San Diego Lions > News > 2008 Archive

Articles from August 2008

Sunday, August 31, 2008

8/31 - PARADE OF NATIONS (JV)
By LionsAdmin @ 8:51 PM :: 315 Views

Friday we beat an inexperienced but relentless China team 114-0. The boys from San Diego went well with Brando helping himself to three goals and making the most of his time in the forward line.

Viking and Donnie played as solid as expected with Viking always running through the ball and Donnie taking marks from Center Half Back. In the second half Donnie snuck forward and had a snap at goal that looked to be headed through before Brando hopped in to take the mark and kick the goal.

Saturday we had a light training in the morning to get some of the soreness out of our legs. We then had the afternoon to ourselves before the parade of nations at halftime of the Hawthorne vs. Carlton game at Telstra Dome. The game had an electric atmosphere with the potential for two players to kick 100 goals (what Aussies refer to as "the ton"). It had been nearly 10 years since this has happened. The closest metaphor that I could think of would be for an NFL player to score 30 touchdowns in a season. We were treated to Buddy Franklin kicking his 99th and 100th goals in the first quarter and thousands of fans storming the field. It was quite a spectacle, and it was definitely a nice feeling to be a part of AFL history. Fevola the other player needed 8 goals to kick "the ton," but he fell agonizingly short at 99.

The parade of nations was really cool. During halftime we lined up by country and got to walk around the side of the ground and meet a lot of the fans and get some great photos. Probably not surprising we were the only country to get booed when we were announced. Of course I'm sure the fans in attendance were booing our foreign policies more than they were booing us as teams. It was a great experience anyways.

I am writing the second part of this blog from the train to Warnooble on Sunday morning. The train is supposed to take about three hours from Melbourne. Our next two rounds will be played there. Our next match is Monday against South Africa, and this match decides who will win our pool and advance to the Semi-Finals. Apparently someone with a sense of humor decided to assign us to sitting in the same train car as South Africa. It should certainly be an interesting game of footy tomorrow with two very contrasting styles. The South Africans are very small and apparently very quick while we are much taller and stronger. It should be noted that the AFL has been pumping funds into AFL South Africa to develop their football. I am hopeful that our experience, size, and strength will carry us through. I hope to be reporting a win for the U.S. soon.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

DAY 4 - RECOVERY BLOG (JV)
By LionsAdmin @ 11:27 PM :: 268 Views

Today was used as both a recovery day from yesterday's victory and a preparation day before our match tomorrow against China.

China lost their first match to S. Africa 146-0. I'm not sure this is an indication of S. Africa being that good or China being that bad. This is China's first International Cup, but we have made sure not to look past them to the big battle with South Africa that's looming on Monday. I have been given the day off which I will probably be thankful for in the week to come with 3 more games of football still to be played in such a short time. China will certainly have a difficult time scoring their first goal of the tournament against a starting back line that includes 3 of my San Diego Lions teammates with Brandon and Viking at the back pockets and Donnie at Center Half Forward.

We had a good training session today at the Western Bulldogs practice facility. After watching their very crisp training we were able to use their facilities and then taken through a film session with their assistant coach. They were very supportive, and it was great getting a behind the scenes look at a professional AFL club.

One thing I didn't get a chance to mention after yesterday's match is our post game routine which is actually a little bit odd. After every game we play in Melbourne we are treated to a 20 minute dip in Port Phillip Bay. This may sound nice on paper, but let me remind you that it is still in the heart of winter here. The water is hovering right around the 50 degree mark. Apparently there is no better way to get the soreness and lactic acid pushed out of your muscles than to dip in an ice bath, and it turns out that we have an incredibly convenient ice bath available to us at all hours of the day. The experience was not pleasant to say the least, and possibly even more unfortunate is the fact that I am actually convinced that it worked. I may have to start taking ice baths all the time.

There is a crew doing a documentary on our journey all the way from selections to the tournament and beyond. I am very hopeful that they edit the part of us wading in the bay out...as I don't think we will be portrayed as "manly" as we'd all have liked.

I'm going to upload a few more random photos from the day, and hopefully I'll be back on tomorrow night to report a solid US victory over the Chinese side.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

8/27 - USA v DENMARK (BRANDO)
By LionsAdmin @ 11:20 PM :: 272 Views

Wednesday we had our first game of the tournament against Denmark. Game started at 1:20 and it was a warm, sunny day.

I'm not positive what the final score was, but I think it was 11-6 to 1-4. JV played full forward and lead hard all game. I think he kicked 2 or 3 goals on the day, and anything he didn't mark our small forward pocket was there to crumb. Donnie played CHB all game and played his usual game, repelling any attack that came near him. I played back pocket with KB Nelson from OC playing the full-back position. The back line played tough all game, holding the Denmark Vikings to 1 behind in the first quarter, one in the second, scoreless in the third, and they finally got a major against us in the 4th kicking one goal and two behinds. Full credit to the half-back and middle lines who always pushed back hard to support.

We're playing the new AFL rule on kickouts, so we don't have to wait for the flags to kick out. It definitely increases the pace of the game. Also, former San Diego Lions Damien "Damo" Liddel took some time off of work to watch the game. He said he'd try to get back on Friday to see the game against China. Hoping to meet up with him and Johnny Mingus before we leave for a night out in Melbourne.

Meeting this morning to announce the team for tomorrow's game. Viking should have his International Cup debut against the Chinese. After the morning meeting we're of to Footscray to watch the Western Bulldogs train and then have a training session ourselves at their facility.

Official Result: USA 11.6.72 def. DENMARK 1.4.10 (Western Oval)... JV kicked 1 Goal, 1 Behind (sorry mate).

Thursday, August 28, 2008

DAY 2 - INTERNATIONAL CUP BLOG (JV)
By LionsAdmin @ 11:14 PM :: 323 Views

I am back, and I have finally gotten over the jet lag. The last couple days, and especially today, have been fantastic. We have had two-a-day footy sessions mixing tactical work with skills work.

It's an interesting dilemma trying to get used to players you only see a handful of times a year. That's actually one advantage some of the smaller countries (including tomorrow's opponent Denmark) have on the larger countries. The small countries send their representatives from fewer clubs, so there is a lot more opportunity for them to practice and train together and develop some chemistry. Hopefully we will gel quickly!

Our coach announced the starting side for tomorrow. We brought 34 players, but only 24 can dress for the match. Beyond that only 18 start, and I got the nod to start at Full Forward which I am happy with.

Tonight we had a function held to kick off the tournament at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCG). The MCG is the Mecca of Aussie Rules Football, and it's affectionately known to Aussies as "the G". It is where the Grand Final (Aussie Rules' Super Bowl) is held every year, and it seats over 100,000 people. Should we make it out of our pool and win the semi-final we would get to play the final at the MCG as a curtain raiser to a finals game which means there'd be upwards of 80,000 people watching us play.
The function was great as we got to mingle with players from the 15 other teams. We were also treated to famous Aussie musician Mike Brady singing "One Day in September" live. The song is all about winning the grand final as it takes place in September.
Also, Kevin Sheedy spoke to us all. Anyways I managed to get some great photos of some of the other teams as well as the MCG and the city themselves.

Hopefully my next blog post will be talking about our victory over Denmark. The game is at 1pm Melbourne time, so I believe that's about 14 hrs ahead of the east coast of the US. Go the Revolution!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

DAY 1 - INTERNATIONAL CUP BLOG (JV)
By LionsAdmin @ 11:00 PM :: 243 Views :: General

After a grueling 15 hour flight out of LAX we arrived safely into Melbourne at 8 am. Unfortunately, to combat jetlag we had to stay awake and try to go to bed at a "normal time." It is now 830 pm and I am struggling terribly to keep my eyes open, so bare with me on this first blog entry!

Not wasting any time in getting into the appropriate footy mood--immediately after arriving and checking in to our hotel we got to head over to the Telstra Dome to take in a professional match between the Adelaide Crows and the St. Kilda Saints. St. Kilda just happens to be my favorite club, so I was thrilled to see them in a game that had playoff implications. It was a great atmosphere and the Saints ended up winning big. It certainly got me very excited about playing, as if I weren't already.

It was quite a scene walking into the stadium with 40 guys dressed exacty alike decked out in red, white, and blue jump suits and white hats. It's amazing how many people came up to us and asked us questions about the tournament and just in general about how shocked they were that Americans were in Australia to play footy. For the most part their response was extremely positive, and they're so happy to hear their home grown sport is reaching many corners of the globe.

We ended up running into the South African team in the stands as well. They seemed like nice guys, but not many pleasantries were exchanged as they will be one of our toughest matches to get out of our pool and make it to the semi-finals. Our first match is Vs. Denmark on Wednesday at 1pm. I think that equals 11pm Tuesday night on the East Coast of the US. Hopefully everyone will be waking up to good news on Wednesday morning.

I think that's all for me for tonight. Hopefully I'll get some pictures up as i go along this trip. Go USA!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

REHAB UNITED Strength and Conditioning Offer
By LionsAdmin @ 8:39 AM :: 187 Views

The team has negotiated a deal for a strength and conditioning program through Rehab United.
The program will last six weeks, cost a mere $79 and meet on Tuesday nights.

Please click here for more details.