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This will take place at Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School in Waterloo and will commence at 7pm, Thursday, February 12^th.

Click on the “location” tab on the website for the directions and map. Parking is accessible off of Creekside Drive and you can park at the rear of the school. If the doors are not open, just bang on the gym door to get in or wait until someone comes along.

Bring workout clothes, towel and water/sports drink with you.

See you there!

Lingus

The 2:00pm start saw the sponsors tab given a nudge early with pints, ceasers, wine & rye flying off the shelf at a rapid pace. With meals ordered and the awards presentation underway at 3:00pm the first few rounds of vote counts were unveiled.

The club annually awards it’s best rookie, best defensive player, leading goal kicker, most improved player and the heart award which goes to the player who displays the most commitment to the club at training and on game days. This year with the rookie contingent making up a third of the clubs roster it was always going to be a tight one.

Adam Millen walked away with the award for the Rookie of the Year; Millsy was up against some quality competition this year but held off his fellow rookies with some really tough play and commitment at the ball that surprised the best of us, congratulations Millsy.

Best Defensive player was taken out by Jason Fox who was a stand out all year holding down positions in both the halfback and fullback lines. Fox had a fantastic game against the 2008 premiers the Etobicoke Kangaroos setting up his year and just kept getting better.

The 2008 Most Improved Player was awarded to Ian Hamilton who despite weighing in at about 150 lbs played some very committed footy during the season. Ian’s game continued to grow and he really came into his own in the last few rounds so we look forward to his game next year.

The clubs leading goal kicker was Carl O’Brien who also led the league as the best Canadian in the game with 27 goals. Carl missed a couple of games this year due to family commitments so who knows what next year might hold for him. Great job OB.

Cameron Grant was awarded the Heart award for the 2008 season. Cameron who usually resides on the wing had a great year on the ground. His commitment both on and off the field is second to none and he never provides less than 100% regardless of what is asked of him. Scuba Steve his alias took him away to Cuba for a week mid season but he managed to hold off other contenders and walked away with the award this year.

Vote counts continued during the day with the remaining rounds counted down for what was to be a very tight race. In the end Greg Logel (30 votes), the teams’ captain for the last few seasons held off challenges from young gun Zack MacDonald (28 votes) and full forward Carl O’Brien (29 votes) to take out the award. Greg capped his season off with a trip to Australia in September representing the Canadian National Team the Northwind. As always his leadership and unquestionable work ethic are inspirations for others on the Gargoyles and we look forward to another successful season in 2009.

Canadian players managed to sweep the awards this year shutting out the Australians and once again proving that the Gargoyles have one of the strongest crops of Canadian talent in the country. The club is looking forward to improving their fourth place finish this year and going all the way to the grand final game for 2009.

The Guelph Gargoyles will be holding their annual club awards presentation on Saturday November 8^th. The event is scheduled to start at 2:00pm and will be held once again at the teams sponsor pub Frugal Macdoughall’s in the upstairs room. The team will be counting down the votes for 2008’s best and fairest player, most improved player, best defensive player, leading goal kicker, rookie of the year and the annual heart award.

 Players are free to attend with partners $10.00 collected at the door. Please plan to return you playing uniform on the day.

 Meals will be ordered off the regular menu as will drinks until we eat through our funds allocation when you’ll have to break out your hard earned cash or whack your visa card again.

 RSVP to Aaron Fanning so we can make sure we have sufficient staff available on the day at the pub.

With team coach Chris Cunning and captain Greg Logel away on representative duties in Australia at the International Cup a slightly undermanned Gargoyles squad lined up for the final round of regular matches for the 2008 season.   Guelph had played Ottawa earlier in the season for the Canada Day Cup and come away victorious, very wet due to the conditions but winners nonetheless.

Round 13 saw a full Swans squad arrive in Guelph on time and ready for a big game.   As Ottawa had bought down a full squad and wanted their players to get some game time both team elected to play 18 per side leaving the Guelph bench a little thin with only 2 on the sideline.

An injured Matt Newark who has been battling an ankle injury all season started things off in the ruck with the Ottawa ruckman getting the better of him in the first few taps and winning the ball out of the middle.   It has been a difficult season for Ottawa in their rookie year competing in the OAFL but they have showed consistent improvement through the year and are really not that far off their first win.   The Gargoyles knew they would be hungry and had bought down a pretty decent looking squad for the day.

The first quarter saw the play move around the ground with both teams playing some nice clean flowing football.   Guelph managed to retain a small lead at the end of the first quarter but were challenged by the Ottawa players especially Darren Roffey who was taking some nice marks and providing great leads to his midfield giving the Guelph back line a bit of a workout.

With the second underway Guelph full forward Carl O’Brien was looking to rack up his goal count and take the leading Canadian goal kicker award from the clutches of his main rival in Hamilton.   Carl helped the team to a 6-goal haul in the second to secure a nice lead heading into half time.

The third & fourth quarter saw the lead that Guelph had attained in the second stay about the same as Ottawa played some competitive football and showed they have improved considerably.

Jeff Borysiewicz and Zack Macdonald had great games running through the middle and making life very difficult for the Ottawa midfield and half back line.   Ian Hamilton again threw his hand up and had a good game working his way into contests and coming away with the ball.   Matt Bannon marking a considerably taller opponent for most of the day also excelled in defence.   Some nice play in the fourth with a series of linking handpasses led to Adam Millen racking up his fifth goal for the season in his rookie year.

In the end the Gargoyles held the Ottawa Swans off and came away with a win defeating their opponents 13.10.88 to 8.10.58

Goal kickers:

Carl O’Brien (6), Jeff Borysiewicz (2), Matt Newark (1), Gord Munro (1), Brad Slingo (1), Adam Millen (1) & Travis Doyle (1)

The game was followed by a huge night at one of our major sponsors the Wellington Brewery.   Live music, a great atmosphere, free flowing larger and ale, friends, family and a great turnout by the Ottawa team made for a night that had many players calling it the best brewery event ever.

The boys & girls at the Swans came away with victories in the boat races at the event defeating a strong contingent of Guelph drinkers.   Maybe the Swans crew has been doing a component of their practice at the Georgetown Pub?

Guelph wishes to say a big thanks to the Ottawa Swans for their support of the evening and trusts that all present had a great time – see you again next year for an even bigger one.

T he Guelph Gargoyles faced off against the Toronto Dingos in Round 12 of the OAFL competition.   Guelph had been overtaken by the Central Blues in the last round on points percentage and moved down to 5^th on the OAFL ladder.   The team was keen to continue the winning streak on the heals of the weather interrupted game against the Demons in the previous round.

T he Dingos were faced with an undermanned squad to start the game although it was essentially irrelevant for the Dingos as they had already missed the finals.   Guelph coach and former Toronto Dingo Chris Cunning opted to let the Dingos borrow a player from Hamilton to help swell the Dingos ranks a little and the game was underway.

G uelph started a little flat and gave up the first major to the Dingos although quickly put 2 goals back on the board to get in front.   A nice clean and fairly played game took place over the next 80 minutes where Guelph managed to keep in front but never really ran away with the lead as the Dingos battled bravely to stay in contention.

A dam Millen bagged a couple of goals from set shots and just missed one that could have seen him with 3 for the day.   Ian Hamilton kicked a great goal whilst crumbing in the forward line and followed it up with another.   Maybe having your girlfriend on the sidelines makes your play kick up a level or two.

T ravis Doyle put his hand up and slotted a few as well for the day.   Zack was again having a great game and is really showing that his improved fitness this year is paying off.   Loi Van Leeuwen arrived late after attending the Strong Man Games somewhere in Western Ontario, apparently carting boulders around and dragging tractors behind you doesn’t do much for your kicking accuracy!

R odney Ireland got a spray from a fired up Azza in the 4^th as he questioned the umpire inside the fifty only to find out it wasn’t even him the penalty was given against.   Jason Fox who has been having a really solid year in the back line teamed up with the ever-reliable Matt Bannon to halt the scoring opportunities that the Dingos were looking for.

G uelph ended the 4^th quarter with a final score of 10.9 (69) to Dingos 6.8. (44).

Best on Ground performance went to 2008 rookie Ian Hamilton for his 2-goal display.

Guelph goal kickers were: Travis Doyle (3), Ian Hamilton (2), Adam Millen (2), Zack Macdonald (2) and Gord Munro (1)

T raining sessions this week and next will concentrate on some of the things that lacked in this game a little.   Picking the ball up off the ground, accurate kicking and hand passing and the always essential following through with a chase after kicking the ball or shepherding when required.

I ntensity was also somewhat lacking from the usual Gargoyles style so lets rev it up a little boys and get ready for finals footy for the first time in 4 years.

T he team faces the Ottawa Swans in the final round of regular games in the OAFL season on September 6^th in Guelph at 2:00pm.   The team will be without head coach Chris Cunning and team captain Greg Logel who are away in Australia representing the Canadian National team, the Northwind.   There will however be a return of some key players that have been missing due to family commitments.   Carl O’Brien who is currently holding down the team leading goal kicker position and the teams redhead wonder boy Daniel Murray both return for the Ottawa match.

T he Ottawa game will be followed by what promises to be a big night at the Wellington Brewery who proudly sponsors the Guelph Gargoyles.   The Ottawa team will be attendance so invite your friends and family along for the evening.   Tickets are available at the door for $25.00 or in advance by contacting the club.

The Guelph Gargoyles have 2 of their top Canadian players named to the Canadian Nation Australian Football team the Northwind.   Head coach Chris Cunning who stands 6’6” and the teams captain Greg Logel at 6’1” will be leaving Canadian shores on Wednesday August 20^th for Australia.

The Northwind team is competing in the International Cup that is held every 3 years in Australia.   The tournament consists of 16 countries that play Australian Football however no Australian team participates, as it is purely an International Tournament centered on growing the great game outside of Australia.

Canada’s Northwind finished 9^th in 2002, 7^th in 2005 and is looking to improve it’s world ranking this year aiming for a top 4 finish.   The first challenge for the Northwind team will be August 27^th against the team from Finland.

The International Cup is helD over two weeks in Melbourne and Warrnambool in Victoria, Australia.   The final game will be held September 6^th in Melbourne where the best team in the world outside of Australia will be decided.

You can follow the details of the competition on the International Cup website here: www.ic08.com.au