With the adoption of the modified McIntyre system by the OAFL for 2010 the finals matchups for 9/11 look like this.

Game 1: Toronto Eagles (1) v Central Blues (2)

Game 2: Etobicoke Kangaroos (3) v BroadviewHawks (6)

Game 3: Guelph Gargoyles (4) v Toronto Dingos (5)

The OAFL website has a good description of how the system works and who plays who in round 2.

Game previews of these matches will follow on the website early next week.

The final round of 2010 regular season football for the Guelph Gargoyles took place in Guelph against the 2-11 High Park Demons. The Gargoyles resting some of their roster due to minor injuries in preparation for the upcoming finals series fielded a team of 22 players for the game with a couple of last minute exclusions on game day.

Guelph was looking to still ensure a win, as it would hopefully provide the opportunity to host a home final in the first round against the Toronto Dingos on September 11th. The game time delayed a little as Roscoe Heilman in his final swansong as an OAFL umpire worked his way through some confusing directions to the ground. An emotional Roscoe was welcomed by both teams to his last game with the whistle and going on the respect showed to him during the game and afterwards his efforts were appreciated.

Travis Doyle returned to the ruck position with Chris Cunning busy fighting fires in Guelph and was supported by a talented midfield structure. The heat of the day requiring numerous rotations through the middle and elsewhere to rest and re-hydrate. With the game underway the Gargoyles flooded forward and were hitting new forward target Andy “Kerm” Mathews on the chest at will with some great leads out of full forward. Kerm recovering from the effects of a chest infection and jetlag on the day looked solid up front taking a few kicks to get his radar lined up but then began to bang on the goals. The Gargoyles adding to their “impressive” behinds tally for the season in the first quarter with 8 and 4 goals to round them out, taking a lead of 32 points into the first break.

Acting coach Ben “Robbo” Roberts requested that the forwards slow things down a little and make the most of the opportunities available in the second quarter. Scott “Blinky” Rowe was looking ever dangerous through the midfield/wing and provided numerous kicks into the forward line where Andy Mathews and Dave Maurer were taking some quality grabs. Dave in particular busting some packs open to come away with the ball and goal. The Demons having a hard time of it keeping up with the speed of the game as Guelph pounced on any loose balls and moved forward with some accurate hand ball/kick combinations.

The second quarter saw the team giving up a single behind to lead by 75 points and go into the long break after adding 6 goals to their tally. Neil “Narna” LaFontaine playing his last game for the club in front of his parents before his return to Australia in September having a great game when the ball managed to find it’s way into the Gargoyles back line.

With the 3^rd quarter underway the team was challenged to continue pushing hard and not rest on any laurels. The Demons were looking to fight back in the 3^rd quarter and came out hard with Adam Fraser getting plenty of ball but unable to find any real solid targets up front in the Demons forward line. High Park having a difficult time overcoming the Gargoyles kick-out set-up, as the ball was kept in the Demons defensive zone time after time. Adam Millen showing his hardness at the ball on numerous occasions during the game as he threw caution to the wind and came out on top.

With the Gargoyles comfortable lead at 3-quarter time the team elected to sit some of it’s key players and modify the player structure slightly. Dave Maurer was obviously up to the task as he led into space time and time again to take a number of quality marks and rack up his goal tally whilst the team shared the goal kicking around. The Demons were able to test the Gargoyles a little in the final quarter as some lapses of judgment led to players failing to man up on their opponent. This allowed the Demons to score a couple of goals during the quarter. Something the team will need to be mindful of in 2 weeks as they take on the Toronto Dingos in a 4^th v 5^th match up for the first round of finals footy for 2010.

In the end the Gargoyles were too strong for the Demons and ran out convincing winners 19.22.136 to 3.6.24

Goals:            Andrew Mathews (5), Dave Maurer (4), Greg Logel (2), Jeff Borysiewicz (2), Loi Van Leeuwen, Aiden McQuoid, Scott Rowe, Zack MacDonald, Ben Roberts & Travis Doyle

Best Players:            Greg Logel, Dave Maurer, Andrew Mathews, Scott Rowe, Daniel Hussey, Nathan Millar, Zack MacDonald & Jeff Borysiewicz.

This weekend sees the final regular season round of OAFL competition take place and the Gargoyles are set to face the Demons for the second time this year. What can we expect from the game?

Guelph Gargoyles:

The team has been improving every week over the course of this month, narrowly losing to the Eagles and convincingly beating out the Hawks last weekend. The last 2 games have seen the entire squad lift the performance level and work ethic all across the ground. Some players are carrying some niggling injuries and will be rested this week but the team also welcomes back some players this weekend and adds a new team member up front into the full forward position. Andrew “Kerm” Matthews joins the Gargoyles from the Tasmanian State League competition and will be looking to make an impact on Saturday.

The coaching staff has selected a strong, mobile squad for Saturday with a solid back line made up of Canadian players and a single Australian in Dan Murray. The midfield receives some small tweaks seeing Travis Doyle return to the rucking position with Chris Cunning having work commitments. Scott Rowe, Ben Roberts & Jeff Borysiewicz will be feeding off Travis Doyle to move the ball forward towards the targets up front. The forward line this week is minus Matt Newark but still looks particularly strong with some potent team members lurking across both the half and full forward lines.

A full bench of 6 interchange players will see numerous rotations on Saturday as the Gargoyles execute the game plan for Saturday. The team has 7 Australians rostered this week so will have to watch that there is one on the bench at all times to abide by the Canadian content rule. The Gargoyles with a win this weekend could secure 4^th place on the OAFL ladder pending that the Toronto Dingos are not able to upset the Central Blues who would then move to 5^th.

High Park Demons:

The Demons have experienced a mix of emotions this year. The upset of the year where they destroyed the Broadview Hawks a distant memory as they dropped their last game to wooden spooners the Ottawa Swans and received hidings from the Dingos, Hawks and Blues in recent weeks.

With OAFL president Marty Walter putting his weight behind the team this year they have a lot of rookie talent that is still learning the game interspersed with some quality Canadian and Australian players. The Demons are not a team that can be taken lightly as they still have the ability to upset anyone on a given day as the Hawks experienced earlier this year.

Dale “Floppy” Simnet and Adam Fraser are 2 guys the Gargoyles will need to watch on Saturday. Numerous other Demons players are also capable of creating havoc for the opposition so it will be critical that the Gargoyles go into the game focused on a win and leave the “ got it in the bag” mindset at home.

Game time is 12:00pm at Margaret Greene Park in Guelph. The Gargoyles will be hosting the Demons for some liquid refreshments after the game as a thank you for a favour paid to the Gargoyles earlier in the year when Guelph was found to be sans jerseys for a game. The Demons allowed the Gargoyles to play the game regardless in a very sporting gesture.