The 2006 USAFL National Championships were held in Las Vegas, Nevada on the weekend of October 7th and 8th. The New York Magpies were ready to get down to business after a season that saw them only lose 1 match to rival Boston by a solitary point. The Pies were able to field 1 full strength side in Div I along with half a Gotham side to be teamed up with the Kansas City Power to form a competitive 2nd unit in Div III.

New York Magpies v North Carolina Tigers

The Magpies first match on the Saturday was against North Carolina whom the Pies have faced the last few seasons and become a very familiar opponent that always gives their all. After an early goal to the Tigers, the Pies mounted their challenge and started to move the ball more fluently. The Tigers certainly displayed why they will be a team of the future with a brutal first half that saw them restrict New York to a slim lead at the break. The 2nd half however was all the Black and White as they piled on 5 goals to the Tigers 2 to run out comfortable 28 point victors, New York 7.6 (48) to North Carolina 3.2 (20).

New York Magpies v Orange County Bombers

New York rested up after their 1st round win for the late game on Saturday against the highly fancied Orange County Bombers. A win would ensure the Pies had something to play for on the Sunday and they did not let their loyal fans down. New York played arguably its best game, showing true guts and determination to overcome a hard and uncompromising Orange County outfit. The game came right down to the wire with both teams throwing everything into each and every contest. The last half saw the lead change several times in a see-sawing affair only to be broken by crucial late goals to seal the win. This victory was especially gutsy for the Pies who lost several players through injuries sustained during the game. The final score saw New York 5.3 (33) defeat Orange County 4.3 (27).

New York Magpies v Denver Bulldogs

In the most anticipated match for years, the New York Magpies took on the Denver Bulldogs in what was essentially a Preliminary Final. A battered and beaten New York again pulled out all the stops and for a short time, looked to have done enough to get through to the final. However, Denver showed their class and the reason why they have won so many grand finals as they settled in front of goal and made their shots count. The Pies had their chances to win but just could not land the killer blow. In an agonizing loss, the scores were New York 4.2 (26) to Denver 4.5 (29).

Congratulations to Andrew Bridges on being voted the Nationals 2006 Most Valuable Player. A well deserved award to ‘Bubba’.

The Magpies played with true spirit, heart and character all weekend. It’s accurate to say that this years Magpies played great team football and each player that put on that Magpie jumper gave 110%. Despite the disappointment that comes with the loss to Denver, the team can hold its head up high. It once again displayed the type of football for which New York has become known and why it can claim to be a top 4 team in the country.

Kansas City/NY v Vegas/OC

The Gotham boys kicked their campaign off in front of the huge crowd on Coopers Field v the new boys from Vegas and some ring ins from OC.

We got off to a flyer with a goal from Ben Steinfeld. From there things went south, partly due a Gambler that went by the name Ablett.

Ben Vonwiller was the subject of the call of the week by Peter Schwab. As Uni was running in for a much needed 2nd goal, everyone including Uni himself clearly heard the ex AFL coach say “I don’t fancy his approach”. Needless to say, we were still seeking our 2nd goal from that point on.

Dylan Bryant was solid as a rock down back. Thwarting many LV/OC opportunities.

Despite the best efforts of Rob Oliver and Crighton to get things back on track from the sidelines, it was best to put the game behind us due to still getting to know each other, LV/OC being more like a Div 2 side, the Vegas heat, Schwaby’s call, chick’s footy on the other ground and the surreal backdrop.

After being rolled in the 1st game, the Gotham boys had every chance to redeem themselves against Golden Gate’s 2nds. However a lack of support staff and water made it very difficult to find the middle of the sticks and any resemblance of team play. We should have, however, picked up on the secrets of hydration from one of the girls in the match beforehand, which consisted of a swig of liquor and a mouthful of beer.

Paul Devlin did his best to add to the behind count from the square. Bryant was solid as an even bigger rock this time, despite his finger going a shade of purple. Joey A made his opponent, who was 3 times the size of him, look small with great tenacity off the back line.

No excuses this time, besides it being hotter than the Bellagio’s curry, the gale force desert winds and some little Golden Gate weasel moving the goal posts on us. It was on to the plush surrounds of The New Frontier.

We weren’t going to let an 8am start stop us from notching up a much needed win, even if it meant a couple of Kansas City boys cutting short their night of Vegas experiences. Luckily it was too early for WADA to set up their facilities.

Fired up like Rob Kelly at Gilley’s, we managed to put on a performance that we were always capable of. There was some top shelf champagne text book football on display. Everyone chimed in with a stellar performance including Swany after hitch hiking to the ground and Stan who did his homeland proud.

Smithy’s younger brother Adam was a great last minute recruit and worked tirelessly throughout all 3 games.

The comprehensive win capped off the weekend in style for the KC/NY boys.

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