FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information contact:
Stuart Rackham
Media and Public Relations Director
Dallas Magpies Australian Rules Rules Football
Club, Inc.
Phone: (214) 477-3277
E-mail: stuart.rackham@brinker.com
THE DALLAS MAGPIES TO LOOK TO TAKE FLIGHT AGAINST
SWANSHOST
CINCINNATI IN ROUND THREEBEGIN QUEST FOR 2004 MAAFL CHAMPIONSHIPTRAVEL TO CHICAGO TO
CONTINUE MAAFL DOMINANC
The Dallas Magpies Australian Rules Football Club,
looking to bounce back from its last-quarter loss against Chicago, hosts its
second home Mid-American Australian Rules Football League match against the
Cincinnati Dockers on June 26.
The game between the league
rivals will begin at 2 p.m. at Lookout
Park in
Richardson.
Dallas
leads the all-time series 2-0.The Dallas Magpies Australian Rules Rules Football
Club, looking to maintain its unblemished
record, hits the road for the first time this season for a crucial Mid-American Australian Rules
Football League match against the Chicago Swans on June 5. seeks to avenge repeat its only league
loss from last yeardominance over the Chicago Swans when itthey begins travel to Chicago for their first road game of the 2004
Mid-American Australian Football League season on JuneMay 15th against the defending champion St. Louis
Blues.
The game
between the league rivals will begin at 2 p.m. at Crowley Park
in Richardson.
Dallas leads the all-time series 3-1.
Last year, the Magpies, in its
first year in the MAAFL, traveled to Cincinnati, and, in a fine display of
football, proved to be too strong for the Dockers. What started out as an even
battle in the first quarter opened out to be a convincing 12-goal victory for
the traveling team. The final score: Dallas 16.9 (105)
to Cincinnati 4.10 (34).
At the 2002 USAFL National Tournament, these teams
only other previous meeting, Dallas was again the comfortable victor, 7.4 (46) to 4.2 (26).
The Dockers will be seeking
revenge against the ‘Pies, and to notch their first victory in the series
rivalry. The MAAFL match will be a crucial game for both squads as they try to
get a leg up in the 2004 league race and the coveted automatic Division I bid
in the USAFL National Tournament. Dallas is now a game back of Atlanta, which
is 2-0 in MAAFL games this year. Cincinnati is yet to win a game at 0-2.
The Magpies, after a dramatic
come-from-behind victory over defending league champion St. Louis in the
opening round, fell to 1-1 in MAAFL play after the loss to Chicago. The Swans,
who trailed by as many as five goals in the second half, staged a furious
fourth-quarter rally to pull out a five-point win. With key road games coming
up against current league leader Atlanta and a contending Nashville squad, it
will be crucial for the Magpies to gain a home win against the struggling
Dockers.
With the Magpies playing at
home, and with the history in the series, the edge should go to the Magpies in
this growing rivalry.
Last year, the Magpies, in its
first year in the MAAFL, and Blues and,were locked in a tight
struggle all - season for the
league crown. Both teams finished with matching 4-1
records, but the Blues took the crown on percentage
points, thanks mainly to a thorough drubbing of an undermanned and wounded
Magpies squad to win the league crown on percentage points.
Figure 1: celebrate
last year’s victory over the Swansin
front of the score board after last years victory
The Swans will be seeking revenge
against the ‘Pies. In their
last meeting oOn April .ust26, 2003, the visiting -Magpies were
trampled by a St. Louis stampedea thorough the of the season. The Blues, showing no
mercy, running up the score for
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ed a 68-point home
win, propelling themselves to the a first place tie with St.
Louis in the MAAFL championship. Thus and an automatic
at-large berth in
Division I of the United States
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Australian
Football League National Championship.
Figure 2 : Magpies fly high.
The bitter
league defeat marked only one chapter in a growing rivalry between the two
teams.
The
Dallas-St. Louis rivalry was further stoked on May 17 when the teams met again
in a non-league match on a neutral field during the Kansas City Classic tournament.
St. Louis, which before the game took pleasure in exercising the bragging
rights won earlier in the season, fell to the Magpies, which snuck away with an
8-point come-from-behind victory.
A 65-yard
drop punt, kicked through the goal posts by captain Stuart Rackham with less
than 30 seconds to go, stole the match and propelled Dallas to an at-large
berth in the Division 1 USAFL Nationals. The win also earned Dallas the No. 5
seed in the country, while St. Louis dropped to No. 8. The USAFL rankings committee
had spoken, and St. Louis wasn’t pleased with the perception that it was not
the top team in Mid America. With St. Louis and Dallas being the only two
members of the MAAFL to make the Division 1 tournament, it was not a surprise
when the teams were split at the national tournament, with Dallas in Group A
and St. Louis landing in Group B. Neither Dallas nor St. Louis won their
respective group to move on to the National Championship game, which meant the
season’s rubber match was not meant to be.
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The MAAFL kickoff match will be a
crucial game for both squads as they try to get a leg up in the 2004 league
race and the coveted automatic Division I bid. are sis stheiritsfor the league opener in the opening round of the MAAFLo handed Chicago a 93-point
drubbing.ere they were comfortably beaten by a very strong
Atlanta team.While tT, meanwhile,began the season by ingedof ,9-point ll in Round 1
This time the Magpies have the home
field advantage, the series edge since they have had the edge
in the Magpies/Swans rivalry, leading the lifetime series 4-2, and that coupled with
the disappointment of being runners-up for the 2003 MAAFL championship should give
the Magpies an edge in this heated rivalry.
The
2004 Magpies MAAFL Schedule/Results:
|
|
Opponent |
Results |
|
|
|
May 15 |
vs. St. Louis |
W 69-60 |
||
|
June 5 |
@ Chicago |
L 89-84 |
||
|
June 26 |
vs. Cincinnati |
|
||
|
July 24 |
@ Nashville |
|
||
|
Aug. 28 |
@ Atlanta |
|
||
|
Sept. 11 |
vs. Milwaukee |
|
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 in i
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internationalI during international competition.
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, visit www.dallasfooty.com or e-mail
the recruiting department (recruiting@dallasfooty.com).
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