On Sunday May 23rd the SCAFL held their greatly anticipated Grand Final and third place playoff for their 2010 Metro season. After a grueling 9 week battle between the Beachside Sharks, LA Swans, Riverside, and OC Jets it was a rematch between the OC Jets and the Beachside Sharks for the SCAFL Premiership. The Sharks and Jets have developed a rivalry over the last 4 years which has been a defining factor in the significant rise in the quality of football in the SCAFL.
It was billed to be a tough, tight battle and this game did not disappoint the many spectators that turned up to witness arguably the best game of football in SCAFL history. After a grueling 4 quarter battle the Sharks, coached by John Fragomeni secured victory as the Sharks surged in the last quarter. The fate of the game was sealed, when injured forward Simon Sweeney dug deep a snapped a goal from half forward flank in the dying seconds of the game.
Scoring proved tough from the onset, a blustery cross breeze played havoc and kept the scores low and the tackling pressure from both sides was relentless all day. The Sharks went into the match undermanned with several fitness concerns and within the first five minutes it's aspirations was dealt severe blow when they lost star rover Rob Luto with a thigh strain. But the Sharks struck early, drawing first blood on the scoreboard and was led out of the middle with first year ruckman and SCAFL Best and Fairest Ryan Weller. His tussle with Jet's counterpart Tyler Mounce proved to be an arm wrestle, and Tyler was equally influential for his side with great run proving he is a rising American star. Sharks ruck-rover Frederick Schulin provided consistent four quarter run and delivery of the ball to SCAFL Golden Boot winner Paul Lindley and rookie full forward Cody “Lightning” Tewmey.
Ronnie Luto stepped up to the plate in the middle and when needed shutdown former Shark Brad Wetheral who also had a great game for the Jets. Scoring was tough where the fortunes of both teams changed regularly. But with extreme pressure from the Sharks veteran backline of Jason Botrell, Mark Durston, David Dollar with the help of rookie new comer Ryan Smoot, turned away many of the Jets forward moves. After a very forgettable second quarter coach Fragomeni refocused the Sharks group for a strong, consistent third quarter and with a never say die attitude maintained the pressure in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory in the dying seconds.
2010 was always going to be a tough year for the Sharks with the loss of some key players and a significantly smaller roster than previous years. Returning players Ronnie Luto, David “Junkyard dog” Dollar, Mark Durston stepped up to be key leaders on the field while blooding in 3 new US Rookies. Throughout the season there was not one week where coach Fragomeni could put his best team on the field due to injuries but it was a club effort and everyone dug deep when needed which lead the Sharks to the top of the ladder defeating the Jets 3 times in 4 meetings.
It was a fitting end to the season and a great way to cap off what has been a successful run for the Sharks over the last 4 years in the SCAFL. Seasoned veteran and inaugural Sharks player Paul Lindley played his last game for the Sharks but was happy to go out on a high with the win and the Golden Boot award for the most goals kicked in the metro season.
The third playoff was a toughly contested game with Riverside up against the LA Swans. Riverside did a tremendous job in the off season with recruitment and introduced a lot of new US players to the sport, Matt “Mad Dog” Morgan and Darrin Olsen need to be congratulated for their efforts and the strong future they have secured for their club. The LA Swans were at polar opposites losing a few players and struggling with injuries, but focused on rebuild the club back to it's 2006 best. In what proved to be a thrilling lead into the Grand Final the depleted LA Swans really dug deep and took the third place game against the odds with a fantastic team effort lead by Colter “Captain Awesome” Allison, Corey Irwin and Adam “The Natural” Hale.
Two really tight and entertaining games with fantastic results for the Los Angeles based Sharks and Swans wrap up another successful season for the SCAFL Metro League. This has provided a great initial preparation for the 18 a side National campaign starting with a game against Vegas on their home turf on June 19th.
Grand Final - OC Jets vs Beachside Sharks
Beachside - Q1: 1.1 Q2: 1.2 Q3: 1.1 Q4: 3.3 TOTAL: 6.7.43
Orange County - Q1: 2.4 Q2: 0.4 Q3: 2.1 Q4: 0.4 TOTAL: 4.13.37
BS Goal Kickers - Cody Tewney (3), Simon Sweeney (2), Paul Lindley
OC Goal Kickers - Tyler Mounce (2), Andy Treanor, Steve Tait
BOG: Brad Wetherall
3rd Place Game - LA Swans vs Riverside Football Club
Los Angeles - Q1: 3.2 Q2:1.0 Q3:1.3 Q4: 2.4 TOTAL: 7.9.51
Riverside - Q1: 2.4 Q2: 0.4 Q3: 1.3 Q4: 2.1 TOTAL: 5:12.42
LA Goal Kickers - Mark Baird (2), Andrew McCauley, Colter Allison, Brian Mellblom, Corey Irwin, Adam Hale
Riverside Goal Kickers - Bobby Burgess (2), Matt Morgan, Grant Williams, Darrin Olsen
BOG: Andrew Lowen and Colter Allison (tie)
