Broadview Hawks Football Club

Roos Jump Over Hawks In Final Quarter July 24th, 2008

Post a comment

On a ridiculously steamy evening the Hawks headed out to Humber South to meet their arch rivals the Etobicoke Kangaroos in a battle that would determine outright second spot on the ladder. If the heat wasn't enough cause for concern the Hawks also had to deal with a fired up coach battling a flagging Aquiline share price as well as a major drought off the field. With his 100% winning record with the Hawks so far this year on the line, the self-labeled 'Super Coach' demanded players show total disregard for their careers, jobs and family by working a half-day on Friday before heading out to the ground at least 3 hours before kick-off. Despite his best efforts, chaos still reigned supreme with desperate last ditched recruitment efforts a half hour before kick off. The call even went out for someone to call Pablo despite no one having any contact with the Greek Houdini after his disappearing act following Round 1. To make matters worse, Coach Walter found out at 6:25 pm that kick-off was not at 6:30 pm but actually at 6:45 pm. This meant another 15 minutes of warm up for the Hawks who were already starting to tire from the heat.

The first quarter got underway with the ferocity and passion of a Bledisloe. Bodies were being thrown around at will and the pace of the game was typical of a playoff encounter. Luke "Blue Balls" Walker was particularly aggressive in the early clashes, pulling off a classic hip and shoulder that sent the Roos' coach into orbit. James 'I Told My Wife I Was Just Going To Take Photos Of The Game' Benic was also particularly destructive in his first main hit out for the year. In what was a tug-of-war first quarter with neither side able to take any form of ascendancy, the Hawks went into the break up 12-10.

The intensity didn't falter in the second quarter with the likes of Jonno 'Can't Grow Cucumbers' Barlow, Adam 'The Quiet Achiever' Verdurmen and Mario "Dirty Columbian" Pareja especially active in the clinches. In what has been a disappointing trait of the Hawks this year, though, the side switched off for a short period allowing the Roos to notch up several goals and take a handy 9 point lead at the end of second quarter.

After Coach Walter rallied his troops during his half-time speech with talk of focusing on the one-percenters, the third quarter saw a resurgent Hawks spring back into the lead. The mercurial Forbes 'Can Grow Cucumbers' Gemmell was sublime throughout, taking some spectacular grabs and inspiring the team with flawless play. Nick "One Nipple Ring Short" Shuttleworth also lead from the front, kicking a monster goal to give the Hawks a one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for the Hawks that was as good as it got with the prolonged warmup clearly taking its toll on the players in the fourth quarter. The Roos managed to put on four unanswered goals to run away with the game 71-49.

At the post match press conference the Hawks brass came under critical questioning for throwing away another three quarter lead. Captain Leyhane kept his cool. "To beat the big teams in this league you need to play 80 minutes of football. We didn't do that today but you learn from that and move on." Coach Walter on the other hand was a little less diplomatic. "My players let me down out there today. Pre-game, I laid out an intricate 12-point game plan and did they follow it? No. In my mind, my 100% winning track record is still intact and the label 'Super Coach' stays. That's it for questions - I'm off for a beer".

Despite the loss, the Hawks showed strength in numbers on the Gretzkys' patio post game. Everyone turned up (even Barlow who had not been seen on the social circuit for months) except for Metro and Dan Walker - an interesting coincidence given Dan was last heard claiming his hammie needed some TLC after he twinged it in the first quarter. The younger single Hawks kicked on to Gracies later on in an attempt to salvage something from the night while the rest of the Hawks propped up the bar 'til close.

You can catch the Hawks this weekend at the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus on Saturday at noon as they take on the sometimes dangerous Demons from High Park.