Dingos Three-Peat

Oct 4 2005

From the AFL Canada website

The Ontario Australian Football League's 17th Grand Final was played Saturday at Humber North Oval in Toronto. The defending champion Toronto Dingos were next in line for the surging Lakeshore Rebels under sunny skies and 24° temperatures.

A close game was anticipated since the two teams had split their two meetings this season one win apiece. Lakeshore won by 24 points in Round 6 and the Dingos by 55 points in Round 12.

The ground was dry and firm with a steady but variable breeze across the ground that generally favoured the team kicking toward the goal at the north end. The Dingos won the toss and showed their confidence by electing to kick to the south end of the ground.

The slight breeze favoured the Rebels from the opening bounce, but the first quarter was tight with both defenses meeting the challenge when the ball came their way. Scoring opportunities were at a premium with both teams determined not to let the other get on top. It was thirteen and a half minutes before a goal was kicked, with the Dingos' Glen Fowler gaining possession when the ball spilled from a marking contest and snapping the first goal of the game. The only goal of the quarter saw the Dingos in front at quarter-time, 1.4 10 to 0.1 1.

The crowd knew both teams were determined as the second quarter got underway. The game remained tight and the Rebels notched a vital goal at the 8:40 mark when Kevin Duffy split the big sticks. The Rebels' back line played tough too, with Sean Duffy getting his hand to the only Dingos' shot that wasn't offline to prevent a major score at the other end, and once again only one goal was kicked in the quarter. The Dingos clung to a slim lead at half-time, 1.8 14 to 1.2 8.

As the second half started, both teams showed their determination to pull ahead in this tight contest. The Dingos gave themselves a little breathing space at the 2:50 mark when Jamie Prescott goaled from a free kick about 25 metres out directly in front and Lakeshore's Peter Borman was sin-binned for dissent on the call. Ironically Borman's sin-binning inspired the Rebels and they took the play to the Dingos but failed to kick a goal until Jonathan McCarthy kicked truly 13:30 into the quarter to tighten the game up again. At three-quarter time the Dingos still led by 3 points, 2.8 20 to 2.5 17.

The 2005 Grand Final was still in the balance with 20 minutes left to play. Both teams' supporters in the crowd cheered in support, but it was the Dingos who came out stronger. They got the ball up forward but didn't kick truly for goal, managing a few behinds to nudge the margin to just more than a goal. With the minutes ticking down the Rebels needed to score twice to pull in front and they threw everything into the effort but the Dingos' backline could sense victory was within reach. They rebuffed the last few Lakeshore attacks and when the siren sounded the Dingos had won their third straight OAFL title by a score of 2.13 25 to 2.5 17.

The closest playoff race in OAFL history produced one of the tightest Grand Finals ever, albeit very low-scoring. There being no Canadian Nationals at this time, the Dingos are once again the winners of the Conacher Cup, fittingly named in honour of the greatest all-round athlete in Canadian sports history.

Kangaroos defeat the Tigers

May 11 2005

From North Carolina website

It was a tough day for the Tigers as they played host to the Etobicoke Kangaroos (Toronto) in a pre-season International matchup. From the opening bounce, the game became a tough physical contest. While having the majority of possessions and keeping the pressure on the Roos, at the end of the first quarter the Tigers found themselves down 1.6.12 to 3.5.23. Although disappointed by their conversion rate, one goal in seven chances, the Tigers took their positions for the 2nd quarter with a sense of confidence. The Kangaroos quickly turned the tide. They played their best quarter of football on the day. With strong center play and the wind at their backs they scored six unanswered goals. The Tigers would not recover from the deficit created. At halftime they found themselves down 1.9.15 to 9.10.64. The Tigers kept their heads high. Playing with the toughness they are known for, the Tigers won the 3rd quarter. However, it was too little and too late. The day belonged to the Kangaroos. Showing character and class, the two sides played hard until the final horn.

The final score: Kangaroos 17.14.116 def. Tigers 4.16.40

Canada Plan for Internation Cup

Sep 5 2004

Canada have begun preparation for the 2005 International Cup by naming the first 15 players of the 35 man squad. The national team will conduct a its first training camp in Toronto in January that will involve those 15 players and 66 hopefulls. The final traing camp will take place in mid April and by then the final 20 will have been named. The first 15 are:

Jeff Borysiewicz, Guelph Gargoyles

Anastasios Dimacakos, Toronto Eagles

George Dimacakos, Toronto Eagles

Kevin Duffy, Rebels

Sean Duffy, Rebels

Aaron Falcioni, Toronto Eagles

Jeff Fish, Hamilton Wildcats

Stefan Leyhane, Broadview Hawks

Paul Loughnane, Mississauga Demons

Dan McIlravey, Toronto Downtown Dingos

Yoni Mossadji, Toronto Downtown Dingos

Jason Robinson, Mississauga Demons

Dale Simnett, Mississauga Demons

Julian Thornbury, Hamilton Wildcats

Mark Van Gelder, Toronto Eagles

USA prove to strong for Canada

Aug 2 2004

On the weekend of July 31-August 1, AFL Canada and their national team, "The Northwind", hosted the United States Australian Football league (USAFL) and their national team, "The Revolution", in a series of International matches featuring their "A" and "B" squads.

Matches were played up at the Ontario Australian Football Leagues (OAFL) field located at Humber College North in Toronto. With warm sunny days over the weekend it was a fantastic two days of Australian Football featuring the best 50 players from both countries.

On Saturday there were two games played that featured both countries "B" squads playing each other as the curtain raiser to the 49th Parallel Cup played out by both "A" squads for the North American bragging rights. Both games were played at a cracking pace and with teams showing amazing skill and team work. The USA came out on top in both matches on the Saturday but not without getting a scare from two fast finishing Canadian teams that had superior fitness but gave their rivals too big a lead to run down. The 2004 version of the 49th Parallel Cup stays with our American counterparts for another year. We hope to get it back from them in 2005 when we meet them in Melbourne, Australia for the 2nd International Cup.

USA `b' 10.13.(73) d Canada `b' 6.6.(42)

USA `a' 9.9.(63) d Canada `a' 7.9.(51)

On Sunday it was the top squads of both countries the "A" playing their opposition "B" squads. This was to be an interesting one as the Canadian had found out that the USA had dropped some of their "A" players back into the "B" squad to strengthen it. The first match saw the Americans "A" squad easily account for the Canadian "B" squad. The 2nd Sunday game was between the Canadian "A" squad and the American "B/A" squad, with Americans looking to clean sweep the Canadians on home soil. This was not to be as the Canadians came home the strongest with superior fitness and running power to take the win from the "Yanks" and leave them with something to think about before seeing the Northwind next year.

USA `a' 12.17.(89) d Canada `b' 1.3.(9)

Canada `a' 7.11.(53) d USA `b' 3.8.(26)

Atlantic Alliance Cup Cancelled

Feb 12 2004

A message from the Canadian Australian Football Association

It is with great disappointment that Denmark, Ireland and Great Britain have informed us that they will not be sending teams to compete in the Atlantic Alliance Cup. They feel that they would rather stay home and play matches against themselves and the developing countries of France, Sweden Spain and Germany. The European teams feel that the strain on their financial resources is too much with next years International Cup around the corner. It is hoped that the Atlantic Alliance Cup can be resumed in 2010.

The USAFL has been informed and we will be working with them to play a match against them on the weekend of July 31st. One idea floating around is that we form an Australian team from both Canada and the USA to be a 3rd team for that long weekend.