The first game pitted the Lions agaisnt it's traditional old foe Orange County. The conditions were pretty good, if not a little on the hot side, the ground was ideal for fast flowing, running footy, a.k.a... Lions footy! The emphasis from coach MC was on getting off to a good start by putting plenty of pressure on the ball carrier through hard tackling and the boys didn't disappoint. With Griff winning the ruck, it was providing Stinger, Shenka, Mini and the Rowd Pleaser plenty of the ball through the middle. This in turn gave plenty of oppurtunites for Derf, JJ and Jack up forward who were proving to be a handful for the OC defence. For the first time in a long time the forwards had the kicking boots on and by half time the Lions had opened an impressive lead.  

The second half saw an injury, and it's fair to say the Rowd was not so pleased as he received a pretty heavy knock to the knee. He would take no further part in the game or the next, which was a big blow for the Lions. The Bombers were able to get into attack more in the second quarter. However, playing against his old club Donnie was solid across the half back line taking strong marks and repelling a number of attacks. All in all a solid and pleasing performance.

The final score was:

San Diego 10.1.61 def OC Bombers 3.6.24

SD Best:  A Cannane, JJ Cisneros, D Lucero, A Evans, B McDonald

SD Goals: B McDonald 4, J Cameron 2, A Cannane, M Mondia, B Nickel, A Yakoubavich 1

Injuries: Rowd Pleaser (Heavy knock to the knee)

**** UPDATE 07/20/07 ****

As much as I like to consider myself a doctor it seems "Heavy knock to the knee" was a slight understatement. Reports from Mrs. Rowd Pleasure indicate that the little bloke has fractured his femur, further scans should reveal the extend of the injury. Not good news for Rowd or the club. We all hope for a speedy recovery and for a minor miracle that Rowd will be up and about come Nationals, it has to be said that sounds doubtful, but where there's a will there's a way!

*** END UPDATE ***

The second game saw the Lions take on the Denver bulldogs in what would have to be one of the fiercest rivalries in USFooty. The Lions were under no illusions as to the enormity of the task ahead, beating Denver at Denver is not something many (if any?) have achieved over the years. To put it in perspective in 2005 the Lions travelled to Denver and were sent home embarrassed with a score line of 15.11.101 to 0.0.0!

The conditions in the later game were even a little tougher and given we'd already run around for an hour in the unfamiliar altitude it was going to take a huge effort to get a win. The emphasis again was on tackling, manning-up and all of those 1% things that win games of football. The boys came out really hard, Griff was dominating in the ruck, Schenka was everywhere, Brando was tackling hard which created many scoring opportunities. It was the 40 year old veteran Pokey who was the surprise packet, bagging three first half goals. For the first fifteen minutes the Lions stunned the dogs and posted a 6 goal lead. However, late in the quarter the dogs found something as good sides do and swung the momentum with two late goals. At half time the Lions held a 4 goal lead but the Dogs were coming.

The Lions started the second half well and were maintaining their lead. A few changes to the Dogs line up saw them lift in the middle of the ground and all of a sudden the defense of the Lions was under tremendous pressure. The Dogs slammed on 4 goals in quick succession and reduced the margin to only a few points with a few minutes to go. As with most of the Dogs v Lions clashes this was going to go down to the wire. Thankfully some good play through the middle, eventually saw Derf take a mark (or free kick I can't recall) and cooly go back and slot through a telling captain's goal. From there the Lions held on grimly and in the end won by 9 points. The game showed that winning back to back titles is not going to be an easy task, but one the Lions are working hard for!

The final score was:

San Diego 7.6.48 def Denver Bulldogs 6.3.39

SD Best:  S Schenk, M Pekenon, B McDonald, D Lucero, G Marquardt

SD Goals: M Pokenon 3, B McDonald 2, J Adihih, A Cannane 1

Injuries: A Cannane (Rooted Wing, also known as Rags-itis), Pride (Some of the boys had very little luck with the ladies on the Saturday night)

Apart from all of the players who’s commitment and professionalism was fantastic, a special mention to Danny Mills who had his first run for the Lions, after training for only a week he made the effort to get to Denver which was appreciated by all! Also to Russ for running water, Bob Bitmead for umpiring, MC for coaching and of course our small but vocal ladies contingent who as always made sure the boys were never hungry or thirsty.

Also thanks to Denver who put on a great tournament, we know from experience it takes a lot of effort behind the scenes. Was very well organized and they had all bases covered. The after match function was also well attended and it's always nice to play hard on the field but then enjoy a beer of it and support those business that support footy! We look forward to our next encounter, hopefully the nationals Div 1 GF, but that is a long way off.

Players Player: S Schenk (Well deserved, kept running all day in trying conditions and was everywhere in both games)

Board Award: M Pokenon (The old bugger turned 40 and the clock back on Saturday. Three big goals in the first half, a vintage performance.)