A strong off-season of recruiting
has helped Aussie Rules Football team, the Dallas Magpies, comfortably beat the
Baton Rouge Tigers by 32 points.
The final score was: Dallas 5.13
(42) to Baton Rouge 1.4 (10).
On a perfect day for football the Dallas Magpies and Baton Rouge Tigers kicked off the 2005 season in front of an excited crowd, numbering over a hundred in Richardson, TX. A gusty 2-3 goal breeze favored the Tigers in the first quarter and saw the visiting side take an early lead, kicking the first goal in the opening minutes. Somehow spurred into action it was the youth and fitness of the ‘Pies that saw Dallas kick the next goal and never give up the lead again.
During the second quarter it
became evident that Dallas had some new players that were going to have an
impact on the game. Ruckman David Harding lead from the middle providing plenty
of drive while former Portland Power player, Benjie Bliss, constantly had the ball
in his hands and was impossible to contain. Another first gamer, Robbie
Rothlein laid on hard back-to-back tackles on defenders who never really got
back into the flow of the game. Dallas
had numerous opportunities in the second term but wasted some chances to go
further in front. They went into the main break with a small lead and it was
still anyone’s game.
The second half was much the same
as the first half – lots of play dominated by the ‘Pies but without goals being
the end result. Some great things came out of the third quarter as veterans
Ross McLaren, ChiChi Rodriguez and Doug Howard show some splashes of brilliance
through the half back line. All players had a number of important plays, which
kick started offensive moves and put Dallas in a winning situation.
Rookie Stephen Moore had the ball
bounce his way a few times and dodging a number of tiger players created a
great chance to score, as did senior player Glen Paton, one of the ‘Pies
veteran Australians.
In all it was a great weekend of Football
for both teams. Full credit must go to
the second year team, Baton Rouge who traveled interstate and played a fair,
tough and hard fought game.
Dallas now prepares to host the USAFL East vs. West All Star game on Saturday
April 30th, which is shaping up to be some of the best Footy that
will be played in the US this year. A
week following that clash Dallas will head north to Milwaukee for the Round 1
MAAFL clash.
Best Players:
3 Votes: Benjie Bliss
2 Votes: ChiChi Rodriguez
1 Votes: Ross McLaren
Thanks for supporting the ‘Pies