News

May 10, 2009, 7:02 pm

On May 16th and 17th, 2009, the first ever annual Australia.com Canadian National Championships of Australian Rules Football, sponsored by Tourism Australia, will be held in Toronto, Ontario.

The tournament will see eight Australian Rules football teams from across Canada competing over the weekend at Humber North College from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on Saturday the 16th and Sunday the 17th. It will be a weekend for all to enjoy — we encourage everyone to come out and enjoy the festivities and see our athletes in action. It will be an opportunity for both Canadians and Australians living in Ontario to have fun supporting the mix of Canadian and Australian players, have something to eat and even get involved with the junior football clinics available for kids of all ages.

We are excited to be able to showcase the development of Australian Rules football here in Ontario. It is Australia's national sport and has something that appeals to everyone as it brings the physical contact of hockey, the ball skills of soccer, Gaelic football and rugby all together for one fantastic sport" says Brendan Bell, coordinating member of the OAFL.

Tourism Australia is the major sponsor of this year's national titles as it's coinciding with G'day Toronto — an exciting week of events in Toronto that will showcase Australian sport, culture, food, wine, top Aussie vacation ideas and celebrate the close business links between the two great countries. Australia week will be running in Toronto from May 12-16th.

Mr. Bell said "it is a privilege to host the first ever National Championships here in Toronto and it gives us great pride to celebrate a sport that has been played in Canada since 1989. The OAFL has been growing rapidly over recent years and we are getting stronger with each year. It is an additional bonus to have Tourism Australia support this event; we are very honoured to have them on board with us for the first year that this event is running and are proud to have the Championship named after their website". Australia.com is Australia's official tourism website.

We are encouraging everyone to come walkabout during Australia week and partake in all the events. For more information on Australia week, please visit www.australia.com.

For additional information please contact: Brendan Bell, 416-368-4310, bb@minepros.com

 

May 10, 2009, 6:58 pm

Saturday May 9^th saw the new look Guelph Gargoyles have their first hit out for 2009 against their opponents from down Highway 6 the Hamilton Wildcats. The coaching staff from Guelph elected to play the entire rookie roster that was available for the game with the Cats electing to do the same. The game got underway with Matt Newark, current Gargoyles ruckman blowing the whistle in his first appearance as an umpire; he is usually seen abusing them from the playing field so nice to see him the other side of the coin for once.

 With the game underway and players taking up unfamiliar positions on the field it was Guelph backline player Jason Fox playing at full forward who was standing out. “Foxy” obviously looking for a promotion up the ground this year was on fire taking some great marks and bagging a nice goal in the first quarter and continuing to create opportunities during his reign in the forward line.

 During the second quarter the weather was not cooperating with some rain beginning and persisting for the rest of the game making the play a little sloppy for the remaining quarters. The rookies began to get a handle on the game after some initial butterflies in the first quarter. Andrew “Pommy” Pilkington had a huge game taking a spectacular mark and was creating space all day with his speed. Mark “Skinny Knees” Wettlaufer excelled from half time in and showed some great commitment at the ball. Don “Flash” Heseltine showed that his years as a volleyball player have given him some serious vertical as he saved a certain goal with a nice touch on the ball just as it was about to sail over the goal line.

 New Australian additions Neil “Narna” La Fontaine had a good day in the backline although was penalized regularly for high tackles that he claims were below the shoulder. The executive have requested he head to the optometrist for an evaluation of his vision :).  Daniel “Hodgy” Hodgkin was throwing himself around on the ground and bagged a very nice goal claiming he wants to displace Carl “Full Forward” O’Brien from his spot this year. Ben “Franken” Steinbacher had a good day following the ball in the middle as did Daniel “Curly” Curll in his first match in Canada.

 A very fit Travis “Doylie” Doyle had a great game at ruck showing that the pre-season fitness regime has paid off running the ground all day. Other standouts were Adam Millen with the same courageous play that saw him take out the rookie of the year in 2008 displayed all day. Nathan Millar newly returned from his stint in Ottawa at University showing he hasn’t lost any speed and a knack for taking impossible marks. Matt Bannon also had a big day and looks the fittest this writer has seen him in 5 years. Jeff Borysiewicz was tearing the field apart again with some quality play.  Dave Maurer kicked a great goal combining numerous hand passes and follows to finally get it over the line.  Matt Bannon who captained the team on the day awarded the "tap & fill" to Mark "Skinny Knees" Wettlaufer for his best on ground performance on the day, congratulations Mark.

The game was played for the most part in a hard but fair fashion that the boys from Guelph have come to expect from the Hamilton Wildcats was pretty much incident free. The score didn’t really matter on the day with no-one really keeping track but it appears that Guelph came out on top. It was a great opportunity for the coaches to try most players in positions they might not normally fill and see what the squad strengths/weaknesses were, all in all a very successful and promising day.

 The Gargoyles would like to thank Hamilton for traveling to Guelph for the game and looks forward to meeting them during the regular season which kicks off May 23rd.

May 8, 2009, 4:17 pm

May 4, 2009, 1:13 pm
Beginning Tuesday May 5th practice will move to Margaret Greene Park from 6:45pm - 8:30pm.  Map to the field is located under the locations tab of this website.  New players always welcome to join us, just bring a water bottle and look for the cricket pitch on the main oval which is where we will be.

Apr 30, 2009, 9:43 pm

Apr 20, 2009, 8:53 pm

Apr 14, 2009, 9:54 am
Beginning Tuesday April 14th @ 6:30pm the team moves outside to the University of Guelph practice fields.  The field is located on Johnson Green at the corner of College & Gordon Streets in Guelph in front of the large clock overlooking the park.  Parking is available directly in front of the field (enter off College Ave) or across the street.  Bring your cleats and some water.  New players just introduce yourselves to the guys at the field.  Outdoor practice will continue every Tues/Thurs night at the University until May when Tuesday nights move to Margaret Green Park, Thursdays stay at the University.

Apr 9, 2009, 1:17 pm
April 9th sees what we hope to be the last indoor practice session before we move outside on Tuesday April 14th at the University of Guelph (Johnson Green - Cnr College & Gordon).  Today's practice will take place at Sir John A MacDonald Secondary School in the Gym on Waterloo.  Bonding beers after the session in Waterloo.