NEAFL Round 3, June 15 2002
New York v Philadelphia at New York

Following the lead of their footballing counterparts, the New York Jets and the New York Giants, the Magpies headed across the Hudson River to “Joisey” for the NEAFL round 3 home fixture against the Philadelphia Crows. With a terrific win against Boston in the previous round and an umblemished record against Philly, the Pies headed into the match as favourites, but wary of an improved Philly side who had recently run the Boston Demons close.

In unfamiliar but initially slippery conditions at the lush Rutgers University fields, the Pies burst out of the gate, scoring two goals within the first five minutes from quick center breaks and some impressive aerial work from Tom Wilson. Hard runners Shane Smith and Marc Collela were linking well across half forward, creating many scoring opportunities. Senior Magpies Tom Thompson and Peter “Palm Pilot” Gurry played deep in defense and were resolute when tested by some Philly attacking thrusts late in the quarter, keeping the Crows scoreless for the term.

The Pies began the second quarter in the same vein, and quickly built upon the 35 point quarter time advantage. A dominant all American half back line of Eric Lerner, Erik Kallhovd, and Chris McIntyre continually pushed the ball forward to hard leading forwards Mark Kelly and Simon Bell. Magpies tall timbers Tom Wilson, Andrew Bridges and Wayne Andrew were providing marking targets and effectively bringing the ball to ground for crumbers Guy Luminato and Alex “the Doctor is in” Mirikian, who capitalized for his first goal for the New York Magpies. Shane “Village Bohemian” Smith was a livewire up forward, but got too excited when directly in front of goal, leading to a spilt mark that Phil Tufnell in his prime or Roberto Alomar in his current form would have been proud of. Towards the end of the quarter however, Philly’s open forward-line began to look a bit more potent with a number of forward thrusts. James “Old Money” Paterson, struggling with the tight ground dimensions, kicked out on the full from a kick out which lead to the Crows registering their first goal just before the siren. The Pies went into the long break with a 42 point advantage.

The Pies kept the foot on the accelerator during the third term, but pressure from the Philly defense forced rushed shots at goal. New recruit Adam “Preying” Mantzaris proved to be a livewire up forward, taking a strong pack mark and flying for many others. Despite numerous opportunities however, the Pies failed to convert scoring opportunities. After dominating for 20 minutes, the Magpies had kicked only 1 goal 8 behinds for the quarter. Mark Kelly registered the Pies sole goal. The defense was again stingy, keeping Philly scoreless for the quarter.

Philly started the last quarter with a couple of quick center breaks, but Tom Thompson, impressive in a hard checking role all day, Rob Kelly, in his first game for the Pies, and Tom Hayes steadied the ship. Hayes, who was caught in many one-on-one contests during the quarter was particularly impressive using his body well in marking contests. The Pies regained the ascendancy in the middle, with Gurry and Collela cleverly sharking opposition ruck knocks and driving the ball forward. Proving the old adage that tall men don’t get any shorter as the game wears on, Tom Wilson finished a solid game with some strong marks and two goals in the final term. New York victorious by 67 points.

Thank you to our official water girl Leonie Lewis, boundary runner extraordinaire Jeff Farnham, debonair boundary official Doug Lewis, hardly noticed umpires Steve Hasker and Roy Hopkins, and master strategist, Brett Moorcroft in assisting the club on the day.

It was a strong win for the Pies, but with a tough game against Baltimore next up on the schedule, the Pies will have maintain the commitment and discipline level displayed on the weekend, and learn to hurt teams on the scoreboard to stay in the top portion of the NEAFL ladder.

Final scores:

New York: 5.5 ; 7.8 ; 8.16 ; 11.21: 87
Philadelphia: 0.0 ; 1.2 ; 1.2 ; 3.2: 20

Goalkickers:

Wilson 4, Bridges, Andrew, Collela, Mirikian, Kallhovd, Mark Kelly, Luminato.

Best Players:

Wilson, Thompson, Lerner, Collela, Hayes, Kallhovd, Desai, Gurry, Smith, Bell.