Chelsey Kae Photography has joined up with the Guelph Gargoyles Australian Football Club to bring us some fantastic photos from Gargoyles Games.  Chelsey's photography is second to none and she does some great portrait work if you are looking for a photographer.  Check out her site here http://www.chelseykaephotography.com/?cat=9 and search Aussie Rules and also in our photo gallery.

Round 2 of the 2010 Ontario Australian Football League saw the Guelph Gargoyles facing the Etobicoke Kangaroos.  The Roos went the entire 2009 season undefeated until they lost the Grand Final to the Toronto Eagles in dramatic fashion.  Etobicoke has lost some of the key Australian players that formed that 2009 team but has replaced the holes they left behind with new talent and a new coach.

The Gargoyles knew that this game was not going to be an easy one to win.  Etobicoke was hungry after suffering a defeat at the hands of 2009 premiers the Toronto Eagles in last week’s miserable weather conditions.  The Gargoyles had lost eight straight games against the Etobicoke Kangaroos since 2005 but had a feeling that this game might be a changing of the guard.

Loi Van Leeuwen was scheduled to play his 100^th game as a Gargoyle and the team members were especially keen to make it a memorable one for Loi.  The team selection committee had its work cut out for them on Thursday evening running through the options.  The last minute withdrawal of star midfielder Scotty Rowe making things at the selection table interesting for all.  Guelph has a number of rookie players that are making their way into the lineup and looking for regular playing positions.  The majority of them 6' plus and youthful making for a great future at the Gargoyles.  This week’s team still missing some key players to injury and other commitments still had the full quota of 24 eager starters.  The selection committee opted to sit 3 players who will be making their way into the team in the next round to ensure game time for all.

Etobicoke arrived in Guelph with 18 players on their roster but still bursting with talent.  With the coin toss completed the Roos opted to go with the wind (What’s with losing the toss every week Matty?) and the game was underway.  Etobicoke began moving the ball well out of the center towards their forward line and capitalized with the first 2 goals of the game.  Adam Millen was moved forward to create some opportunity for the Gargoyles, he had an immediate impact taking some great pack marks after Benjamin Roberts began to win the ball out of the middle and feed forward.  Guelph got their first goal and at the end of the quarter the scores were 2.6.18 Etobicoke leading 1.0.6 Guelph.

With the start of the second quarter Guelph began to attack strongly aided by the breeze and had the Roos defense working overtime.  The ball was moving between the teams’ defensive zones but no one really stamping authority on the game.  Guelph converted a goal and 2 behinds to narrow the margin at the half time siren.  Guelph’s defense keeping the Roos scoreless for the quarter with some great work by the half and full back lines.  Etobicoke 2.6.18 lead Guelph 2.3.15

Matt Newark started to get his game sense back in touch after missing the 2009 season and round 1 of 2010 due to work commitments.  He began to take some great marks up forward after Travis Doyle started winning the battle in the ruck over giant Roos ruckman Manny Matata.  Travis Doyle bagged himself a crucial late goal after receiving the ball courtesy of some great link-up play from Benjamin Roberts and kept the boys in touch for the final term.  The Roos managed to snag a couple of goals with the wind but were tiring against a fitter Guelph side at the end of the quarter. Etobicoke 4.9.33 lead Guelph 3.6.24

A fired up Guelph team took to the track at the beginning of the 4^th quarter and knew what had to be done to come away with the win.  Some fantastic football from the Gargoyles saw the ball kicked long into the 50m zone and 100^th gamer Loi came busting out of the heavy pack with the ball and kicked a great goal.  This seemed to really fire the boys up as it was shortly followed by Gord Munro taking a great mark and giving off the hands to Travis Doyle as he screamed by.  Ruckman Travis kicked a pearler on the run from 40m out and the Gargoyles were in front.  A few minutes later Zack MacDonald received a nice pass up field and goaled.  Adam Millen was also in the mix taking a screamer before the siren sounded and the Gargoyles had broken through thoroughly outplaying the Etobicoke Kangaroos with a 4-goal quarter.

The Defensive lines had a great day led by Matt Bannon, Daniel Murray and Jason Fox limiting the Roos scoring opportunities.  Travis Doyle in the ruck worked well with Benjamin Roberts to make some nice passage plays.  Loi managed to bag himself a goal in his 100^th game to make it a sweet celebration.

Final Score Guelph Gargoyles 7.6.48 defeated Etobicoke Kangaroos 4.12.36

Goal kickers for Guelph:

Travis Doyle (3), Adam Millen, Cameron Grant, Zack MacDonald, Loi VanLeeuwen

The Guelph Gargoyles have defeated the Etobicoke Kangaroos in round 2 of the OAFL Division 1 competition.  Guelph came from behind in the 4th quarter and ran over the top of the Roos to take the game 7.6.48 to 4.12.36  Full report to follow.

Team centre and previous club captain Greg Logel has been recovering from an ankle injury of late.  Some team members have been wondering what he's been up to and how his recovery is going.  We sent the team journalist out to catch up with Greg and recently received this photo which likely explains a lot.  Baby face Logel has been putting all his efforts into facial hair and obviously was unwilling to enter the outside world until he unveiled this masterpiece.  Look out Ryan he's looking to upstage you.

A huge thanks to the Guelph Mercury newspaper and sports writer Tony Saxon for the front page photo in the sports section Monday and the video article here.

http://news.guelphmercury.com/videogallery/631698

Guelph started the 2010 season with a tick in the win column defeating the Ottawa Swans in less than ideal weather conditions.  Round 2 sees the Gargoyles taking on the Etobicoke Kangaroos again at home in the Royal City.  Expect a tussle in this game as the Roos can never be discounted and have proven this over the last few years as one of the powerhouses of the Ontario Australian Football League.  Lets break it down a little and see where the 2 teams stand.

Guelph:

Blooding 4 rookies against the Swans in round 1 seemed to be a good move from the coaching staff.  Unfortunately young Mike McKee succumbed to a knee injury in the last half of the game and will be watching from the sidelines for a little while as he recovers.  Guelph found their feet in the second half of the game and were beginning to move the ball around and create space in the heavily congested Swans half.  This is what the team will need to bring on Saturday and play a more orthodox positional game versus what we saw in round 1.  The midfield was working well on rotation and more of the same will be key against the Roos.  Defensively the team stood strong against the Swans keeping them to a behind in the second half even against the crazy wind.  A big job for the boys in the backline this weekend as the Etobicoke side has some serious firepower up front.  The offence plan worked well although the side will need to improve the goal kicking percentages to make the most of the opportunities created from the Half back line and midfield.

Etobicoke:

Reports indicate that the Roos didn’t have a full side due to injury and player availability.  The Gargoyles know all about this after their 2009 season and know it can be frustrating for a club.  Etobicoke dropped their first game against last years premiers The Toronto Eagles and were soundly beaten.  Who knows what they will bring to the table this week, we do know that we can never discount them.

Players to watch will be:

Guelph Gargoyles

Matt Newark will be returning to the team this week and providing some relief for ruck man Travis Doyle.  The midfield will be looking to win the ball all day and push forward.  A possible return by new dad Daniel Hodgkin will be sure to provide some muscle to the forward line and his strong hands will be required to keep possession up front.  Matt Bannon has his work cut out for him as he will likely be given the nod on the center half forward and key go to player for the Roos.  Fitness will again be a key component for the side so it will be interesting to see who the coaching staff goes with considering the addition this year of some middle distance specialists amongst the rookies.  Benjamin Roberts will be looking to snag himself a few goals after finding the posts getting in his road on the weekend.  Scott Rowe showed the boys how hard work pays off in the middle of the ground, with a hopefully dry ball this round we expect his passage play to have a big impact.  Ruck Travis Doyle couldn’t be kept away from the goals on the weekend so he will likely feature on the scoreboard as well.  Jason Fox had a good game taking some nice marks under pressure in the wet, expect more of the same Saturday minus the water we hope.  Crumbing forward line members Ben Steinbacher & Carl O’Brien should also have their hands up for some goals.  Adam Millen with his best on ground performance on the weekend was very impressive and will feature heavily looking for plenty of ball.

Etobicoke Kangaroos:

The Roos lineup looks a little different this year but they still have the highly skilled Travis Mackenzie as their centre piece in the forward line and when he’s on fire he is hard to stop.  Etobicoke from some reports are suffering a little on the injury front and have always relied on Justin Rigney to cement their backline, The Gargoyles are unsure if he is scheduled to play on the weekend but if so he will provide a contest for the Gargoyles forwards.  Etobicoke has added some Australian talent to their lineup for 2010 but has always had a competent Canadian lineup as well.  Guelph will need to be mindful of the fact that they remain at this point a team we will have to beat by playing our best football period.

Gale force winds, sleet & low single digit temperatures all greeted the 24 Guelph players on Saturday afternoon as they hosted the Ottawa Swans in round 1 of the OAFL 2010 competition.

The 2010 Gargoyles have had a successful recruitment campaign leading into the 2010 season and had to give 6 players the news Thursday night that they would not be strapping on the boots for round 1.  With 24 players only able to make the cut the 6 in question took the news well and helped out on game day running water and manning the interchange bench.

The coaching staff chose a team that included 4 rookies playing their first game and 2 Australians playing their first OAFL games on Canadian soil.  The balance of the team made up of players with a mixture of experience and youth.

The Swans won the toss and elected to go with the wind (and why wouldn’t they!)  With the ball up came the understanding that kicking into the wind was going to be a tough ask all day.  The Swans getting hold of the ball and sending it skywards to have the wind aid it into the forward line.  Defence held strong and it was only a throw in from the boundary that caught the wind and moved back onto the sideline that caught the Gargoyles off guard and gave the Swans a goal.  Guelph fought back moving the ball forward into the wind 5 metres at a time until they were able to convert a goal after many attempts from 30 metres out were held up by the wind and forced back into play.

Teams were close at the first quarter change when Guelph got the chance to go with the wind.  Obviously the Swans fearing the wind played 16 of their 18 players inside their own half to try and stem the advantage of the breeze making for a very congested goal area.  Guelph kicked some behinds as they struggled to contend with the breeze blowing the ball off target at the last minute.  The Swans were swarming the contested ball as marks were not easy to come by in the wet, windy conditions.  Guelph was starting to assert their dominance by the end of the quarter figuring out what needed to be done to win the ball and get it into the forward line effectively.  Half time saw Guelph leading  24 –12.

With the 3^rd quarter underway Guelph really started to push the Swans.  Although going against the wind the team propelled the ball forward with Scotty Rowe working hard across the middle of the ground combining with the forward line to put pressure on the Swans defence.  Eventually although going against the wind, which had now backed off from 50 odd knots to about 35-40 the pressure was too much.  Some nice play from Carl O’Brien out of the back line set up Scott Rowe who kicked one that bent into the wind and straight through the uprights giving the Gargoyles a lift and setting the stage for what was to follow.  The goals posts got in the road of 2 or 3 more attempts as the clock ticked down and the Gargoyles piled on the points.

The final quarter saw 17 Swans players in their half where the ball stayed much to the dismay of fullback Daniel Murray who was virtually snap frozen watching the quarter from a distance.  16 year old first gamer Mark Cianfagna bagged himself a great goal out of a heavy pack of Swans as he pounced on a loose ball.  The Guelph pressure stayed on all quarter as they overran the Swans, multi goal kicker Ben Roberts was robbed of another as his kick hit the goal post and added to the behind tally.  Rookie Mike McKee came of the ground with a knee injury after taking a great mark but landing awkwardly and will likely have a spell on the sidelines for a month or 2 as he recovers.  Jason Fox took some nice marks to steady play as did Travis Doyle and the Gargoyles ran away with it ending up with a not so great accuracy record of 8.15.63 defeating the Swans 2.1.13 keeping the Swans to a behind for the second half of the game.

Best for Guelph were: Rodney Ireland, Nathan Millar, Matt Bannon, Scott Rowe, Adam Millen, Benjamin Roberts & Carl O’Brien.

Round 2 sees the team taking on the Etobicoke Kangaroos.  The return of some key players to the lineup is sure to make things interesting as Matt Newark comes back into the ruck & Daniel Hodgkin to the forward line.  Rookies are likely to figure prominently in the game as well with Barry Rooke, Daniel Hussey & Ryan McLaughlin all looking to cement themselves into the teams playing lineup.

Medical Room:

Greg Logel – Ankle (4-6 weeks) Pre-season injury

Mike McKee – Knee (4-8 weeks)

Revenge is at the top of every Gargoyles players list as round 1 approaches on May 8^th.  The Ottawa Swans took the Canada Day Cup from the Gargoyles in 2009 and in doing so recorded their first ever win in the OAFL competition.  Guelph had a rather lackluster season in 2009 struggling with player availability and injury woes.  The team showed flashes of brilliance but had a difficult time putting all the ducks in a row when is needed to and subsequently missed the finals series finishing in 7^th spot of 10 teams.

2010 is a new year though and the Gargoyles have had a strong preparation leading into the start of the season.  What can we expect from the Guelph Gargoyles and the Ottawa Swans?

Guelph Gargoyles: 

The team has had a strong off-season adding a lot of new talent to the player line-up this year.  An injection of young fit Canadians sees the team poised to speed up the pace of the teams game.  Some talented Australians are also part of the mix this year adding some firepower to the forward line and midfield for 2010.  Fitness training has been a key component of the teams pre-season and it appears to be paying dividends from what was witnessed at the pre-season tournament.  Ottawa can expect to face a spirited, speedy and enduring Gargoyles side on Saturday.

Players to watch will be new Australian recruits Benjamin Roberts and Scotty Rowe giving the team some additional height, youth and skills.  Travis Doyle looks set for a big game after taking out the teams best & fairest award for 2009, he looks fit and in form right now.  Team captain Matt Bannon although still recovering from a twisted ankle had a big day at the pre-season tournament shutting down one of the leagues best forwards.  The coaching staff is likely to give Matt the job on Ottawa’s key forward.  Team Canada members Zack McDonald and Adam Millen are sure to have a big impact on the game running hard through the middle of the ground.  With the re-jigged forward line-up and positional play Carl O’Brien is looking to bag himself some nice goals.  Other players to watch will be the new recruits who apparently smashed it this weekend in the pre-season.  16 year old Mark Cianfagna having a blinder on the wing for the Gargoyles, Angus displaying great fitness, Ryan substituting for ruckman Travis Doyle, rugby convert Aiden McQuoid also running hard and some incredible speed from new recruit Mikey will be interesting to watch.  6’2” Canadian Barry Rooke will likely have an impact as well after missing the pre-season due to a travel mix-up.

Ottawa Swans:

Key players will be looking to assert themselves on the game.  Forward Darren Roffey according to reports is in good form and has been a handful in the past.  Ottawa ruck man and 2008 OAFL rookie of the year Ryan Gregory will provide a good contest for Travis Doyle in the middle.  Swans tiny midfielder Yaser Abou Elenein although small in stature has the heart of a lion and will be one the Gargoyles need to match up on.

The game is sure to be fast and furious in the first quarter as both teams attempt to assert themselves.  Guelph certainly has the legs this year to carry them the full 4 quarters.

Game time is 2:00pm at Margaret Green Park on Westwood Drive in Guelph.