 goal and 2 points. One great passage of play that started all the way from Rackham at full-back, and the ball passed through 6 Magpie players using the handball to perfection all the way to Ed Nickle in the goal square for his first goal of the day.

Third quarter the score saw Atlanta kick 3 goals in the quarter to climb their way back into the game. Dallas 9.8 (62) to Atlanta 4.4 (28).

The final quarter of the game proved that Dallas’s running game was well and truly on top. Stephen Moore, likely the Magpies fittest player, dominated through the center of the game, and looked like Atlanta hadn’t the answer for him. Russo moved lose into the back line, and Jason Ellis moved up onto the half forward flank where he got lose a number of times to kick 2 great running goals. Schneck add a couple of his own (after missing one from the same spot) and Dallas closed out the game comfortably for a well earned road victory.

The final score was:

Dallas 13.11 (89) def Atlanta 5.5 (35)

Best on Ground (Dallas): Russo, Moore, Ellis, Aguiari, Rackham, Samuelson

Goals (Dallas): Russo (6.3), Cobb (2.2), Schneck (2), Ellis (2), Nickle (1)

Individual Player Statistics:

Number	Name	Kicks	Handballs	Marks	Goals	Behinds
2	Chris Emerson	13	4	5
5	Sebastian Aguiari	21	3	2		2
4	Chris Cordry	0	0	0
7	Stuart Rackham	15	12	5
8	Daniel Russo	22	4	14	6	3
9	Drew Schneck	11	8	11	2
10	Jason Ellis	13	6	3	2
11	ChiChi Rodriguez	9	4	3
12	Justin Chance	14	6	4
14	Jess Wortman	0	0	0
17	Brenn Miller	10	4	4
18	Robert Belton	3	2	1
19	Ed Nickle	12	4	4	1	1
20	Robbie Rothlien	0	0	0
21	Scott Hunt	0	0	0
36	Stephen Moore	18	9	5		3
42	Scott Cobb	9	2	5	2	2
77	Jon Samuelson	7	5	5

About the Dallas Magpies:

The Dallas Magpies are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, dedicated to fostering national and international amateur sports competition as well as promoting a cultural exchange between Americans and Australians. The Magpies participate in the Mid American Australian Football League, a division of the United States Australian Football League, and also have a player, Brandon Blankenship, competing on the U.S. National team internationally. The team is active in promoting the Australian national sport and Australian culture through clinics at area schools and by sponsoring events such as the annual Australia Day and ANZAC Day celebrations in the Metroplex.

For more details on organizing a school clinic, playing footy with the team or supporting the Dallas Magpies Australian Football Club, e-mail the recruiting department (recruiting@dallasfooty.com).