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The full game report for Round 6 is now posted. Click on Game schedule and then click June 22nd date and the report will come up or access via the news tab to your left.

Saturday June 28^th saw the Guelph Gargoyles travel to the Nations capital for the second annual Canada Day Cup.   The tradition was started last year by the Ottawa Swans in a game against the Central Blues, the other team that traveled to Ottawa in 2007 for a an exhibition match to develop the Swans for their entry into the OAFL in 2008.   The Gargoyles were happy to take on the newly formed Swans in what both teams hope will become an annual tradition.   Rideau Carleton Raceway provided the venue and is certainly an impressive facility as the only ground with change room facilities and a large crowd capacity that well and truly impressed the Gargoyles.   The Ottawa Swans are doing a fantastic job promoting the game and have to be the best managed club in the league which can only translate to a win for their on field team in the near future.

The game got underway after the coin toss by Olympic gold medallist Linda Thom in some less than desirable weather conditions.   Consistent rain hampered the game for it’s entirety and made for a rather scrappy affair.   The Gargoyles started strongly quickly scoring a few goals with a ball that quickly became a lead balloon in the rain.   Ottawa attacked the ball all day and showed that they are an improving team with some wonderful passages of play through the center, linking up some nice handballs and kicks and keeping the Gargoyles on their toes.   Nathan Miller found space all day with the rather unorthodox positional play from the Swans and came away with a best on ground performance for his effort.   The Gargoyles had trouble converting plays inside the fifty and kicked a number of behinds hampering their efforts to run away with the game.   The heavy waterlogged ball making goals hard to come by from any further than about 35m out from goal.

Ottawa staged a spirited comeback in the fourth quarter and had the Gargoyles looking a little perplexed at times with their standard of play.   Some very good defense in the backline by coach Lingus manning up on Ottawa’s 6’4” full forward kept the scoreline in the black for the Gargoyles.   Greg Logel took an accidental elbow to the eyebrow that opened him up and had to leave the field for some patching up before returning.

The game was followed by a much needed cleanup session before meeting the Swans at their sponsor pub the Georgetown.   The teams enjoyed a few “quiet” ales together and continued into the night that turned out to be a rather large one.   Lost wallets, credit cards, bar ejections, sleep in less than desirable surroundings were all a part of the evening as the boys let their hair down and rejoiced in the Ottawa nightlife scene.

The team has a week off before taking on the High Park Demons on July 12^th in Toronto for their next game.

The Guelph Gargoyles faced off against their long time nemesis, the Toronto Downtown Dingos on Sunday June 22^nd, for the first of 2 Sunday games to take place in 2008 for the team.  The Gargoyles had only beaten the Dingos once since their inception in 2006 ending a 13 game winning streak for the Dingos.  The 2007 match up was a blowout with Guelph plagued by injuries and losing by a rather large margin.  This game was to be a different day, coach and former Dingo stalwart Chris “Lingus” Cunning had been prepping the boys since February to cement a new style of play where possession of the ball is key.   A strong emphasis on handballing and creating space has seen the team develop this year and become considerably more competitive.

The game got underway in stormy conditions with the rain threatening to turn the match into a wet weather slugfest but held off for the most part and only briefly made an appearance.   The Dingos started strongly kicking the first major but were quickly answered to by Guelph putting a couple of goals through themselves.   The Guelph forwards had the Dingos backline under pressure and was battling hard to find some more points.

Coach Lingus was happy with the effort at the end of the first qtr with Guelph leading by 2 points and asked that everyone remain accountable for their man.   The second got underway in a similar fashion with the Dingos first on the scoreboard and managing to keep the Guelph attack to 3 behinds for the quarter with some solid defence.   Half time saw the score line Dingos 4.2. (26) to Guelph 2.5. (17) but still well and truly in touch.

The third is known in Australian Football circles as the premiership quarter where games are either won or lost.   Guelph battled back to remain in the game putting the Dingos defence under some huge pressure and finished the third Dingos 6.2. (38) to Guelph 4.6. (30)   The team was looking to come out and blitz the Dingos attack in the last quarter.

The quarter got underway with Guelph kicking the first 2 goals and having their noses in front and sniffing a victory.   The Dingos fought back and scored a couple themselves with the lead seesawing between the teams.   Guelph once again moved back into contention with a goal from assistant coach Slingo.   The day had been a very even contest with both teams going hard at the ball and playing some excellent footy.   With about 4 minutes to go the Dingos led by 1 point.   The ball came out of the ruck after Slingos goal and was moved forward to the Dingos half forward line where it was again kicked forward to the Dingos full forward who had a clear shot at goal.   Some desperate defence by Aaron “Azza” Fanning in chasing the player down and managing a tackle right in front of goal saved the scoreboard from moving.   Guelph quickly moved the ball back up the right wing into their half forward line and looked sure to score a point or goal.   Desperate play by both teams saw the ball change possession a number of times before Matt Newark was able to get the ball away to Jeff Borysiewicz who ran clear towards the side line and kicked into space inside the fifty metre line but close to the boundary.   Greg Logel who had been having a great game took a spectacular diving mark just inside the field of play to halt play with about 1 minute to go.   A behind from this kick would have seen the match drawn, a miss would see the Gargoyles go down by 1 point and a goal the Gargoyles walk away with a well deserved win.   Greg moved back and lined up his shot on goal, took his shot and potted in squarely between the uprights to move the Gargoyles into the lead by five points.   The team went ballistic knowing that they only had to hold the Dingos scoreless for approx 20 seconds.   The game finished in the center square after the ball up and the Gargoyles were suddenly 4-2 for the season and sitting in fourth on the OAFL ladder.   Final Score 8.7. (55) defeated Dingos 8.2. (50)

Greg took out the Boston Pizza player of the week award from the teams sponsor and also managed to grab himself some airtime on the OAFL Footy feast program Episode 5 where his mark and goal were shown.   Logel was named the OAFL player on the round for Rd 6 and walks away with a nice goodie basket from Elite Fitness who are sponsoring the OAFL for 2008.

Round 4 saw the 2-1 Guelph Gargoyles headed into battle against the 1-2 Toronto Rebels. An incredibly hot & humid Saturday greeted the teams for the Saturday afternoon matchup. Guelph had both it’s ruckmen out for the game with work commitments so part time ruckman Travis Doyle and the 5’ 9” leaping lizard, Jeff Borysiewicz took on the duties. The Gargoyles were looking to cement their position amongst the league’s top teams and knew that the always tough Toronto Rebels would be looking to do the same. The game got underway with the Rebels a little short staffed and Guelph kicking with the breeze after winning the toss. The Gargoyles were able to run out to a 4 goal lead by the end of the 1^st quarter keeping the Rebels from scoring a major and having the majority of the ball. The Rebels defense was put under pressure from the opening bounce but managed to slow the flow of goals in the 1^st quarter to only 4. With the 2^nd quarter under way some of the Guelph rookies began to shine. Nathan Millar and Adam Millen once again proving why they make the starting lineup each week with solid performances all over the ground. Adam kicking his first 2 goals in the game and taking the Gargoyles best on ground performance for the round. Once again the midfield excelled with the on-ball crew keeping the Rebels players away from the ball for the majority of the quarter although working against the wind.

Guelph led by 4 goals at half time and faced a revived Rebels team in the third quarter as they managed to pump through a couple of goals and stay in the game. The third quarter saw some spirited play from both teams as they tried to assert themselves on the game. The Gargoyles managed to control the Rebels attack mid way through the 3^rd and again slotted some goals with some excellent play down both wings leading into the forward line once again putting the Rebels defense under pressure. Guelph had a fairly commanding lead going into the final break and was using their rotation off the bench to full effect.

The final quarter was played with some serious intensity as the Rebels did not want the Gargoyles to run away with the match, possibly taking something away from the footy feast panel accusing them of giving up when facing a loss. Again Guelph managed to retain dominant possession of the football and were looking to extend the scoreline when things took a turn for the worse. A highly charged Rebels outfit in combination with an aggressive Guelph attack saw the temperature rise in the match. The boiling point for both teams was reached with approx 8 minutes to go when some unfortunate play took place and the game was called to a halt.

Once temperatures abated a little both teams took to the field and shook hands forgetting about the less than ideal scuffle that took place a few minutes earlier. A big shout out to the Rebels for their sporting display after the game was called in cheering the win by Guelph and the same for the Gargoyles in respecting the Rebels style of play.

Best on ground performance taking out the Boston Pizza player of the round was 2008 rookie Adam Millen with a solid performance and kicking his first and second ever Aussie Rules goals. Good job Millsy. Other notable performances were Nathan Millar, Brad Slingo, Zack Macdonald and Cameron Grant . The backline once again performed solidly and managed to cover the unfortunate injury to Matt Bannon’s hamstring. Round 5 sees the Gargoyles take on the Broadview Hawks in their first game at Humber North for 2008.

Final Score: Guelph Gargoyles 11.13.79 defeated Toronto Rebels 6.6.42.

Goal kickers: Zack Macdonald (3), Travis Doyle (2), Carl O'Brien (2), Adam Millen (2), Cameron Grant (1) & Ryan Zammit (1)