Cowboy Cup Match Review
On a day made for ducks, the Lonestars suited up a squad that was short of a few stars, included a couple new faces and was pretty excited even though the weather was a little drab. Even more exciting was the anointing of our 2015 vice captains, Perham and Sean who were both thrilled to be given the nod and support Captain Matt.
With the weather deteriorating from an already dubious position the first game was the Lonestars v Squids. The Squids were a little undermanned and bolstered by some locals. The game was tough and slow in the wet conditions, with the Lonestars midfield leading the way, getting to the ball first and pumping it forward to new star forward Ricko. The usual suspects of Rix, Job and Perham outclassed their opponents and belied the wet conditions with some silky skills, especially clearing the ball from the packs. Captain Matt sat behind the play and repelled any forward advances the Squids tried to make. The backs made sure the squids didn't put any scoreboard pressure on and probably could have done with an umbrella and a warm jumper with the amount of play being directed their way. All told - the Lonestars were solid all over the ground and converted well to put away the Squids on home turf.
Up next the Squids took on what looked to be a very good Austin Crows squad, who were not helped by dwindling numbers due to injury. The Crows had their merry way, with their half backs continually attacking and delivering the ball to the forwards with pin point precision. By the final siren, the Crows were warmed up and looking forward to a much sterner test and the Squids were starting to think about winning best on ground awards at the Rodeo and beyond.
Due to a rib injury our Captain couldn't go against Austin, so Perham took over the reins and gave an "inspirational speech" before the game to rev the boys up. The first 5 or so mins the Crows were dominating the play and kicking with the wind, but were unable to convert on the scoreboard, which gave the Lonestars a sniff. A beautiful goal by Ricko levelled the scores up and the game was on. It became an arm wrestle with neither team able to really crack the other, goals were really hard to come by and the Crows squandered their chances. The Lonestars running players like Mash, CDG, Perham, Job were getting plenty of ball around the packs and making it really hard for the Austin boys to get any space. Jordan chimed in with a beautiful running goal from long range, probably goal of the day! After the first half with the Crows up by a couple points, and the Lonestars kicking with the breeze, the boys eyes lit up a little, the sniff of a memorable victory was on. The second half was a torrid affair with neither team really able to break free, the Lonestars defense was sensational and kept the Crows from kicking any majors, Scott, Sean, Art and co. keeping tight reign on their dangerous forwards. The packs were brutal places, with a couple memorable repeat tackling efforts from Perham and Rix keeping the Austin quiet. The final siren went with the ball in the Lonestars forward line and the boys feeling slightly disappointed that they couldn't quite pull out the win.
From the coaching perspective - I thought we played really well and to get close enough to win the game was an outstanding effort. Well done to everyone that came down and supported, helped setup, or played! Shout out to Sam Donnelly for organizing the ground - which looked really nice to play on and should host plenty more games in the future!
~Coach Dan
Final Scores:
Houston 6.4.40 vs Ft.Lauderdale 1.0.6
Goals: Ricko 2,
Best: Stevens, Perham, Ricko, Job, Mash
Houston 2.2.14 vs Austin 2.5.17
Goals: Jordan 1, Ricko 1
Best: Perham, Rix, Scott, Sean, CDG
Austin 12.5.77 vs Ft. Lauderdale 1.0.6
Rodeo Houston Match Review
40 Lonestars, partners and 11 Squids made the quick change around from wet footy gear to western outfits and headed for NRG Stadium to enjoy the last Saturday of Rodeo Houston featuring Brad Paisley. It took a while for the wide-eyed Squids to arrive in their seats, but when they did it was something the Texas crowd was not prepared for... Aside from a few questionable heckles directed toward Leon (the bull fighter clown in the barrel) a great night was had by all with a double feature of Rodeo events that ran the night late. By the time Brad Paisley took to the stage, a few Squids and Lonestars were well on they way and had their sights set on the fun awaiting at the Hideout.
It was actually amazing how the majority of the ragety group stuck together(Bren being the only casualty) to take up a fair section of The Hideout. Prez DB and Squid Captain Adzy however, were late to the tent after being coerced into a number of hair-raising carnival rides by a few excited Squids. Safe to say DB and Adzy are still recovering and swear they'll never get on a ride again!
The games continued outside The Hideout later that night with a bull-riding comp between Chisi, Ruggles, Stu, CDG and Fielder. Stu came off second best, last seen covered in mud ordering a bourbon and coke and avoiding the line dancing going on. Chisi took out the cowboy honors showing the boys his experience from early New Zealand sheep riding days.
Meanwhile, inside the tent the Lonestars & Squids took over the D-floor showing some serious moves in the line dancing and 2-stepping department, lead by the smooth-footed Rix and fancy-footed Mashmellow and well, Sean. The group shut down The Hideout at midnight and a few cowboys headed into Midtown lead by Sam D to meet up with late comers Tom D and Tobin(who had got out of bed at 11pm for the occasion). The Squids were last seen hobbling out of Reliant Park into a cab to rest their weary bodies after a long day of H-town rodeoing and footy. An experience they all greatly enjoyed so thanks to everyone that joined in the fun of Rodeo and helped make the Squids trip once they won't forget...till next Rodeo!
Best: Job, Mashmellow, Sean, T.Donnelly, Chisi, Rix, Captain Squid 'Adzy'
Thank You from The Prez
Many thanks to all those who helped make the Cowboy Cup tournament a successful day despite the weather gods being against us. Thanks to Sam Donnelly who helped organise the hiring of the fields at UoH. Hopefully a place we can continue to play big games and get the UoH college crew involved in.
Thanks to our guys that helped out the Squids and played for the opposition. We appreciate you'd rather be in Lonestars gear however are happy to play for the good of the game.
For those who helped coordinate gameday a massive thanks to the help lent in the lead-up and on the day. Namely, Fielder and all the Operations crew. Thanks to Val, Josh Morris and Kami who helped with catering and photography/videoing, and the many who helped set up and pull down everything in the torrential rain – a big thanks from all the players and committee!! Without this kind of team effort, things wouldn’t run anywhere near as smooth.
~DB
Next Game: April 25th - Ruggles Cup/Anzac Day Clash vs Baton Rouge in Houston
Next Social: April 25th - ANZAC Day @ The Phoenix
Next Training: This Sunday 5pm
AUSBALL!! Starting Wednesdays April 8th - May 13th
USAFL Team Previews for 2015
The USAFL has been posting 2015 previews of each club and Houston was featured Wednesday. If you don't have Facebook access you can read the write-up here and see all the other club reviews also. Solid expectations with the Lonestars favorites to take out Div 2 this year!
https://usafl.com/news/20150325/usafl-season-preview-week-central-south
